Sunday, August 24, 2008
A+E, Movies, Reviews
‘Hamlet 2’ almost better than the first one
Not since "Tropic Thunder" has there been as funny a movie as “Hamlet 2.”
Cathy Kanavy/Focus Features
Steve Coogan (left) and Skylar Astin in “Hamlet 2.”
“HAMLET 2”
Steve Coogan, Catherine Keener
Directed by Andrew Fleming
Rated R
AMC Phipps PlazaNot since "Tropic Thunder" has there been as funny a movie as “Hamlet 2.” (Admittedly that was just last week, but “Thunder” set the bar high.) “Hamlet 2” was made for a fraction of that film’s sunscreen budget, but it’s a close rival for laughs per minute.
Both comedies share Steve Coogan, who plays Dana Marschz, a failed actor teaching drama at a Tucson high school. Budget cuts bring good news—Dana’s class is suddenly full because all the other electives have been canceled—and bad news—drama will be canceled next trimester.
As lovers of old movies know, one good show can save any institution. So Dana writes an original musical, “Hamlet 2,” in which Hamlet uses a time machine to prevent the deaths at the end of the first play. The machine brings in such disparate characters as Jesus Christ, who kicks Satan’s butt and moonwalks on water, and Dick Cheney.
When the principal refuses to let the show go on, it moves off-campus. Protests attract publicity and the ACLU, in the form of Cricket Feldstein (Amy Poehler). Among the movie’s delightfully off-the-wall aspects is Elisabeth Shue, who plays herself working as a nurse at a fertility clinic and keeps showing up in wonderful ways.
Redeeming himself for the dreadful “Nancy Drew,” director Andrew Fleming (“The Craft”) co-wrote “Hamlet 2” with Pam Brady (“South Park”). You can get picky about continuity issues, the overall cheap look and such, but what do you want—good production values or bad taste? 3 STARS—Steve Warren