Much Ado About Joss Whedon

After hearing a few very good comments about it, I decided there was just no escaping it: I had to see Much Ado About Nothing. I had mixed feelings about it going in, since I'm a huge Joss Whedon fan, but I never really learned to appreciate Shakespeare... *ducks and covers as assorted rotten fruits and veggies fly in close proximity to my face*

Maybe I just have a thing for black and white modern films. I still love The Artist in all of its wonderful and lightly humorous beauty. Much Ado was similar to this, with its roller coaster of emotions and unexpected moments of hilarity.

Basically, the play is about two couples who go about admitting their love in two very different ways; while one couple is set to marry in a few days' time with only a few... minor... setbacks, the other pair profusely denies their love for one another, bickering and providing most of the comedic relief while avoiding the topic of love when they're clearly falling head over heels for each other (sometimes literally).

Being a Joss Whedon film, I have to comment on the actors first. If you've watched any of the other TV shows Joss Whedon has produced/directed/written (seriously, any), you'll notice right away that he basically took a couple actors from each of his shows and dumped them into this one. Once I got over the fact that Wes was finally going for Fred (Angel) and Topher actually grasped the concept of love (Dollhouse), it was easier, but it's still a little disorienting. Truth be told, I completely support Joss's casting since he really knows these actors. The characters did remind me of previous roles they've played, but only because they played those roles so damn well. Reaching out for new actors would've been tricky, especially on a budget of... well, so low I can't find it, since Joss Whedon apparently said, "Whatever you're thinking, it's less." Respect.

Many aspects of the film took a while adjusting to, but it's mostly because of the nature of the film itself. It's in black and white, it's in Shakespearean, it's freaking WES and FRED... But I assure you, I was able to eventually slip into a more relaxed viewing state, not trying to rearrange every sentence to make sense of it. It's like travelling to a foreign country and learning the language by just immersing yourself in the culture, only in about ten minutes. Or five if you actually read Shakespeare and don't cling to your Sparknotes. *somersaults into bomb shelter to avoid the fury of the gods of English literature*

The overall setting was very well done, especially considering it was apparently filmed at someone's house... This may sound easy, but for those professional-looking shots, it takes more than a camera and a house to film. They worked with this aspect very well. As for the setting in terms of story, Joss Whedon does a very nice job mingling time periods and cultural differences. Don't believe me? Watch five minutes of Firefly.

I actually have a gazillion other things to do right now. I swear I planned on a relaxing, stress-free summer, but I've finally proven that it's impossible for me. Point is, I'll talk about one more thing before going back to procrastinating. Which is probably why I'm stressed. No matter.

Unlike this blog, that movie had comedic timing and stunt work that was incredible, especially considering the time spent (twelve days to be exact). It goes to show how mind-blowingly awesome a group of actors is when they spit Shakespeare's lines like they came out of the womb talking like that (albeit there were a few monotone lines toward the beginning), and how the timing was perfect. I literally have nothing to equate it to. I always find some awkward spot in comedic timing in a movie, where someone stands with a blank stare on his face for a millisecond too long, but Much Ado had no time for that (terrible pun intended). There was such a familiarity in those awkward fumblings of Dogberry and Verges, as well as the over-the-top comedy of Beatrice and Benedick that gave me a newfound appreciation for Elizabethan comedy and a renewed appreciation for all things Joss Whedon. I even made the terrible decision last night of going back and watching one of the only Angel episodes where Fred and Wes are together... I won't name names, but I will say that if I watch this particular episode we'll call "A Schmole in the Schworld', my tear ducts will shrivel up and fall out of my eye sockets.

Wait, what? It was a terrible decision because I watched it at 3:00 in the morning, not because of the episode itself! Shame on you... It's never a terrible decision to watch anything by Joss Whedon.