Much Ado About Nothing DVD

Average Rating:

Don't take me wrong. I understand that Michael Keaton, Keanu Reeves, Robert Sean Leonard and Denzel Washington help broaden Shakespeare's appeal; at the same time, however, I wish Branagh would find popular actors who could also handle such classic material. Of the actors listed above, only Washington passes the test. Denzel is a talented actor and his status as African-American, Hollywood heartthrob makes for a perfect Don Pedro, the grand overseer of all the revelry and romance. Keaton tries his best, but his caricature of the oafish Dogberry seems like a leftover of Beetlejuice. Keanu Reeves, well, what can I say? Thank God that Don John has very few lines. Leonard, who was obviously cast based on his Midsummer Night's Dream performance in Dead Poets Society, cannot keep pace. Leonard seems out of place in this movie and his performance feels eerily similar to the one in Dead Poets Society--an amateur high school actor stumbling his way through sophisticated adult material. . .

Nevertheless, Much Ado is still an excellent movie and I recommend it--at the very least--for Branagh and Thompson. The Tuscany locale is appropriately lusty and lush (lots of those wonderful mauve tones). The opening sequence with the men riding back from battle and the women bathing before meeting them is a whole lot of sensual fun. And when Branagh and Thompson bicker back and forth on the screen, trading insults, the mediocre performances by some of the other cast members will simply fade into the background.