Hamlet 2 [Blu-ray] |  | Director: Andrew Fleming
Actors: Steve Coogan, Elisabeth Shue, Catherine Keener, Joseph Julian Soria, Skylar Astin
Studio: Universal Studios
Category: DVD
This item is no longer available
Rating:  27 reviews
Media: Blu-ray
Region: 1
Running Time: 92 Minutes
ASIN: B001ACZMVY
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Amazon.com
Just when it seems as if things can't get any worse for high-school drama teacher Dana Marschz (Steve Coogan), he quips, "My life is a parody of a tragedy." Yet that very ability to laugh in the face of defeat will allow this failed actor to triumph over adversity. A lovably ridiculous dreamer like Waiting for Guffman's Corky St. Clair, Marschz lives in Tucson with his sarcastic wife (Catherine Keener) and their silent boarder (David Arquette). Though he tries to inspire, like Richard Dreyfuss in Mr. Holland's Opus, only two students (Spring Awakening's Skylar Astin and Phoebe Strole) share his passion for theatrics. When the principal decides to eliminate his department, Marschz makes a bold move: he writes an original play, lets the class contribute their own unique talents, and puts the whole thing on as a fundraiser (they'll need to bring in $6,000). Sure, everyone dies at the end of Shakespeare's classic, but in Marschz's musical sequel, Hamlet 2, a time machine allows the Danish prince to turn back the clock to set things right. Just as his production starts to take shape and retired actress Elisabeth Shue (played by Shue) offers her support, his marriage hits the rocks, he starts drinking again, and the community protests against numbers like "Rock Me Sexy Jesus." (Amy Poehler portrays his ACLU attorney.) Though Andrew Fleming's comedy follows the usual inspirational instructor trajectory, ribald humor helps the medicine go down and Coogan gives his most unhinged performance since Tristram Shandy. --Kathleen C. Fennessy
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| Customer Reviews: Read 22 more reviews...
 Stupid in a bad way June 27, 2009
One-Line Film Reviews (Ann Arbor)
1 out of 2 found this review helpful
The Bottom Line:
Hamlet 2 is one of those movies that you watch expecting to laugh but end up waiting anxiously for the laughs that never come, faking a chuckle here and there but just getting more and more disappointed; by no means should you EVER spend money or time on this terrible piece of filmmaking that boasted a clever title and winning trailer (enough to get me into theatres) but delivers nothing at all in the way of laughs.
1.5/4
...Or Not To Be... June 1, 2009
fra7299 (California, United States)
1 out of 2 found this review helpful
Hamlet 2 is a moronic attempt at a parody, seemingly relying more on the shock-value of being profane or repetitively politically incorrect to garner some cheap laughs. However, most of the stuff is pretty stupid, unoriginal or unfunny. I found Coogan's character to be more idiotic than humorous, and many intentions to be funny don't hit their mark.
It's too bad, because the premise of the film was actually pretty good. When one high school teacher (Steve Coogan) has his drama program pulled from him, he takes measures to make sure the show will still go on. However, he has to not only try to get approval for his show, but turn some goof offs into actors who can perform his newly formed sequel of Hamlet. The film is a parody of some of the inspirational teacher films, such as Dangerous Minds or Dead Poet's Society. However, many of the bits to try to make fun of these films fall flat, and it is not really a very good rendition of satirizing Shakespeare either. So, in the end, this is a film that fails in everything it tries to be.
Another annoyance was the means by which this film tried to be funny. The film employs many politically incorrect and objectionable moments in the play's final production, and though they do this for some humor, most of falls flat or, just like a cheap production of Hamlet, is poorly delivered. The potential was there to make this a really good satire of Shakespeare's Hamlet, but the directors don't steer in that direction. Not that one expects much from a film like this, but most of the characters were also completely underdeveloped, and serve more as stage props than anything else.
Brainless comedies can be a good escape; however, this one wasn't.
 Hamlet2 May 11, 2009
Chelse R. Patterson (CA)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
Arrived in perfect condition and I didn't have to wait for weeks to get it. This movie is seriously hilarious and if you are a fan of musicals, there is something for you too.
 Funny. But certainly not as funny as they want you to think. May 7, 2009
Peter Shermeta (Rochester, MI)
2 out of 3 found this review helpful
Steve Coogan is Dana Marschz, a former actor who freely admits that the only thing that kept him from fame and fortune was his complete lack of talent. Yet his passion for theater burns on. He attempts to share his passion by teaching drama at a high school in Tucson, Arizona. When he learns that the school is cutting the theater department, Marschz decides that his first original opus is the only way to save his job. Hamlet 2 is born from this epiphany -- a story of hope, second chances, forgiveness, a time machine and a sexy Jesus.
There was a lot written about how funny this movie was when it was released. The whole movie, and Steve Coogan separately, were reportedly little-known comedic gems of the year. I thought there were some very funny moments, but the level of humor this movie is billed to contain is misleading. Marschz's life becomes a series of disappointments that lead up to a big, controversial finish. There are a few one-liners along the way that add will make you laugh, but this is not a movie that will make your sides hurt from continuous laughter.
Steve Coogan has a very "Monty Python" demeanor; he has the slapstick, physical-comedy, tragic-hero, Eric Idle approach. If ever anyone could recreate Eric Idle's cameo in National Lampoon's European Vacation, Coogan is the guy. To conceal the true controversial nature of Hamlet 2, very few details of the musical are divulged as the movie moves along. For me, this meant that the story was a little weak, but I can see how the impact of the big finish would have been lost had more been shared over time. But with so little material, Coogan was just ok. There are more laughs from situations in which he has no pants on then from much of his dialogue. I do not know much about him, but I feel that he was wasted in most of this movie. But he truly shined in his non-speaking moments, especially during the musical at the end. But then again, maybe that is where his talent lies...
Anyone remember Catherine Keener? Four years ago she was probably one of the most promising actresses (after earning an Oscar nomination for her role in Capote) and here she is as Mrs. Marschz in a bizarre comedy about a high school drama department. Now you understand my bias when I say that she was a fish out of water here.
As a story about troubled high school students who become inspired by an unlikely, but passionate teacher, Hamlet 2 is cliche and falls apart. Without the actual production of the Hamlet 2 musical within the movie of the same name there is really nothing worth seeing here. But give me a spinoff movie of Amy Poehler's foul-mouthed, ACLU-attorney character and I might even see it in the theater.
Save your time. For a better version of this movie, The Family Guy did an episode where Peter produces his vision for The King and I ("The King is Dead", Season 2, Episode 7). It's funnier and significantly shorter than Hamlet 2.
Spectacularly zany off-the-wall musical comedy . . . a perfect title May 3, 2009
Scott Schiefelbein (Portland, Oregon United States)
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
Andrew and Pam Fleming co-wrote this bizarre, irreverent, hilarious, and completely original comedy . . . I must confess that I fear for their neighbors, because this pair views the world from a completely different point of view than the rest of us. While that's a boon to the movie-going public, I'm not sure I would want to borrow a cup of sugar from - Lord knows what they'd ask for in return.
If "Napoleon Dynamite" is a spoof of all teenager coming-of-age comedies, then "Hamlet 2" is a spoof of the "Let's put on a show" genre. Set in the completely mediocre town of Tuscon, the movie revolves around one Dana Marschz, a drama teacher who seemingly would have to aspire to great heights to achieve mediocre. Played by Steve Coogan with a zany pell-mell brio that brings to mind a young Eric Idle, Mr. Marschz is a semi-successful actor who has fallen on hard times. Now he teaches drama to mainly disinterested high school students and puts on derivative plays based on successful Hollywood movies. His marriage to Brie (Catherine Keener) is falling apart before his ignorant eyes and he can only roller-blade to work. Where, I should add, he is being fired due to budget cuts.
His career trajectory, one might say, has flatlined.
But then he decides to stage his magnum opus, a sequel to Hamlet. How, you ask, if everyone dies in the first one? Simple - a time machine! Not content to insult the legacy of Shakespeare's most famous play, Dana manages to offend virtually every sensibility in town.
But from Dana's madness comes greatness. Perhaps only through his unwavering faith in Art and the fact that he lives in a parallel universe where Elizabeth Shue plays herself as a local nurse (Shue having grown tired of the phoniness of Hollywood), but Dana believes he has created an artistic masterpiece.
The cool thing is, he may be right. Or he may be spectacularly wrong.
If possible, try to avoid any spoilers - this completely original movie must be experienced without any warning as to what is to come. Several gut-busting comic gems await if you do.
A must see for anyone who has ever struggled with art, had frustrated dreams, or attended high school. (It helps if you're familiar with the films of Elizabeth Shue, too.)
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