Kernel Rating (out of 5): 
MPAA Rating: PG-13 Length: 107 minutes
Age Appropriate for: 14+. The film does retain Shakespeare’s original text, but that doesn’t mean it will be impossible for teenagers. The film’s performances and sense of humor capture the sentiment of the Shakespearean dialogue quite well. There is some implied sexual activity (with a major plot point involving whether a girl is a virgin on her wedding day), two characters waking up in bed together, lots of wine drinking, some pot smoking, and some characters brandishing guns.
Shakespeare’s original text reigns supreme in director Joss Whedon’s version of ‘Much Ado About Nothing,’ and when paired with the director’s minimalist approach, it’s a wonderfully enjoyable match. It’s wonderfully funny and light on its feet, an adaptation of the Bard that doesn’t get weighed down at all.
By Roxana Hadadi
“Much Ado About Nothing” is a comedy, and it’s by William Shakespeare, and so you know it’s going to end with a wedding. That’s just the Bard’s rule. But the twists and turns of the original play, and how director and screenwriter Joss Whedon presents them to a modern audience, still work quite well. Just relax into your chair. A Shakespeare adaptation hasn’t been this funny in years.
