Post by BIGFANBOY on Aug 28, 2008 2:43:52 GMT -5
HAMLET 2
Review by Gary Dean Murray
Steve Coogan is making a splash on US shores. The English actor was recently seen in Tropic Thunder as the film director over his head with his cast and crew. He’s back a scant few weeks later with another wild comedy in the world of acting and actors. This time he’s over his head in high school drama, and the film is Hamlet 2.
Coogan stars as Dana, a Tucson, Arizona high school drama teacher who puts on plays based on hit movies. He finds that his “life is a parody of a tragedy”. At one time he was an actor, appearing in commercials for juicers and herpes medicines... not the best gigs in the world. Now, he is one of those who cannot do, so he teaches. His world is so downtrodden that he has to roller skate to his job. This semester, his usually small class is filled with a large group of Hispanic youths. It seems that all the other electives have been cut from the budget and they have no other classes to go to. But Dana still has his two stalwart performers, the ones who have been getting all the plum roles in all the past productions. This is the enthusiastic teacher that rallies the uninterested kid’s cliché played to the nth degree.
When he finds that drama is next on the cutting block, our teacher confides in the school drama critic, who hates his previous works. This young man gives our teacher the idea of coming up with something original and not just another hack job of a movie. After much soul searching, Dana comes up with ‘the idea’ for a musical - Hamlet 2. As his wife (Catherine Keener) points out, all the major characters die at the end of Hamlet. But he has a device, a time machine driven by Jesus, as in Jesus Christ... Son of God. This is the bad parody of Jesus Christ Superstar high school 'lets put on a show’ cliché played to the nth degree.
As the play is refined, different unexpected aspects pop up in our cinematic world. One of the kids shows a strong dramatic side while the two thespians have to confront race. While this is going on, the school finds out about the work's contents and demands that it not be performed. This drags in a change of venue and an ACLU attorney (perfectly played by Amy Poehler). Also, we discover that Elizabeth Shue has given up the bright lights and has become a nurse. This brings up a wonderful scene where she talks about acting and actors to the class. Headlong, this train rolls to the finished product of Hamlet 2, with songs such as the big hit number “Rock Me Sexy Jesus”. And of course, we have the housemate Gary (David Arquette) to deal with. This brings up the comic triangle cliché played to the nth degree.
Steve Coogan takes this role and swats it out of the park, giving one of the most winning performances of the summer comedy season. You just cringe as he fumbles in his clueless ether of cranial vacuum. He only knows art and he only thinks that he knows that. There is this perfect bumbling he captures that is part Chaplin and part Peter Sellers. And you have to respect an actor who is not afraid to look totally stupid in a movie.
Elizabeth Shue has the hardest role; she has to play herself. But she comes across as a sweet soul, purged from all that is shallow and superficial about Hollywood, just the stuff that our teacher wants. But one can almost see the twinkle in her eye as she tries not to laugh at the buffoonery of Steve Coogan. Sadly both Catherine Keener and David Arquette are wasted in roles that involve a basically minor sub-plot. It could have been more about the play and less about those two for my money.
Director Andrew Fleming doesn’t try to do many fancy camera angles with this script penned by Pam Brady and him. There is a simple beauty of letting the actors just go full bore into their roles, capturing the comedy moments. Some of the jokes are just so wrong, but you still laugh as a guilty pleasure. Besides you have to love a musical that has the number “I feel like I’ve been Raped in the Face.”
This film was the hit of Sundance, which makes sense. Sundance is full of thespians, and all the characters in Hamlet 2 are on display during every curtain call. For anyone who has dealt with frustrated actors and high school drama, both on and off stage, this film hits home the way Waiting hits with food service workers. Those who have been in the trenches know the trenches.
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