Rating 3.5 Pulses
Cast: Steve Coogan, Catherine Keener, Amy Poehler, David Arquette
Written by Andrew Fleming and Pam Brady
Rated R
Thankfully, reviewing is an opinions business, because you might not agree with what I’m about to say?Hamlet 2 is fricken awesome.
But it’s going to take a special kind of person to agree with me.
Coogan’s portrayal of washed-up would-be actor turned theater teacher Dana Marschz is so flamboyant and honest it actually hurts to watch him fall from grace. And his play, also called Hamlet 2, is so irreverent and obviously inspired by that time his students slipped him acid it won’t be a favorite with conservative crowds.
But all I could think was that finally a comedy doesn’t play softball, it just unapologetically makes fun of everyone, even the actors in the film (see Elizabeth Shue’s portrayal of herself).
My only problems with the film are the occasional feeling I got that scenes were missing (possibly removed because they were too graphic? I could swear Coogan’s underwear is CGI in one scene), that the actual play within the film was less coarse than I expected (although I guess “Rock Me Sexy Jesus” is offensive to some ) and that the ending felt like a last-ditch effort to put a cap on the story, although that could just be because I wanted more.
The stars, however, aren’t who you’d expect them to be. The always brilliant and funny Keener’s role as Dana’s wife was far too small, almost all of Poehler’s scenes are shown in the previews, and Arquette barely speaks, but pulls off a spiky haired, wanna be muscle man well. The real stars are Dana’s students, played by a batch of up-and-comers like the delicious Joseph Julian Soria (who plays Octavio the student, who plays Hamlet in the play, confusing, eh?) and Phoebe Strole (as straight-laced theater buff Ephiphany).
My other favorite part has to be the soundtrack, which features a smattering of film originals (“Rock Me Sexy Jesus,” “You’re as Gay as the Day is Long”) and a reworking of several classics, like Elton John’s “Someone Saved My Life Tonight” and Michael Sembello’s “Maniac” performed by a gay men’s choir in the film, but attributed to The Ralph Sall Experience on the sound track. Sall is the executive music producer on the project. This is definitely worth purchasing, since it’ll have you laughing in short order.
So no, Hamlet 2 is not a sequel to Shakespeare’s classic, but it is hysterical, quirky and almost believable.
