Much Ado About Nothing

According to this article, Joss Whedon used to invite friends to his house to read aloud sections of Shakespeare's works.  One day, he decided to make a movie of one of the plays--quickly, at his house, with his friends.  The product of that decision, 12 days of shooting, and who knows how much editing, was the film, Much Ado About Nothing.

I loved it. 

For the better part of two hours, Whedon and his cast of friends brought Shakespeare's comedy to black-and-white, present-day life, but wisely kept Shakespeare's words.  The film's composition is what makes it.  The black-and-white approach somehow feels just right.  The setting--Whedon's house--seems tailor-made for romantic comedy hijinks, and the cast all appeared to be having great times doing the movie.

Sadly, the weakest bits were the performances, because many of the line readings felt too fast and too simple, but most of the time in the movie that didn't matter, because it kept chugging entertainingly along. 

Though it's far from a flawless film, because of the performances, and though I doubt it'll get an Oscar nod, I recommend this one without reservation.  Check it out before it vanishes.