Directed by: Andrew Fleming
Starring: Steve Coogan, Catherine Keener, David Arquette, Marshall Bell, Skylar Astin, Amy Poehler, Joseph Julian Soria, Elisabeth Shue
Yes, the title is Hamlet 2, and I must explain for the sake of clarity that it is not a sequel to Shakespeare's tragedy. How could it be? As one character points out, everyone in Hamlet dies, but that doesn't stop a Tucson high school drama teacher from writing a sequel himself which will be the final staged play for a drama department about to be slashed from the school budget. The play itself is a rambling mess and the movie follows suit. The film is irreverent without being amusing, which is a shame because it wastes an intriguing lead performance by Steve Coogan.
Coogan is Dana Marschz, the recovering alcoholic whose drama class has been relegated to being held in the school cafeteria and then the gymnasium (while gym classes are being held simultaneously). Why the goofy last name? Who knows? He was once a wannabe actor who turned into a neverwas, but that doesn't stop him from reciting his paltry film and TV credits to his disinterested class. Dana is the epitome of the expression, "Those who do, do. Those who don't, teach." When Dana learns the drama department is being eliminated due to budgetary cutbacks, he writes Hamlet 2 in desperate hopes of uniting his class and putting on one last production.
It is true the major characters in Hamlet die in the end, but Hamlet 2 brings them back with help of a time machine. We also see a "sexy Jesus" and a hodgepodge of other characters which are strangers to the Hamlet universe. Word of a bi-curious character and sexy Jesus gets out and the community is in an uproar. If they think they are in an uproar now, wait until they see the production, which is incoherent and looks expensively staged for a department which is supposed to not have any money. Oh, and there is also a gay man's chorus which I'm sure didn't come cheap either.
Since the play is the focus, the movie pulls out all the stops to show it even if it isn't presented realistically. Dana himself plays Jesus, but isn't it unusual for a drama teacher to star in the play which was supposed to feature the students? Dana's problems aren't just professional. He and his wife can't conceive and soon she leaves him for the boarder living in their home. His boss, the angry principal (Bell), despises him and wants to shut down the production, causing Dana and the students to stage the play in an abandoned airplane hangar. How much did it cost to renovate the hangar and install what look to be theater seats?
Coogan gives a superhuman effort to present us with a goofball teacher looking for redemption and looking to help his kids believe in themselves. Coogan is fearless, willing to try anything for a laugh, but that leaves his character without boundaries. We don't gain a sense of who he is because, like a chameleon, he is willing to be whatever the script wants him to be at any particular moment. The movie itself feels the same way. It doesn't have a consistent tone. It is cerebral one minute and silly slapstick the next.
Elisabeth Shue also shows up as herself. In Hamlet 2, she is now a nurse after leaving Hollywood behind. If appearing in movies like Hamlet 2 reflects her film role prospects, she might want to consider possibly becoming a nurse for real.
No comments:
Post a Comment