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Much Ado About Nothing

Play trailer Poster for Much Ado About Nothing PG-13 Released Jun 21, 2013 1h 49m Romance Comedy Play Trailer Watchlist
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86% Tomatometer 176 Reviews 77% Popcornmeter 25,000+ Ratings
After a successful campaign against his rebellious brother, Don John (Sean Maher), Don Pedro (Reed Diamond) visits the governor of Messina. With him are Benedick (Alexis Denisof) and Claudio (Fran Kranz). While there, Claudio falls for the governor's daughter, Hero (Jillian Morgese), while Benedick engages in a war of words with Beatrice (Amy Acker), the governor's niece. While Don Pedro tries to trick Benedick and Beatrice into falling in love, Don John tries to tear Claudio and Hero apart.
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Much Ado About Nothing

Much Ado About Nothing

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Critics Consensus

Lighthearted to a fault, Much Ado About Nothing's giddy energy and intimate charm make for an entertaining romantic comedy -- and a Shakespearean adaptation that's hard to resist.

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Critics Reviews

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Sophie Mayer Sight & Sound DP Jay Hunter's camera floats like a butterfly through doorways and windows, stinging as it catches characters in moments of eavesdropping-inspired stunned epiphany. Apr 4, 2018 Full Review Larushka Ivan-Zadeh metro.co.uk Fizzing with giddy energy, this is the freshest, finest Shakespeare movie version of the 21st century. Rated: 4/5 Sep 5, 2017 Full Review Jason Bailey Flavorwire Loose, enjoyable, and sparkling, it's a movie that lives for the sound of clinking wine glasses and snappy patter. Jun 21, 2016 Full Review Keith Garlington Keith & the Movies Its playful and energetic melodrama is a blast. Rated: 4.5/5 Aug 24, 2022 Full Review Brian Eggert Deep Focus Review To keep Shakespeare timely is the task sought after by every new adaptation, and Much Ado About Nothing belongs on a short list of films to celebrate the relevance of Shakespeare in cinema. Rated: 4/4 Aug 22, 2022 Full Review David Walsh World Socialist Web Site Four hundred years later, the playwright's powerful, beautiful, utterly sincere thoughts and emotions continue to affect us. Feb 12, 2021 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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Hannah S not a single person in this film knows what meter is or who shakespeare is. awful. Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars 09/28/23 Full Review TOMI D Really good movie with a different take on friendship and loss. Rated 4 out of 5 stars 02/01/23 Full Review mark m Fine, modernistic version of a Shakespearean Classic. Especially interesting was the making of Don John's henchman Conrade female, and played by the Excellent and Seductive Riki Lindhome, giving the character new aspect, where the female Conrade is a Don John's lover, and introducing "villain sex" which is nice and twisted, of dominance and submission, and much different than the other couples! It also subtle subverts the sexual power dynamics of Shakespeare's plays. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 03/31/23 Full Review Audience Member This was the worst movie I had ever seen for years. Until an extremely low budget movie called Powerbomb starring an independent pro wrestler came out and I watched that. It finally beat this out after decades, but this still remains by far #2 closely behind. It's atrociously boring and the way the people talk made me want to plug my ears. TERRIBLE movie. Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars 01/25/23 Full Review Audience Member Funny, intelligent and sensitive view on accepting goodbyes. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 02/11/23 Full Review Audience Member To be honest I found the world building of this version of Much Ado to be lacking. Wheaton establishes a very modern world in which Beatrice has a sexual encounter/relationship with Benedict that they did not hide and her family seems to know about. Yet Beatrice is still very much a part of a loving family. Wheaton does nothing to establish this is a world where purity in woman is manically prized over all else, women's sexuality may be actually satanic and dueling is a viable way to solve problems. Without these cultural assumptions baked into the world of Much Ado, no ones reactions to Hero's supposed infidelity make any sense at all. Not that a father wouldn't be upset at a daughter being unfaithful one night before her wedding but "I disown you! Go die!" is really out of proportion with everything he established about the world. To say nothing of the fact that Beatrice comes off as a total psycho when she demands Benedict kill Claudio to restore Hero's honor. After just having confessed her love for the man (one of the movies stronger moments, in my estimation) she goes absolutely dead-eyed and cold as ice and says "kill your best friend and comrade in arms," and doesn't even seem to care about the damage this could do to the man she just a second ago claimed to love. Beatrice's demands only make sense in a world with far more old fashioned standards and mores. Also this shouldn't be such an easy ask for Beatrice to make. Her heart should rip in two at this choice between Benedict's well-being and her cousin's life and honor. Something to keep in mind when staging a Much Ado. They work better when you keep in mind that Beatrice is a sane woman in an insane world. Rated 1.5 out of 5 stars 02/09/23 Full Review Read all reviews
Much Ado About Nothing

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Cast & Crew

Much Ado About Nothing

Much Ado About Nothing: Official Clip - Man is a Giddy Thing Much Ado About Nothing: Official Clip - Man is a Giddy Thing 3:00 Much Ado About Nothing: Official Clip - I Will Live a Bachelor Much Ado About Nothing: Official Clip - I Will Live a Bachelor 2:24 Much Ado About Nothing: Official Clip - Not To Be Married Much Ado About Nothing: Official Clip - Not To Be Married 2:59 Much Ado About Nothing: Official Clip - Tricking Benedick Much Ado About Nothing: Official Clip - Tricking Benedick 2:55 Much Ado About Nothing: Official Clip - Horribly In Love With Her Much Ado About Nothing: Official Clip - Horribly In Love With Her 2:58 Much Ado About Nothing: Official Clip - A Battle of Wits Much Ado About Nothing: Official Clip - A Battle of Wits 1:11 Much Ado About Nothing: Official Clip - You Are an Ass! Much Ado About Nothing: Official Clip - You Are an Ass! 2:59 Much Ado About Nothing: Official Clip - Sigh No More Much Ado About Nothing: Official Clip - Sigh No More 2:22 Much Ado About Nothing: Official Clip - The Night Watch Much Ado About Nothing: Official Clip - The Night Watch 2:44 Much Ado About Nothing: Official Clip - Is Not that Strange? Much Ado About Nothing: Official Clip - Is Not that Strange? 2:59 View more videos
Playing for Keeps 6% 41% Playing for Keeps Watchlist Just Go With It 19% 59% Just Go With It Watchlist TRAILER for Just Go With It Peeples 39% 49% Peeples Watchlist Think Like a Man 54% 79% Think Like a Man Watchlist The Other Woman 27% 57% The Other Woman Watchlist TRAILER for The Other Woman Discover more movies and TV shows. View More

Movie Info

Synopsis After a successful campaign against his rebellious brother, Don John (Sean Maher), Don Pedro (Reed Diamond) visits the governor of Messina. With him are Benedick (Alexis Denisof) and Claudio (Fran Kranz). While there, Claudio falls for the governor's daughter, Hero (Jillian Morgese), while Benedick engages in a war of words with Beatrice (Amy Acker), the governor's niece. While Don Pedro tries to trick Benedick and Beatrice into falling in love, Don John tries to tear Claudio and Hero apart.
Director
Joss Whedon
Producer
Joss Whedon
Screenwriter
Joss Whedon
Distributor
Lionsgate Films, Roadside Attractions
Production Co
Bellwether Pictures
Rating
PG-13 (Some Sexuality|Brief Drug Use)
Genre
Romance, Comedy
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
Jun 21, 2013, Wide
Release Date (Streaming)
Jun 2, 2015
Box Office (Gross USA)
$4.3M
Runtime
1h 49m
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