MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING

MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING Kenneth Branagh, Emma Thompson (1993, Columbia TriStar, PG-13, priced for rental) The high comedy of Beatrice (Thompson) and Benedick (Branagh), who are fooled into romance, takes place under sunny Tuscan skies on a gorgeous estate. Director Branagh’s approach to Shakespeare is that of a showman: Scrappy energy abounds. The acting ranges from pitiful (Keanu Reeves) to eccentric (Michael Keaton) to standard (Ken ‘n’ Emma). But the Shakespeare-in-the-Park sensibility gains in rambunctiousness and ravishing visual presentation what it loses in true refinement. B- -Lawrence O’Toole