Movie Review

Hamlet 2 (R)

Pete Hammond

Trailer| Photos| Movie Info

Hollywood.com Says
No doubt Shakespeare will be rolling over in his grave, but the over-the-top antics of Hamlet 2 still manage to get some laughs.

Story
A big hit at the 2008 Sundance Film Festival, Hamlet 2 often careens out of control, but when it connects, the theatre fills with laughter. This is a story of a very frustrated high school drama teacher, Dana Marschz (Steve Coogan), who decides to stage his own play--a musical sequel to Hamlet, featuring original songs he has composed (titles like “Rock Me Sexy Jesus” and “Gay As the Day Is Long”). Yes, he’s aware everyone died at the end of Shakespeare’s immortal classic, but the failed actor-turned-teacher has found a way to bring them back to life by using a time machine(!) In any event, he’s desperate to save the Tucson school’s arts program, which is being cut, and he thinks this is the answer. Certainly it’s better, he figures, than his usual productions, which have the students re-enacting live stage versions of popular movies such as Erin Brockovich that are regularly panned by the ninth-grade drama critic. Of course, the non-PC nature of the show causes lots of outrage from school officials and community leaders, but, with the help of ACLU attorney Cricket Feldstein (Amy Poehler), Dana remains steadfast in his determination to go on with the show.

Acting
Coogan is brilliantly loony and wildly funny in a hit-for-the-fences interpretation of the character. He’s definitely taking chances turning off the audience with his off-the-wall approach to playing this desperate loser, who has to resort to teaching bored kids. It’s Coogan’s energy and fresh approach that make the movie work better than it has any right to. Poehler, who also scored recently in Baby Mama, is hilarious as the take-no-prisoners lawyer, who comes to Dana’s defense. Catherine Keener is droll perfection as his bored wife, who is having an affair with their boarder Gary, underplayed nicely by David Arquette. In the good sport category, Elisabeth Shue turns up as…Elisabeth Shue, now a local nurse after her movie career supposedly hit the skids. She’s actually very funny spoofing herself, and the whole aura of the successful Hollywood star. The students are all first rate including Dana’s star pupils, Rand Posin and Epiphany Sellers, played amusingly by Broadway’s Spring Awakening cast members Skylar Astin and Phoebe Strole, respectively. And special mention to The Ralph Sall Experience for their hilarious musical parodies.

Direction
Director Andrew Fleming lets the gags fly with abandon and gets much of the broad bits to actually work. He and screenwriter Pam Brady forge a close collaboration that results in a pretty good hit-to-miss ratio on the laugh meter; anyone expecting subtlety has wandered into the wrong theatre. Working with a wonderful group of actors with plenty of improvisational experience certainly has helped here, and Fleming’s film has the look and feel of a by-the-seat-of-your-pants experience. The actual staging of Hamlet 2 is rather inspired with the multitude of wacky musical numbers cleverly presented. The Southwestern high school that Coogan’s character is stuck in is spot-on, although Tucson residents probably won’t appreciate the numerous jokes made at the expense of their town.