SXSW 2013 Review: Much Ado About Nothing

So by now you likely know the story behind this latest stab at Shakespeare’s, arguably minor, work. Joss Whedon, fresh off of directing mega blockbuster The Avengers, decided to restore a bit of his sanity by making a small movie with his friends. Luckily enough for him, his friends just happen to be a stable of charming and loyal actors that commonly get together at his place to do Shakespeare readings. Much Ado About Nothing is the result of 12 days of hanging out at Joss’s house, drinking a copious amount of alcohol, and playing with friends.

It’s also worth noting that Whedon made the, not entirely unique, choice to set the play in modern day and using modern speech patterns while maintaining the original text. Shakespeare is not as difficult as many make him out to be but when his words are set to a modern cadence it can be a bit hard to follow if you are not intimately familiar with the words already. I’m a fan but by no means a scholar, and as such it took me a little while at the beginning to get my bearings.

Once it gets going, it becomes clear how perfect a match Shakespeare is to Whedon. Whedon, despite his history of horror and sci fi and recent turn as action blockbuster director, has always lived and died by dialog and character. Seeing him bring his sensibility to the some of the best dialog in literary history is quite exciting and his troupe of actors are clearly having a blast with it.

And they really are having fun with it. This is no reverential work. Joss and crew allow for improvisation. They alter some text and characterization. They attack the play from a different angle to allow for a darker interpretation. They even poke fun at some of the bards more curious lines and archaic ideas. It never quite breaks the fourth wall but it comes close at times.

The cast is full of Whedon regulars who, if you are familiar with their previous Whedon roles, get to play wonderfully against type. Alexis Denisof, who played the stuffy and awkward Wesley Wyndam-Price in Buffy and Angel, gets to play a showboating lothario as Benedick. Amy Acker, meek and vulnerable in Angel, gets to be a strong independent woman in Beatrice. Fran Kanz, geeky comic relief in Dollhouse and Cabin In The Woods, makes a revelatory turn as a dramatic and romantic lead with Claudio. Sean Maher, virtuous and protective in Firefly, turns villainous and deceitful with Don John. The list goes on, but nearly every actor brings a unique element to the film and gets their own moment to shine.

There is a downside to all this fun and camaraderie, however. Much Ado About Nothing never quite feels like a real movie. Never quite escapes the feeling that you’re watching a bunch of friends goof around. It often times feels like the actors are seconds away from laughing and breaking character. It sometimes feels like a skit. It veers wildly in tone between heart wrenching monologues, slapstick humor, dark sexuality, self aware camera winking, and wide eyed romanticism.

It’s a strange conundrum. The reason the movie is worth watching is the fact that it explores a myriad of interesting ideas and allows itself to have fun with them, but that also keeps it from feeling real or substantial. It’s all a bit of a goof, but it’s a damned entertaining one.