Much Ado About Nothing (2012)

[Sunnyhorse]

Saw this last night, and it's every bit as good as Kenneth Branagh's 1993 version, which happens to be one of my all-time favorites. Mr. S. and I are hoping that Amy Acker and Alexis Denisof will get lots more work -- they carry the film beautifully -- and the supporting actors (especially Reed Diamond and Clark Gregg) are fantastic. Loved the black-and-white, too.

[TrafficChick]

Well that's a ringing endorsement! I shall see this henceforth!

(I lurve Branagh's version, Keanu be damned!)

[Sunnyhorse]

Mr. S., who waited outside while I visited the ladies' after the show, reported that an older woman was complaining bitterly that it was the worst movie she'd ever seen. I think she was pissed off about the modern setting (uh, lady, did you not bother to read anything about it beforehand or even glance at the damn movie poster?), but we were both flabbergasted.

[ijustworkhere]

I was very pleasantly surprised by this! All my friends who were lucky enough to get into the screening at SXSW gave it pretty tepid reviews, so I was prepared for meh, but I thought it was a delightful, slickly staged little piece of Shakespearean fluff. I mean, it's Much Ado About Nothing, it's not Hamlet, so I'm not sure what earth-shatteringness everyone was expecting. It had great acting, great staging, and nailed the funny/sweet/passionate emotions of the play. That's all you really need.

The standouts were definitely Amy Acker, Reed Diamond, and Fran Kranz. I thought Denisof was in way over his head--he could never really translate the Shakespearean English into actual acting, and basically stuck to "reciting with lots of gesticulation for effect". He pulled off the comedy just fine, but anything deeper was beyond him. Acker, in contrast, was so natural and effective. Not a wrong note once in the entire thing. The only person who stood out in the cast as being actively bad was the woman who played Hero, whom I've never seen--she certainly looked the part, very beautiful with a sweet/gentle demeanor, but either she's a plain old bad actress, or the Shakespearean really threw her for a loop. And among the considerable talents of the rest of the cast, she stuck out like a sore thumb.

I left the theater unbelievably jealous over Joss's house. OMG. Want. I also got a giggle out of the music credits for the various songs played at the party in the film: "Lyrics by William Shakespeare, Music by Joss Whedon".

[Sunnyhorse]

The gal who played Hero (I have to agree, she was the weak link) is not an actress:

Jillian Morgese was born and raised in Fair Lawn, New Jersey. She spent many years as a competitive gymnast before moving to New York City after high school. She enrolled in the Fashion Institute of Technology, from which she recently graduated with a degree in Fashion Merchandising. Jillian was working as an extra on the set of Joss Whedon's The Avengers when Joss asked Jillian to consider auditioning for the role of Hero in Much Ado About Nothing. It is her first major role in a feature film.

[peachybean]

I saw it last night and it was wonderful! I'm not a big movie-goer but Joss Whedon and Shakespeare is too much for me. It was funny and romantic and lovely. Clearly, I lack the words to properly describe it.

[Spinderella]

I can't wait to see this. I'm a huge fan of Kenneth's version, too and the trailer does look incredibly slick. I hadn't realized that was Whedon's house! Gotta find a babysitter soon...

[ratscabies]

Jun 23, 2013 16:29:38 GMT -4 TrafficChick said:

Well that's a ringing endorsement! I shall see this henceforth!

(I lurve Branagh's version, Keanu be damned!)

Dang it, woman, you wait til I get home!

[ijustworkhere]

The gal who played Hero (I have to agree, she was the weak link) is not an actress

Wow. Look, I love Joss, and I don't want to unnecessarily throw shade, but that story is either the luckiest break anyone ever had, or a REALLY bad cover story for a "set mistress".

I kid. Maybe 75% kidding. But really, that story provokes some serious side-eye.

[Sunnyhorse]

I wondered whether he also saw a resemblance between Jillian Morgese and Amy Acker and ran with it -- they're entirely believable as cousins because of their coloring and face shape. After posting that she's not really an actor I did find an interview with her in which she says she was making the transition to an acting career, and she appears to have the credits (commercial work, etc.) to back that claim up.