As one of Shakespeare's most modern comedies, "Much Ado About Nothing" was ripe for a film adaptation -- even by a pop culture ingenue and television writer upstart like Joss Whedon.
Filmed in black and white over a course of 12 days at Whedon's Santa Monica house, "Much Ado" seemed like a strange undertaking by the director of a blockbuster bonanza like "The Avengers."
However, the low-key modern Shakespeare adaptation turns out to be a delightful film in its own right.
Set in the mansion of Leonato (Clark Gregg, "The Avengers"), the governor of Messina, the film takes place over a few days as party guests and political allies flock to Leonato's house to celebrate his victorious campaign against his villainous brother Don John (Sean Maher, "Serenity").
One of these guests is Leonato's friend Don Pedro (Reed Diamond, "Moneyball"), who is accompanied by this story's two main male love interests, Benedick (Alexis Denisof, "The Avengers") and Claudio (Fran Kranz, "The Cabin in the Woods").
Claudio instantly falls in love with Leonato's daughter Hero (played by newcomer Jillian Morgese), while Benedick bickers and trades witticisms with Leonato's niece Beatrice (Amy Acker, "The Cabin in the Woods").
The characters are sharply written and acted, with each of the actors -- apart from those whose purposes are solely for comic relief -- bringing along a modern day subtlety that comes across as elegant and smooth in the black and white color scheme.
Even in the moments of physical comedy, the actions of the characters never come off as too unbelievable.
But it's not just the strength of the actors or even the characters as written by Shakespeare that makes the cast's chemistry so enjoyable. Fans of Whedon's previous work on television shows such as "Buffy the Vampire Slayer," "Angel," "Dollhouse" and "Firefly" are sure to recognize the faces of each character in "Much Ado."
The film takes Whedon's penchant to an all-time high, with "Much Ado" basically becoming a veritable who's who of every actor that has worked with Whedon.
But the interactions between a cast as if actors who are so familiar with each other only serves to lend the air of intimacy that the film brings.
Not to mention there's a sort of sardonic irony in the fact that Beatrice and Benedick are played by Acker and Denisof, who played the tragic and doomed couple of Fred and Wesley on "Angel."
Setting all of these volatile and ridiculous characters against the backdrop of a mundane California house sometimes would inadvertently add elements of humor due to the auspicious placing of a girl's dollhouse or a child's rocking horse in the shot in which the villains scheme and fume. The setting gave the sense that the characters were real guests in a real home, and not just actors play-acting at Shakespeare in modern clothes.
The strongest of these performances were of course Acker and Denisof as the witty bantering couple Beatrice and Benedick. Their mutual distaste for each other at the beginning if the film is palpably feisty even if one only understands every other sentence or two of the Elizabethan language.
Their journey from hate to affection to love is both hilarious and believable, because of the sheer chemistry between the two as well as both of the actors' surprisingly talented ability for slapstick and physical comedy.
Nathan Fillion ("Super") as Dogberry, Diamond as Don Pedro and Kranz as Claudio were also pleasant surprises in the cast, adding an element of charisma or depth to their roles while many of the others were stuck in sometimes thankless caricatures.
Maher as Don John, for example, gave a gallant effort as a sleazy and overtly villainous characters but often came off as one-note and a tad too creepy.
The quick and natural interactions between the characters, however, gratifies whatever doubts there may be about the cast's talents.
As a Shakespearean comedy, the hilarious and frustrating series of misunderstandings are a given, but it is difficult to take a play that can easily devolve into caricature and make it a fully fleshed story that is simultaneously hilarious and gut-wrenching.
"Much Ado About Nothing" does just that and much more, reuniting a cast of familiar faces for Whedon fans and giving a new spin on a classic tale of love, politics and misgivings.
hbui@theeagleonline.com
