Much Ado About Nothing

While watching the two film versions of Much Ado About Nothing, I was particularly interested in the differences in the character of Don Jon. In Joss Whedon’s adaptation, he is portrayed as the villainous character who occupies the play. In this adaptation, the viewer isn’t being directed to feel any sympathy for the man who, out of sheer spite/boredom, decides to rip Hero and Claudio’s worlds apart. Not to mention that Sean Maher kind of looks the villain role.

In the Shakespeare Retold version of the film, Don Jon’s role is much different. Don begs our sympathy at first. His wife has left him, he recently got demoted and he simply cannot seem to win the girl of his dreams. This role, however, quickly changes. The stalker vibes grow on the viewer as they learn about his character. Hero’s asking him to stop sending flowers really starts the ball rolling. This role is solidified as weird as soon as he shows up to the costume party dressed as an absolutely creepy looking, crying clown (have I mentioned that I hate clowns? I didn’t realize how much until I watched this movie).

After I got over the initial strangeness of his appearance, I wondered why, of all things, he was dressed as a clown. Clowns are meant to be a form of entertainment. We are supposed to laugh at them. Other members of the party seem to be dressed according to their roles. Claude and Benedick are knights and Hero is Marilyn Monroe (someone who went through similar struggles as the trapped Hero shown at the end of the movie). Don’s place as someone to be pitied, someone who isn’t taken seriously by anyone in the workplace mirrors the place of a clown as entertainment. Not to mention, the creepy killer clowns that inhabit many scary movies are reminiscent of the villain Don grows into over the course of the movie.