Much Ado About Nothing (really)

The blogging artist currently known as Lynne at My Schola (her symbol would be something that would denote "incredibly witty" and "homeschool" and "boat" and "island" and "fine young girls") recently sent me an e-mail which made reference to Much Ado About Nothing.

Oh yes, I'd forgotten to go to Shakespeare in Central Park, as we had previously intended in our scheduling.

So Friday after dropping A at the River Project, I made a mad dash to the Public Theater off Astor, because the line at the out-of-doors Delacorte Theater in Central Park for the same tickets tends to get too people-heavy. There was no line at the Public Theater downtown at 2:50 pm - 10 minutes before closing. I got two tickets (free) in row "O". The theater is small.

I then walked across the street to a Melitta "living room" with free coffee and tea which Melitta had set up in the middle of the busy Astor Place intersection. There were people lounging on the sofas and on the fashionable rug in the "living room." Lounging while the cars whizzed by literally inches away from them. I don't think I would be able to relax in a busy intersection in downtown Manhattan, so I just got some coffee and took off.

On picking up A, we decided to play ping-pong (free) at Pier 25 to kill some time. In fact, they have a lot of things going on for free. There is free fishing, too. You get a rod, reel, and bait. Free. And did I mention the free kayaking and sailing classes at Pier 26 (next door)? You can even kayak to the Statue of Liberty (if you are over 18), totally gratis. Kayak, oar, and life vest provided courtesy of the boathouse.

"Um, mom, did you hear that? It's thunder." We stopped our fun time at Pier 25 and left. The sky was blackening.

There would be no Shakespeare that evening. So, to compensate for our loss, we thought we'd pursue our fix for entertainment and get tickets to "Fahrenheit 9/11." Three movie theaters, in downtown and midtown, all sold out. One theater we visited decided to meet demand and show the film all night long. Crazy, crazy. We chose at that same theater near the Flatiron a 10:30 pm showing on Saturday.

My view on the film? Well, it's a Michael Moore pic. Most of the facts depicted are already in the public domain, plus Moore delivers a few more factual (and sometimes entertaining) events with his own camera (thankfully, because some of the Moore events made the "ah!" moment among the audience). The scariest moment, for me, was when we got to see nothing. Literally. The screen was black but the audience was silent, in horror. I turned to look at A, and he held my hand. [Note: this is not a film for young children - it is rated R for a reason]

Sometimes I hated Moore's comments in "Fahrenheit 9/11." They sound corny and manipulative. I do, however, think the clips spoke for themselves, and some of the critics who have viewed the film enter the theater with an unchecked prejudice which is most noticeable in their critical reviews. The critics who scream "liar" add to the hype.

Painful for the Maitresse to watch: Bush repeatedly says "nucular" instead of "nuclear." Bush implores other countries to go after the "terrorist killers" (Christopher Hitchins made note of this in his critical review but seemes to miss the point of the joke; it wasn't Bush's eagerness to return to the game of golf that was funny, but the faux pas that left his lips coupled with his golf...a "one-two" laugh).

Moore seems to want his viewers to connect the dots for themselves - or at least be less complacent.

So that's my observation. It is not a review. If anyone wants my personal point-by-point analysis, I'd be happy to provide it to him or her. [note: I have a legal education and I wrote about the Patriot Act weeks after it was enacted. My article is also in the public domain on an ACLU website].

We will otherwise attempt to get tickets to Much Ado About Nothing next week...