{4.5\/5} “I had rather hear my dog bark at a crow than a man swear he loves me.”<\/p>\n
A group has gathered at Leonato’s estate — Leonato is Hero’s father and Beatrice’s uncle. Beatrice and Benedick engage in a battle of wits whenever they meet — each of them say they’ll never get married. Hero and Claudio like each other but are both shy. Don John hears of Claudio’s desire and, just because he’s a not-so-nice guy, decides to foil his plans. Meanwhile, some of Beatrice and Benedick’s friends decide that they should really be together.<\/p>\n
Much Ado About Nothing<\/strong> was released in 2012. It’s one of Shakespeare’s comedies — it’s his words brought into a modern setting. It’s in black and white.<\/p>\n I’ve previously seen the 1993 version directed by Kenneth Branagh, which I haven’t seen in a long time but I liked it.<\/p>\n The language is somewhat difficult — it was written over 400 years ago — but it’s worth it to pay attention. Even if you don’t understand every word, you’ll get the gist of it.<\/p>\n Like the title says, it’s not really about anything — but it’s funny and it’s authentic.<\/p>\n Amy Acker and Alexis Denisof are brilliant — even in monologues they make the Shakespearean language seem natural.<\/p>\n There’s some slapstick, but it’s funny because it’s in the context of characters we’re already engaged with.<\/p>\n It was filmed at Joss Whedon’s home.<\/p>\n The playful music is by Whedon, who wrote the Firefly<\/strong> theme as well as the songs for Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog<\/strong> and the musical episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer<\/strong>.<\/p>\n All of these actors have worked with Whedon before. Amy Acker (The Cabin in the Woods<\/strong><\/a> and the TV shows Angel<\/strong> and Dollhouse<\/strong>) plays Beatrice and Alexis Denisof (the TV show Angel<\/strong>) plays Benedick. Nathan Fillion (Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog<\/strong>, Serenity<\/strong> and the TV show Firefly<\/strong>) plays Dogberry and Clark Gregg (The Avengers<\/strong><\/a><\/strong>) plays Leonato. Fran Kranz (The Cabin in the Woods<\/strong> and the TV show Dollhouse<\/strong>) plays Claudio and Sean Maher (Serenity<\/strong> and the TV show Firefly<\/strong>) plays Don John. Tom Lenk (The Cabin in the Woods<\/strong> and the TV show Buffy the Vampire Slayer<\/strong>) plays Verges and Reed Diamond (the TV show Dollhouse<\/strong>) plays Don Pedro. Jillian Morgese (other than an uncredited role in The Avengers<\/strong>, her first movie) plays Hero.<\/p>\n