Shakespeare Saturday: Much Ado Nothing Review

They had to know they were being inceptioned. They had to.

If you didn’t already know, I love Joss Whedon. This man can do no wrong in my book, and then he makes my favorite Shakespeare play into an amazing movie with almost everyone of my favorite actors associated with him. 

There are many things to say about this film, so I’m going to start with why Whedon choosing Much Ado means more to me than it does to other people. 

I went to a theatre high school, meaning the choir kids were the jocks because we didn’t have sports. So, yes, I am a theatre kid. I was constantly perplexed in college when other people didn’t have a favorite musical or have lines of plays memorized. My senior year of high school, in my Play Production class, we did a shortened version of Much Ado About Nothing and I played Hero. 

Beatrice and Hero. She's judging me.

I went to see Whedon’s Much Ado with my two best friends from high school (one was in the play with me), my boyfriend, and a friend from college. After the movie ended, my best friend who was in the play with me, reminded me of how long I was laying on the ground. She remarked on how Hero wakes up and is a part of the scene. I had the same thought during the movie! I thought for the longest time during the soiled woman wedding scene that Hero wasn’t going to faint. I swear that when I was in the play, I said two lines and then I was on the floor until the curtains came down. So, good job on that one Whedon. I had the hardest time not laughing every time we did that scene. Clearly, I was an amazing actress. 

Other things to mention:

FRAN KRANZ HAS SUCH A SEXY BOD. I didn’t know. I already loved him, but now I want him to have a three some with me and my boyfriend. I think my boyfriend will be down. I’m also glad he is not Claudio, because truthfully I would never get together with that d-bag.

Nathan Fillion and Tom Lenk need their own buddy cop movie. They were adorable and I loved them. Those parts aren’t memorable from my high school version; these men gave them their own life and made the movie in a lot of ways. 

I could not unhear Ashley Johnson as Ellie (see my review of The Last of Us if you have no idea what I’m talking about). 

It was heart wrenching to see Amy Acker and Alexis Denisof be together romantically in a film. FINALLY. They have great chemistry as a couple on screen and they needed a happy ending. (Watch Angel if you have no idea what I’m talking about). 

Lastly, Joss and the actors did something with Shakespeare that has never been done for me before. Without having to read line by line in English classes (boo Hamlet and extra boo to Romeo and Juliet), I understood completely what was occurring in the plot. Even acting as Hero, I did not fully grasp the meaning of every line my fellow actors were saying. But in this movie, I laughed at all the right moments during the right moment. I didn’t have to think about it and then laugh later. Everything made sense. 

Due to its impeccable directing and acting Much Ado About Nothing deserves a 5 out of 5. Also, I want Whedon’s house. I want to be his best friend and live in his home. I would be his maid just to be in his home and listen to him and his friends read Shakespeare plays. Stop me, I’m fangirling.

Writing Wednesday: Poetry as Therapy

My grandmother passed away recently. She was the only one of my grandparents I ever knew. So though her death was expected because she was 87 and had dementia, it still hit me pretty hard. Harder than I expected.

I woke up in the morning with a voicemail from my mom saying, "Call me..." in a clearly upset voice. And I knew. I called and spoke with my dad, who only had time to confirm my suspicions and hang up. I sat in bed in shock, and then realizing how upset I was pulled out my journal and wrote a poem.

For some reason, I just couldn't get the idea out of my head that she died while my boyfriend and I were making waffles in the middle of the night. We danced to Stevie Nicks' "Edge of Seventeen" and were just laughing. All why she passed away. So that's what the poem was about. But the poem ended up turning into a eulogy the more I edited it. And due to distraction, I didn't save each version. So then, when my boyfriend critiqued me on the poem/eulogy, I freaked out. I was so upset that it was bad.

At her funeral, I didn't read it like I originally planned. I couldn't it, the thing had turned to shit. But later, I realized why it fell away into pieces when I edited it.

I'm a fiction and non fiction writer who enjoys writing poetry occasionally. But my poetry is always about personal, meaningful things to me. My poetry writing is therapeutic, its not the same was my fiction or even my non fiction. I almost can't edit it because I write it in a moment of deep emotion and thought. So maybe one day, I'll want to publish a book of my poetry but right now I'm saving my poetry for me. Because I'm only writing it for me. 

The Day I Unintentionally Became Peggy Olson

You've all dreamt of it, but it happened to me: 

I lived a day that was like an episode of Mad Men. 

But it was less fun because I played early episodes Peggy, not how she is now. 

Well this story begins with how I originally missed a job interview because I was vomiting all night due to a stomach virus. I rescheduled because thankfully, a trip to the ER is a good enough excuse.

So Tuesday (now a week ago), I woke up and got my current job's duties out of the way. I got dressed in the outfit that I had not one, but THREE people approve of. My best friend Nikki, though, told me I really needed a blazer in order to look the most professional.

I drove 45 minutes to meet up with the recruiter. His name is, wait for it, Draper. David Draper. Yeah, when I first met him I had the hardest time not making a Mad Men reference. But I kept it in, because I bet he hates the amount people mention it to him.

I arrived in the city early and stopped to pee in a Panda Express. Then I regretted it, what if I smelt like soy sauce!?

Well, Draper's secretary had me fill out an application. But there was also a blond, sitting and filling out an application. It discouraged me, but I carried on. But, then yet another woman came in and asking for Mr. Draper. Then, a few minutes later yet another girl came in and began filling out her application. Then one by one, the girls and I were called into the same room to fill out a personality test. No joke. Apparently this is normal. Then Draper came, and we had to take a math and vocabulary test. It reminded me of the high school exit exam. "If Sally had 348 marbles, but Bobby takes 129, how many does Sally have left?" Why are we even thinking about this for a consultant position? Did I not realize this was the CIA?

After the test, we were once again taken one by one to the front lobby. Then one by one for the actual interview, and of course, I was last. The interview went well from what I could tell, and he invited me back to meet the head of training. But then he Joan'd me:

"Now, I'm going to give you advice I give every college graduate. So don't take this the wrong way...but...you need to dress better."

Basically, my best friend was right. I need a damn blazer. Overall, I was there for over 2 hours and my random mix CD played SNL's Natalie Portman Rap when I got back in the car. So I'll take that as a good sign.