My gif collection is way, way larger than it by all rights should be. And so, to give some purpose to the hours I've spent building and organizing that collection (don't look at me), here's my review of Joss Whedon's Much Ado About Nothing… in gifs.
First: Do I love Much Ado?
As a Shakespeare adaptation, it's surprisingly modern. Not that it's particularly surprising that a Shakespeare play should be successfully adapted for today's moviegoers—The Lion King, anyone?
… but to create such a delightfully contemporary movie that also uses the Bard's original dialogue? That's a rare treat. Sit down, Leo, we remember Romeo + Juliet.
I must admit, as the lights went down I felt a tiny bit of hesitance in the back of my mind. The story behind the production of this movie that Joss Whedon kindasorta invited his pals to his house for a week or so to make it. I like Joss, but I'm not one of those "OMG he can do no wrong!!!" people, so I thought there was a chance, however small, that I was about to watch a 90-minute Whedonverse circlejerk.
But no. I was wrong. I was so wrong. And I couldn't be happier.
Whedon really showed off his chops as a director, adding little bits and bobs throughout the film to keep it visually interesting and engaging even when some of the dialogue, well...
Like when the evil Don John, played by Sean Maher, casually grabs a cupcake as he stalks away from seeing to completion one of his nefarious plans. It was hilarious. In fact, I'm going to go ahead and say that, in a movie filled with great performances, Maher's was my favorite. Him popping up at random times to glower and be a creeper was fabulous...
...and when he had longer scenes he was evil without being over-the-top about it. Wonderful.
Also, it says something about me that I totally recognize the bakery those cupcakes came from. And that something is: My diet is fabulous.
Amy Acker killed it as Beatrice, likewise Alexis Denisof as Benedick. This movie really gets across how ageless their love story is. It's OG bickering-to-hide-romantic-tension. There's a reason that's still such a beloved trope. *coughMalandInara*
At altering points I wanted to pinch Claudio (Fran Kranz)'s cheeks and punch him in the face, which fits his character, so it works out well. Clark Gregg was expectedly wonderful. Nathan Fillion and Tom Lenk as Dogberry and Verges, the resident comic relief characters, were great. They really get across how, back in Ye Olde Elizabethan England, Shakespeare's plays were entertainment for the masses instead of for the fancy-dancy snooty-patootie few.
In conclusion:
0 comments:
Post a Comment