Movie Review for Hamlet 2 (2008)

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Review #675 of 365
Movie Review of Hamlet 2 (2008) [R] 92 minutes
WIP™ Scale: $12.50
Where Viewed: United Artists Denver Pavilions Stadium 15, Denver, CO
When Seen: 22 August 2008 @ 5:10 pm
DVD Release Date: 23 December 2008 (click date to purchase or pre-order)
Throughout the Credits: scenes of Hamlet 2 opening on Broadway

Soundtrack: Download now from The Ralph Sall Experience - Hamlet 2 (Music from the Motion Picture) - or - order the CD below

Directed by: Andrew Fleming (Nancy Drew)
Written by: Pam Brady (Hot Rod) • Andrew Fleming (Nancy Drew)

Featured Cast (Where You Might Remember Him/Her From):
Steve Coogan (Tropic Thunder) • Catherine Keener (Into the Wild) • Joseph Julian Soria (Saturday Night Special ) • Skylar Astin (debut) • Phoebe Strole (Descent) • Melonie Diaz (A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints) • Arnie Pantoja (Sydney White) • Michael Esparza ( I Know Who Killed Me) • Natalie Amenula (The Virgin of Juarez) • Marshall Bell (The Astronaut Farmer) • David Arquette ("In Case of Emergency") • Elisabeth Shue (Gracie)

review lite • website • trailer • premiere photos • spoiler • 2cOrNot2c?
In the scheme of things, normally, it's a bit easier to rate a comedy on its success of being comedic or a drama being dramatic. Holy moly, though, properly reviewing Hamlet 2 proves nearly impossible. Is it an outrageous farce with a deep and ironic message or is it trying to be a dramatic portrait of the human condition of an artist that's funny due to its irony? Maybe it's both, maybe it's neither. Possibly only co-writers Pam Brady and Andrew Fleming know for sure.

The story is broken up in to acts, like the play. In the first, via voice over and scene director Andrew Fleming introduces the main character, former television commercial actor Dana Marschz (Steve Coogan), who's the most hapless film character since Napoleon Dynamite. Despite trying for month, Dana cannot seem to connect the dots in getting his spouse, Brie (Catherine Keener) pregnant. With money tight due to their subsistence on his high school drama teacher's salary, they take in a boarder, Gary (David Arquette) who doesn't say much. With no money for a new car, Dana roller skates to school. On the first day of the new term, he finds his class has fallen victim to school board cuts of other art electives, causing a sudden flooding of his class wit students. This is a huge disappoint to Rand (Skylar Astin) and Epiphany (Phoebe Strole) who've been the leads in every single one of Marschz's film to stage adaptations the most recent of which was Erin Brockovich—poorly reviewed by the 12-year old, high school, stage critic. These two things, the scathing review and the newly packed class eventually inspires Dana to worker harder at getting Brie pregnant and to write his own original musical. The result of his efforts is a rock musical called "Hamlet 2" and is, go figure, a sequel to Shakespeare's play. Not to worry, Brie asked him too, "Doesn't everyone die at the end of Hamlet?" To which he replies with the enthusiasm of cage separated, hormonally induced, gravid frogs, "I have a device." Of course, "Hamlet 2" turns out to be an impossibly challenging musical endeavor with the main song having been called "Rock Me Sexy Jesus"—it would take too long to explain that part--among other controversial consequences.

…Hamlet 2 truly artistically great or just art for art's sake for Pete's sake?
Through the process of attempting to ready his class to perform it, Rand has issues with the way Laertes has been written, but mostly the way that a new comer has been cast in the expanding role of Octavio (Joseph Julian Soria), Epiphany learns alternatives to the expression "you people" and Brie turns up pregnant at last—the latter only after a visit to the fertility clinic now staffed by the fed-up-with-Hollywood nurse Elizabeth Shue (Elizabeth Shue). The climax of the film coincides with the climax of the class performance of "Hamlet 2"0--a raucous musical number--and, probably, the one instructively brilliant part of the film.

Final analysis posits and obvious paradoxical question: is Hamlet 2's "Hamlet 2" truly artistically great or is it just art for art's sake for Pete's sake? Does the "play" within the film represent genuine catharsis for the characters / actors / writers or is the rest of the movie around the "play" simply a "device" to connect disparate ironic characters and drive them to the climax? The only way to ever know might be to spend a few months in group therapy with the writers, director, cast, and crew. One thing not so perplexing is that the delightful inhabiting of Dana Marschz by Steve Coogan has finally given this incredible and zany British actor a role that fully taps his many talents. Literally, this film is pretty much all him. Skylar Astin and Joseph Julian Soria stood out as well in their own ways. Catherine Keener's seen better roles and films, as has Elizabeth Shue whose appearance in the film is supposed to serve as some cosmic element but really doesn't do too well at that.

Hamlet 2 surely is quite funny, and it's tragic and sad as well in spots. It's best when "Hamlet 2" finally gets to the stage; yet, unfortunately, we get to see far too little of it due to all the controversy in the town of Tucson regarding its performance and the subsequent defense by the ACLU.

Hamlet 2 mostly will deserve what it gets.
As far as masterpiece independent films go, most are not going to give Hamlet 2 it's due, rather they're as likely to pour on it's just deserts, and it mostly will deserve what it gets.

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Cast Members
Steve Coogan • Catherine Keener • Joseph Julian Soria
Skylar Astin • Phoebe Strole • Melonie Diaz
Arnie Pantoja • Michael Esparza • Natalie Amenula
Marshall Bell • Elisabeth Shue
Director
Andrew Fleming
Writers
Pam Brady • Andrew Flming
Review-lite Hamlet 2 (2008) [max of 150 words]
Holy moly! Properly reviewing Hamlet 2 proves nearly impossible. Is it an outrageous farce with a deep and ironic message or is it trying to be a dramatic portrait of the human condition of an artist that's funny due to its irony? Maybe it's both, maybe it's neither. Possibly only co-writers Pam Brady and Andrew Fleming know for sure. One thing not so perplexing is that the delightful inhabiting of bad actor turned bad drama teacher, Dana Marschz, by Steve Coogan has finally given this incredible and zany British actor a role that fully taps his many talents. Hamlet 2 surely is quite funny, and it's tragic and sad as well in spots. It's best when the play within the screenplay finally gets to the stage; yet, unfortunately, we get to see far too little of that.
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