What Keith's Watching: Much Ado About Nothing (2012)

I'm not a Shakespeare guy. I probably know more about Shakespeare and his work than the average person, but that's mainly because I still harbor a dream that one day I will be on Jeopardy and they always have a Shakespeare category.

I generally don't watch adaptations of his work, unless his work only served as a rough base for the movie (i.e. Warm Bodies.) But Much Ado About Nothing was different. It was done by a director I love, starring actors I enjoy. There was something about it that seemed fund. Not to mention the story behind the making of the film blew my mind wide open. If you're not familiar with it, basically, while Joss Whedon was on vacation from The Avengers, he got all his friends together and made a movie in 12 days. He shot everything at his house. What Hollywood people do things like that these days? Apparently, Whedon and his crew do and I hope they do it again.

Of the Shakespeare plays I know, Much Ado wasn't one of them. So I went in fresh which may have helped me in my love of this movie. There's nothing I can point to and say that Whedon got it wrong. Given the man's passion for this project, I doubt he would get anything "wrong" but you know what I mean. In fact, I looked up to see what if anything Joss changed. He added a few shots at the beginning that elevate the story to a new level that couldn't be done by words alone and he made a couple tweaks to wording that would come across as racist by today's standards.

A lot of what Whedon does in making the play his own is visual and adds a lot of humor to the story. Being set in modern times, there are many parts of the play that Shakespeare intended to be funny, but don't come across that way. We just don't understand the wording of the joke - like when Yakov Smironoff told jokes in front of a brick wall. But the visual gags Whedon adds are hilarious without dumbing the subject matter down. It's exactly what we would expect from him.

It doesn't hurt either that he packed his movie with talent. Talent that seem to share Whedon's passion for the source material. And that's what I really think makes this movie stand out. The excitement and fun just come through the screen and you can't help but be wrapped up in it.

However, if you are the type of person that doesn't like trying to decode the plot and what the characters are saying because they are speaking centuries-old English, maybe this isn't for you. But if you like a great movie that's fun and leaves you satisfied, and you're willing to work for the payoff, then you are in luck.

VERDICT: Thou Must See