No, this is not a cafe rap about Fairfield Life and its daily squabbles. It's a review of a film that I have been dying to see, but have been unable to because it won't be officially released either in France or in the Netherlands until January. But the pirateverse hath come to the rescue -- I scored a 1080p version, and just finished watching it.
To fully appreciate the film, it really helps to know a little about the making of the film. It was produced, directed, shot, and scored by Joss Whedon, while "on leave" from the filming of "The Avengers" during a contractually-forced two week hiatus. Some guys, especially if they were in the middle of making the film that would go on to become the highest-grossing film in history, would kick back and relax during those two weeks. Joss made a movie instead. He paid for it himself, recruited former actors he'd worked with before to appear in it, and shot it all in 12 days. In his house. This last bit is important, because Joss first conceived of the idea in that house (designed by his wife) years earlier when they were hosting Shakespeare readings at the house. He shoots using hand-held cameras and found lighting -- "Our lighting package rose in the east and set in the west." And while making the movie itself was Joss' way of having fun, one aspect of the production he described as "terrifying." He wrote the music, along the way scoring two of the songs that Shakespeare wrote for the play. The songs were recorded by Joss' brother Jed and his wife Maurissa Tancharoen, while Joss' wife kinda ran both the production and the household as her house was invaded by a host of actors and film crew for two weeks. So it was a real "family affair." That said, the play's afoot...let us proceed. Suffice it to say that this is a film adaptation by Joss Whedon, so there has to be a *twist*, some way of seeing the Bard's words anew, as no one else has ever seen them before. Joss manages all of this with one scene, shown in silence before the credits. I can say no more (insert "Zip it!" sketch here <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=32C0eKRQVt8> ), except to say that this one scene *completely* transforms Shakespeare's play into something infinitely more understandable in our era, and renders the interplay between Beatrice (Amy Acker) and Benedick (Alexis Denisof) more believable in a more sexually liberated era. I am a *serious* fan of Amy Acker, and she doth not disappoint in this retelling of the Bard's tale. Nathan Fillion is charming in a short cameo as Dogberry, one of the most inept cops in playwriting history. The other cast (many of them faces, if not names, you'll know from Joss' other works) are equally up to their task of Having Fun. I really liked "Much Ado About Nothing," and recommend it highly to 1) Shakespeare fans -- you'll never see a more creative adaptation of the Bard's work, 2) Joss Whedon fans -- your love for the man will only be increased by your knowledge of what the place he lives in looks like, and 3) lovers of great comedy -- this play is considered one of Shakespeare's best comedies -- produced lovingly, well, and with abundant humor. Think about it. The entire movie was done by A Group Of Friends On Vacation, doing all of this for FUN. There is a certain magic in this.
