"Against my will I've been told to bring you in to dinner. There's a double meaning in that..." ---Signor Benedick, Much Ado
About Nothing
Disclaimer: This article is not for the Shakespeare purist nor is it designed for the faint of heart, who would throw BBC versions and other heroic non-Hollywood Much Adoish efforts out there to scorn what I have lain out here. No apologies offered. I confess to my own imbecilic rantings well in advance. Read at your own risk. You hit yourself over the head with a mallet for personal reasons. Go to, go to, and then sigh no more.
2 Yesterday afternoon as a precursor I again watched the brand new version by Joss Whedon, which I must confess I have given more than enough time to, and which falls demonstratively short. Others must see something in it that I don't, but so far I've watched it five times, two with his commentary and one with the cast commentary, which is a merry cocktail hour to which none but the diligently cocksure have been invited.
3 Until it goes before tenth graders, it is rests precariously on its own merits, which now hangs for all eternity as nothing more than blowing laundry flapping in a spring breeze. I am convinced that my tenth graders would be dreadfully bored withal.
4 I am going to give my students a peek at Whedon's monstrosity, but just a peek. I shall then allow it to gather dust before returning to it peradventure this summer, where I may finally fold it and store it in a box in my garage, which is where it belongs.
5 Today they shall get the very best of the Branagh version. I had to lay the foundations. The interruptions of the past two weeks all but drowned any hopes of making this come alive.
6 I rushed everything last week because we were told that we would have testing this week.
7 That shifted. It changed to next week. And then another shift. And then other interruptions upon still other interruptions. Frustrating? Of course. Hopeless? Never!
8 Last night changed all that. Much Ado goes up today.
9 Of course anything can interrupt.
10 I can't worry about that. My best student may ask to leave, to go study for calculus, or worse, for world history.
11 Happens.
12 It matters not.
13 I've limited time left to offer some of my best things, and Much Ado has become a jewel.
14 Is it a perfect jewel?
15 Nope.
16 It has Keanu Reeves' flat acting. Always did. Granted his part was that of a malcontent, but his scenes tend to slow things down considerably.
17 Michael Keaton's Dogberry scenes are even worse. They bring too much attention to themselves and wind up trying WAY too hard. One gets the feeling that Branagh allowed actors to over-indulge. Had the Dogberry scenes been re-done to the careful rhythm and timing of the rest of the film, it would have come closer to perfection.
18 It is what it is.
19 Fear not. It has enough scenes that work, and that aren't done to death. Branagh's now-classic slo mo romp in the Tuscan fountain still works. The farewell to Hero scene remains genuinely sad, but the entrance of the four brides at the end punctuates Shakespeare's comedic fifth-act signature. The acting of Claudio (Robert Sean Leonard) and Hero (a lovingly vulnerable Kate Beckinsale) when she unveils herself makes us all want to stand and applaud.
20 And finally, Branagh's stopping of all celebration with the line, "Which is Beatrice?" sets up the final credits, as well as our own celebration of Shakespeare, and of what can arguably be called the definitive Much Ado About Nothing. If you disagree, re-read the disclaimer above, go to your garage and find a strong wooden mallet.
21 Branagh's Much Ado rocks; it dances and sings. It is a rollicking version, and a frisky. The joy is generous, infectious, and scintillating. And later today a whole bunch of tenth graders shall be showered with it's goofy splendor, and all will drift into the remainder of the day with joy, with confetti and with singing!
22 Now come,we are friends.
23 Strike up pipers!
24 God defend me.
25 And this is my conclusion.
26 Peace.
~H~
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