Much Ado About Mallrats
In the play “Much Ado About Nothing”, there are two couples; Claudio and Hero, who
plan to be married, but whose plans are destroyed by a villain. Also, there is Benedick and
Beatrice, who claim to dislike each other, but in truth, they love each other. In the film
“Mallrats”, there are also two couples; T.S. and Brandi, who plan to be married, but whose plans
are destroyed by a villain. Also, there is Brodie and Rene, who claim to dislike each other but in
truth, love each other. The parallels between the two stories is easy to see. In both stories, all
the couples come together in the end to live happily ever after. These are the classic elements
used to create the romantic comedy. They were the same in Shakespeare’s “Much Ado About
Nothing”, as they are for Kevin Smith’s “Mallrats”.
Claudio asks Hero to marry him, and both are very happy, as well as everyone else
around them. That is, except for Don John who wants only to break the couple apart and cause
trouble for the friends of his brother, Don Pedro. He made numerous attempts at this, by lying to
Claudio about both Don Pedro and Hero. While Don Pedro is wooing Hero for Claudio, Don
John “informs” Claudio, “Signior, you are very near to my brother in his love. He is enamored
on Hero.” (Shakespeare, 125-126). Claudio believes him, and decides to let Don Pedro have
Hero. When Don Pedro informs him that he was wooing Hero for him, they make plans to
marry. Later, Don John tells another lie to Claudio; “I came hither to tell you, and,
circumstances shortened, for she has been too long a-talking of, the lady is disloyal.”
(Shakespeare 75-76). Claudio once again believes Don John and claims he will not marry Hero,
for he believes her to be disloyal to him. In “Mallrats”, a very similar plot line is followed. The
only difference is the execution of the villainy. The father of Brandi, who strongly dislikes T.S.,
makes Brandi believe that T.S. is uncaring and selfish, and does not really love her. These of
course, are lies, but Brandi believes them, for she trusts her father, and can see how the lies
could fit.
With Brodie and Rene, we know there was a past between them. They were once
together in a serious relationship, but then split apart, resulting in this loathing between them.
It’s never very clear why the two break up. It is said that it was a collective of behaviors and
situations caused by Brodie. Brodie takes this as an insult, and instead of trying to get her back,
he pretends to strongly dislike her, to cover up the fact that he is still in love with her. The same
could be said about Benedick and Beatrice. Beatrice lets out a hint that she and Benedick were
once together when she states, “Indeed, my lord, he lent it me awhile, and I gave him use for it, a
double heart for his single one.” (Shakespeare, 216). It would seem that they had been quite
close, and then broke up, for some unknown reason, though it seems that Beatrice blames it on
Benedick, but it cannot be certain. This could be the reason for the bitterness between the two.
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The bitterness itself is also quite clear. Whenever either couple was together after their
separation, they would attack each other with “a skirmish of wit between them.” (Shakespeare,
47). It is possible that in both cases they were trying to hide their love for their respective mate,
and, when over compensated, became this false hatred. Or, it is fully possible that in both cases
that they truly did hate each other, and simply fell in love all over again at the end of their
stories. If this second case were true though, then the insults given to them would not have hurt
them as they did; “She speaks poniards, and every word stabs.” (Shakespeare, 192). So, it is
fairly safe to say that the love between them is always there. It is just carefully hidden.
Another, less obvious connection between the two stories is the recycling of characters.
Both Shakespeare and Smith are known to do this often. In “Much Ado About Nothing”, we
once again find the secondary character of Balthasar. He also appeared in Shakespeare’s
“Comedy of Errors”, “Romeo and Juliet”, and several others. In “Mallrats”, we find the
secondary characters of Jay and Silent Bob. They also appear in Smith’s “Clerks”, “Chasing
Amy”, and others. This recycling of characters, in Smith’s case, is a way of connecting several
unrelated stories. Perhaps the same can be said of Shakespeare.
By the end of each tale, everyone realizes their mistakes. Claudio finds out that Don
John was lying to him about Hero, just as Brandi realizes that her father was lying to her about
T.S. Benedick and Beatrice realize that they are truly in love with each other, despite what they
may have said in the past. The same could be said for Brodie and Rene, for they get back
together. All four couples get married, and it is assumed that they lived happily ever after. Also,
in the end, the villains get their punishment; Don John is caught and arrested while trying to flee,
and Brandi’s father has his television show canceled, and gets a severe stomach problem on
account of a clever plan from Brodie (the clever plan being the "stink palm" all over some chocolate
covered pretzels... if you don't know what "stink palm" is - don't ask). To summarize, both end on an up-note; “Think not on
him till tomorrow. I’ll devise thee brave punishments for him. Strike up, pipers!”
(Shakespeare, 120).
Many consider the greatest works of Shakespeare, as well as many other authors, to be their
dramatic tragedies. They instill emotions into the readers that they may not have felt otherwise.
This is something that separates the tragedy which has powerful events that few would know,
from the romantic comedy, which also has powerful events, that more can connect to. This
event, a common theme to romantic comedies since even before Shakespearian times to today, is
lost love, later found, and grown upon. The simple problems that people have between
themselves. It worked in “Much Ado About Nothing” in 1598, it worked in “Mallrats” in 1995,
and it will continue to work in stories, movies, and life well into the future.
