Hamlet 2 (USA. 2008)

Hamlet 2 is a film with a stereotypical concept. Facing cancellation due to financial constraints, a distressed and emotionally frail drama teacher Dana Marschz (Steve Coogan) must roust his somnolent students to theatrical glory and save the program while doing so. Adding conflict is the fact that the play he means to prepare is his own, very graphic sequel to Shakespeare’s “Hamlet”. An epic tale of redemption and time-travel, it comes to grips with the real social issues of people (and Einstein!) being “raped in the face” and gives a thoughtful look at religion with the inclusion of the dude-licious “Sexy Jesus”. Needless to say the staging of this play causes considerable controversy in the conservative town of Tuscon, Arizona. However, before reaching the thoroughly entertaining finale, the audience must face the first 4 “acts” (as the film’s title cards number them) which are bleakly paced and rather sparse when it comes to big laughs. The plot advances at a crawl, only receiving momentum by Coogan’s great performance. I could easily watch an entire film of Coogan acting drunk, miserable and awkward, with Patton Oswalt making funny noises in the background.

The entire comedic effect of the film depends on the audience pitying Coogan’s drama douche to the point of ridicule and thus laughter. However, Dana as played by this British actor is simply too sympathetic and *lovable*(?) to laugh at in more than a sideways, “poor guy…” kind of way. He’s such a maligned, misguided, barren fool that he almost turns out to be the antagonist of the film. In fact, at one point in the script, the entire running of his play seems to be in the hands of his students, he himself having been reduced to a state of drunken stupor by a bottle of peach Schnapps.

However mushed up the plot may become, the film is ultimately saved by the fantastic finale: the staging of the titular play. Kaleidoscopic, zany, and politically-incorrect it may be, it remains the funniest part of the entire endeavor. By packing most of the laughs in a relatively short span of time, “Hamlet 2” has the audience leaving relatively satisfied, and with a sizeable bank of quotable one-liners.