by Stacey Schrom, Reporter
Leave it to Joss Whedon to make Shakespeare more fun than ever.
On a break from last year’s huge blockbuster success, Marvel’s The Avengers, when he was supposed to be taking his wife to Venice for the 20th Anniversary, Joss Whedon decided to… make a movie instead. Shot in 12 days on location at his Santa Monica home, Much Ado About Nothing is simply this: a labor of love. Utilizing the original Elizabethan dialogue and shot in black and white, Joss has created fantastic piece of cinematic art. With the cast consisting of his regular repertory of players, it seems more like Joss called up all his good friends, and said “hey, come to my house for a party this weekend…” and then decided to film it.
Our story takes place at the home of Leonato (Clark Gregg – Marvel’s The Avengers), who has welcomed the Price of Aragon, Don Pedro (Reed Diamond – Dollhouse), along with his two officers, Benedick (Alexis Denisof – Buffy The Vampire Slayer) and Claudio (Fran Kranz – Cabin In The Woods), for a month long stay. Benedick and Leonato’s niece, Beatrice, (Amy Acker – Angel), are longtime adversaries, who can only seem to agree on one thing- their disdain for love and the idea of marriage. While Claudio and Leonato’s daughter, Hero (Jillian Morgese – Marvel’s The Avengers), on the other hand, fall hopelessly in love at first site. A plan quickly unfolds for Don Pedro, Claudio, Hero & Leonato to trick Beatrice & Benedick into admitting their love for each other. In the meantime though, our villain Don John (Sean Maher – Firefly), the bastard brother of Don Pedro, has some tricks of his own up his sleeve.
Amy Acker is perfect for the role of Beatrice. She carries herself with a ease and makes the Elizabethan dialogue seem like a perfectly modern way to speak. And the reuniting of her and Alexis Denisof is a pretty much any Joss Whedon fans dream come true. Newcomer, Jilian Morgese, who got her start as an extra in Avengers, holds her own amongst a group of established actors who have worked together over and over again. Although, perhaps the best team up in the movie may be Nathan Fillion (Firefly) and Tom Lenk (Buffy The Vampire Slayer), as the night watchmen Dogberry and his partner Verges. The two together make somewhat of the perfect comic duo. Sean Maher is the perfect villain. The only time that the film suffers slightly is due to the two playing his side kicks, Conrade (Riki Lindhome – Million Dollar Baby) and Borachio (Spencer Treat Clark – Mystic River) – who seemed as though they might not have understood the movie they were in.
Overall
Joss has managed to not only throw a pretty amazing party for his close friends, but also film a very original version of a classic story. Much Ado About Nothing is a film that everyone can enjoy, and shows just how truly versatile Joss Whedon and his talented stable of actors can be. This is the movie to see this weekend.
Rating: 
ComicsOnline gives Much Ado About Nothing – 5 Cupcakes and Shots out of 5!
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