Much Ado About Nothing - 2 1/2 smiles

I have to admit, I liked Kenneth Branagh’s 1993 version of Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Nothing more than I liked this current rendition, adapted and directed by Joss Whedon. The main reason is the actor cast as Benedict. Whereas Emma Thompson and Branagh were equal in their war of wits and passion and the current Beatrice, Amy Acker, successfully portrays a woman too smart and too strong to be shoved to the altar, Alexis Denisof’s Benedick never matches her fire. Without a Benedick that is up to her level, we don’t want to see Beatrice fall in love. I was also disappointed when the police clown Dogberry (Nathan Fillion) shows up. These scenes, full of buffoonery and malapropisms, just aren’t that funny. The cast, otherwise, is strong, from Clark Gregg (The Avengers) as the magnanimous Leonato to Reed Diamond as Don Pedro. The young lovers, Hero and Claudio, who provide a contrast to Beatrice and Benedick, are less interesting although newcomer Jillian Margese and Fran Kanz handle the story’s most dramatic scenes well.

Whedon’s Santa Monica mansion provides a beautiful setting for Shakespeare’s comedy. And although the actors are sometimes clearly having even more fun than we are, the movie has its charms. There’s an atmosphere of endless party, with women in summery frocks and bottles of wine within easy reach. And after the usual mistaken identities and near calamities, everything comes together. The good end happily and the evil are punished. Virtue is rewarded and true love triumphs. “Much Ado About Nothing” is slight, sweet and generally entertaining. 6/7/13