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{{work|wppage=Much Ado About Nothing}}
[[File:Beatrice and Benedick (Shakespeare, Much Ado About Nothing, Act 2, Scene 3) MET DP870119.jpg|thumb|400px|Beatrice and Benedick - Act 2, Scene 3. Image courtesy of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.]]
[[File:Much_Ado_Quarto.JPG|thumb|300px|The title page from the first quarto edition of ''Much Adoe About Nothing'', printed in 1600.]]
{{quote|'''Leonato:''' "You must not, sir, mistake my niece. There is a kind of merry war betwixt Signior Benedick and her; they never meet but there's a skirmish of wit between them."|''[[Much Ado About Nothing]]'' I.i}}▼
|''[[Much Ado About Nothing]]'' I.i}}
 
A forerunner to the [[Romantic Comedy]] genre by [[William Shakespeare]], '''''Much Ado About Nothing'''''{{'}}s plot centers on two couples: Hero and Claudio, whom the villain Don John spends the play trying to drive apart, and Beatrice and Benedick, whom most of the other characters spend the play trying to bring together.▼
▲{{quote|'''Leonato:''' "You must not, sir, mistake my niece. There is a kind of merry war betwixt Signior Benedick and her; they never meet but there's a skirmish of wit between them."|''[[Much Ado About Nothing]]'' I.i}}
 
The most well-known adaptation is probably [[Much Ado About Nothing (1993 film)|the 1993 film]] featuring [[Kenneth Branagh]] and [[Emma Thompson]] as Benedick and Beatrice. On 10/23/2011,In [http://muchadothemovie.com/2012 thisa site]version announceddirected thatby [[Joss Whedon]] haswas just finished principal photography on a new contemporary version of ''Much Ado''released, featuring Alexis Denisof and [[Amy Acker]] as Benedick and Beatrice, and [[Nathan Fillion]] as the bungling constable Dogberry. ThisThere newwas also a [[Much Ado About Nothing (1973 film)|Soviet-era Russian film version]] isand expecteda to[[Much beAdo releasedAbout inNothing 2012(opera)|1901 opera version]].▼
▲A forerunner to the [[Romantic Comedy]] genre by [[William Shakespeare]], ''Much Ado About Nothing'''s plot centers on two couples: Hero and Claudio, whom the villain Don John spends the play trying to drive apart, and Beatrice and Benedick, whom most of the other characters spend the play trying to bring together.
 
▲The most well-known adaptation is probably the 1993 film featuring [[Kenneth Branagh]] and [[Emma Thompson]] as Benedick and Beatrice. On 10/23/2011, [http://muchadothemovie.com/ this site] announced that [[Joss Whedon]] has just finished principal photography on a new contemporary version of ''Much Ado'', featuring Alexis Denisof and [[Amy Acker]] as Benedick and Beatrice, and [[Nathan Fillion]] as the bungling constable Dogberry. This new version is expected to be released in 2012.
 
Benedick is the source of the word "benedict," for a man who marries after a long bachelorhood.
 
{{Needs More Info}}
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{{tropelist}}
=== Tropes from the original play: ===
* [[Badass Boast]]: "'''''O THAT I WERE A MAN, I WOULD EAT HIS HEART IN THE MARKET PLACE.”'''''
* [[Bastard Bastard]]: Don John.
* [[Belligerent Sexual Tension]]: Benedick and Beatrice. Possibly the [[Ur Example]].
* [[Berserk Button]]: Dogberry reacts this way to being called an ass.
** Oddly, in the film it's an [[Insult Backfire]]
* [[Beta Couple]]: Beatrice and Benedick role-wise; Hero and Claudio in terms of stage time.
* [[Bluff the Eavesdropper]]: Used to make Beatrice and Benedick fall in love with each other.
* [[Bride and Switch]]: Inverted. Claudio has been led to believe that Hero has died of grief over his accusations of sluttery, and to atone he has promised to marry her cousin sight unseen. But {{spoiler|it turns out that it really ''is'' Hero.}}
* [[Captain Obvious]]: Benedick helpfully tells us that Claudio rejecting Hero and calling her a slut "looks not like a nuptial".
* [[Cool Big Sis]]: Beatrice to Hero.
Line 57 ⟶ 59:
* [[Slap Slap Kiss]]: Beatrice and Benedick. As with Belligerent Sexual Tension above, possibly the [[Ur Example]].
* [[Speak Now or Forever Hold Your Peace]]
* [[Spirited Young Lady]]: An early example: Beatrice is independent, intelligent and has quite the rapier wit. Better yet, everyone seems to admire her for it.
* [[They Do]]
* [[This Is Sparta]]: "YOU ARE AN ASS!"
* [[Tsundere]]: Beatrice
* [[Vitriolic Best Buds]]: Benedick and Beatrice. "There's a double meaning in that!"
Line 67 ⟶ 68:
* [[Zany Scheme]]: The plan to convince Beatrice and Benedick that they're in love certainly qualifies; arguably, having Don Pedro court Hero for Claudio does as well.
** And {{spoiler|faking Hero's death, just because... just because.}}
 
=== Tropes from the 1993 Adaptation: ===
[[File:much_ado_about_nothing_ver2_4741.jpg|frame]]
* [[Adaptation Distillation]]: Trimming longer scenes and a bit of reorder as well as removing obsolete words.
* [[Color-Coded for Your Convenience]]: All the good male characters wear uniforms with blue lapels and blue jeans, while the evil male characters have black lapels and [[Hell-Bent for Leather|black leather pants]].
* [[Green-Eyed Monster]]: Other than envy towards his half-brother Don Pedro and towards Claudio being in Don Pedro's favor, it seems that Don John may had or have an interest in Hero, Claudio's love interest, possibly adding to another reason for Don John's attempts breaking apart Claudio and Hero.
* [[Happy Dance]]: In celebration of Beatrice's supposed "love" for him, Benedick splashes around in the pond.
* [[Large Ham]]: [[Michael Keaton]] as Dogberry. Also, the film does feature [[Brian Blessed]] in a minor role.
** And don't forget [[Kenneth Branagh]]! Especially his hilarious monologue about the benefits of marriage, ending with this line:
{{quote|"THE WORLD MUST BE ''PEOPLED!!''}}
** Keanu Reeves practically gnashes his teeth as the "plain-dealing" villain. He even gets a cackling getaway once his plan comes to fruition.
* [[Monochrome Casting]]: [[Averted]] with the casting of Denzel Washington. Who is Keanu Reeves' half brother.
* [[Nobody Here But Us Birds]]: Benedick eavesdropping on Pedro and Claudio's chat. (It doesn't fool them for a second)
* [[The Oner]]: The tracking shot at the end of the film doesn't add anything to the plot, but it sure is festive. Lasting a good 2 and a half minutes, the camera zooms between all of the principal characters as they sing and dance, finally ending on an aerial shot of the entire villa.
* [[Race Lift]]: Denzel Washington is cast as the prince. The blatant anachronism is ignored by all and justified by nothing--other than perhaps the [[Rule of Cool]].
* [[Shower Scene]]: The opening credits, which doubles as [[Ho Yay]] and/or [[Les Yay]].
* [[Walk and Talk]]: Don John is perpetually on the move, forcing Borachio to hurry behind him while talking.
 
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[[Category:{{PAGENAME}}]]▼
[[Category:Theatrical Productions]]
[[Category:Works by William Shakespeare]]▼
[[Category:Romantic Comedy]]
[[Category:TheatricalPages Productionswith working Wikipedia tabs]]
▲[[Category:William Shakespeare]]
[[Category:Multiple Works Need Separate Pages]]
[[Category:Films of the 1990s]]
▲[[Category:{{PAGENAME}}]]
[[Category:Film]]
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