Sumith Prasad
In Will Gluck’s romantic comedy film ‘Anyone But You,’ Bea and Margaret go to a cake shop in Sydney to pick up the wedding cake to celebrate the union of the former’s sister Halle and her partner Claudia. The duo talks about Ben while having macaroons from the shop. The appealing wedding cake, however, doesn’t reach the wedding intact as it falls due to an accident involving Claudia’s parents’ dog Klonopin. Dogberry is not a real cake shop in the Australian city but it has a significant connection to the source material of the rom-com and its characters!
Dogberry is a Shakespearean Character
The cake shop in ‘Anyone But You’ is named after Dogberry, a character in William Shakespeare’s play ‘Much Ado About Nothing,’ the inspiration behind the film. Dogberry, in the drama, is a comical “self-satisfied night constable” and the leader of a group of watchmen. He is in charge of the night watch of Messina, the setting of the comedy. He is a typical Shakespearean figure of comic incompetence. Still, he is significant to the conclusion of the play’s narrative and the arcs of the protagonists Benedick and Beatrice. Over the years, several famed performers have portrayed the character, including Michael Keaton and Nathan Fillion.
Dogberry is not the only ‘Much Ado About Nothing’ reference in the film. The protagonists’ names, Ben and Bea, are the shorter versions of the play’s main characters, Benedick and Beatrice. Claudia and Halle can be seen as the counterparts of Claudio and Hero in the drama. Don Pedro became Pete and Leonato changed to Leo. The Dogberry customer Margaret is also in Shakespeare’s play with the same name but her love interest’s name is changed from Borachio to Beau. Director Will Gluck and his screenwriting partner Ilana Wolpert used the cake shop and the characters’ names to connect the narrative to its source material.
There are several more references to ‘Much Ado About Nothing’ in the film, including numerous lines. Halle’s wedding vow, “I love you with so much of my heart that none is left to protest,” is directly taken from the drama, just like Pete’s words, “Some cupids kill with arrows and some with traps.” Furthermore, a quote that reads, “Assume thy part in some disguise,” is also taken from the play and shown when Ben, Bea, and others enter a yacht for the rehearsal dinner. ‘Men Were Deceivers Ever,’ the title of a book shown after Ben and Bea share intimacy, is a quote from the play as well.
As the cherry on top, the title of Shakespeare’s play itself shows up during the closing montage as a sign above the jumbotron near which Ben and Bea dance together.
Read More: Five Blind Dates: Is Popo’s Tea Time an Actual Tea Shop in Sydney?
