Hamlet 2
2008 · Directed by Andrew Fleming
Original language: English
- comedy
- music
The story
Failed actor-turned-worse-high-school-drama-teacher Dana Marschz rallies his Tucson students as he conceives and stages a politically incorrect musical sequel to Shakespeare's Hamlet.
What it’s like
Bright, flat Arizona daylight and fluorescent school corridors give this comedy a sun-bleached, slightly sweaty look, with an overlit community-theatre stage and cramped rehearsal rooms that feel as shabby as they are earnest. The camera stays close and mobile, following Steve Coogan's sad, eager teacher through bland hallways and into the chaos of a student-run production, with the rhythm of a sitcom pushed toward cringe and sudden bursts of song. The score is bouncy show-tune pastiche, cheerful and deliberately tacky, a counterpoint to the mild despair underneath. Tone is irreverent, satirical and politically incorrect, sharp about school boards, earnest art and self-regard, but warm toward its misfit kids. Expect frequent crude jokes, some sexual innuendo and mockery of religion and minorities, but little real violence; the cringe is the main intensity. It suits a lazy weekend, a laugh-out-loud night in, or a friend who likes offbeat, mean-spirited comedy. It is for viewers who enjoy satire of the arts and a loser-redeemed arc, not for anyone wanting gentle, inoffensive fun.
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