Much Ado About Nothing
BLU-RAY 
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Director:
Joss Whedon Actors: Amy Acker Alexis Denisof Nathan Fillion Rating:
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WHAT'S IT ABOUT?
Joss Whedon's adaptation of William Shakespeare's comedy.
IS IT A GOOD MOVIE?
Fanboy favorite Joss Whedon seems an unlikely choice to adapt a Shakespeare comedy; but then again, there’s no reason the creator of Buffy the Vampire Slayer can’t enjoy the work of The Bard.
Those that read Much Ado About Nothing in high school or college (this reviewer never bothered, more or less because there wasn’t a Kenneth Branagh or Akira Kurosawa film to match) will find that little has been changed. All of the characters—Beatrice, Benedick, Don Pedro, Dogberry, Leonato, Claudio, Don John, and so on and on—are in place, as are the plot points. Even the dialogue seems to be spot on, just as Baz Luhrmann made his for Romeo + Juliet.
And just as with Romeo + Juliet, this adaptation of Much Ado About Nothing is incredibly awkward and unnatural. (Even the choice to shoot in black and white is out of place, there for no reason but to call attention to itself.) The cast, which is comprised of a bunch of Whedon’s friends and collaborators—there’s Amy Acker (Dollhouse), Alexis Denisof (Buffy/Angel), Reed Diamond (also Dollhouse), Nathan Fillion (Firefly/Serenity), Clark Gregg (The Avengers), Fran Kranz (The Cabin in the Woods), and Sean Maher (also Firefly/Serenity), to name a handful—sound like a group of actors reciting lines in some hyperactive and misdirected school play.
As a whole, Much Ado About Nothing is a silly production that has more energy that it does purpose.
THE EXTRAS
Director’s commentary with Joss Whedon: Whedon tends to give insightful and easygoing commentaries and this one for Much Ado About Nothing is no different.
Commentary with cast & Joss Whedon: This crowded commentary includes Whedon, Amy Acker, Alexis Denisof, Reed Diamond, Clark Gregg, Fran Kranz, and many more. It’s a crowded track that sometimes falls out of order, but fans will enjoy it.
Much Ado About Making Nothing (22:12): This making-of featurette uses interviews (with many of those involved in the commentaries) to give a look into the movie’s production.
Bus Ado About Nothing (6:09) looks at the road trip Whedon and his cast took from Los Angeles to Austin for SXSW.
“Sigh No More” Music Video
UltraViolet
FINAL DIAGNOSIS
Joss Whedon's Much Ado About Nothing is an experiment between friends gone overboard, with the entire cast merely spitting out lines in rapid fashion. Special features include two commentaries that fans will enjoy, a making-of featurette and more.
Terrible Review
Dear Lord,
Ahaha
One of the best movies of 2013
It Was Great Fun