Hamlet 2 (2008)

In this irreverent comedy, a failed actor-turned-worse-high-school-drama-teacher rallies his Tucson, AZ students as he conceives and stages politically incorrect musical sequel to Shakespeare's Hamlet.

Director:

Andrew Fleming

Writers:

Pam Brady, Andrew Fleming

Stars:

Steve Coogan, Elisabeth Shue, Catherine Keener

3 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Steve Coogan	...	Dana Marschz
Catherine Keener	...	Brie Marschz
Joseph Julian Soria	...	Octavio
Skylar Astin	...	Rand Posin
Phoebe Strole	...	Epiphany Sellers
Melonie Diaz	...	Ivonne
Arnie Pantoja	...	Vitamin J
Michael Esparza	...	Chuy
Natalie Amenula	...	Yolanda
Marshall Bell	...	Principal Rocker
David Arquette	...	Gary
Elisabeth Shue	...	Elisabeth Shue
Amy Poehler	...	Cricket Feldstein
Shea Pepe	...	Noah Sapperstein
Marco Rodríguez	...	Mr. Marquez

Storyline

Dana Marschz is a failed actor and recovering alcoholic who's moved to Tucson to teach high school drama, where he's plagued by bad reviews, student indifference, budget woes (he and his wife, who is trying to get pregnant, take in a boarder), and his own teaching limitations. Because the other electives are closed, he finds himself with a large class of seeming gang-bangers, and the principal informs him that drama will be cut next trimester. On the advice of a student reviewer, Dana decides to stage his own play, a sequel to "Hamlet" in which the prince and Jesus, with the use of a time machine, try to save Gertrude and Ophelia. Can Dana for once pull something off?

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Plot Keywords:

cell phone | amateur theater | musical theater | theater | principal | 

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Taglines:

One high school drama teacher is about to make a huge number 2

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Genres:

Comedy | Music

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for language including sexual references, brief nudity and some drug content

Did You Know?

Trivia

After Principal Rocker kicks Dana off campus when they break in, we see a shot of the article written in the school newspaper. What Dana reads a few seconds later is not what is written. The article reads, (grammatically incorrectly), "What about about could possibly offend Principal Rocker to such a degree? Or is offense the offense at all? Selective ignorance is a dangerous commodity. As Roland Barthes tells us, textually and novelistic neutrality may coalesce. Rocker obviously suffers from a case of transposed aggression and questions of self worth. The symbolic nature of his actions show as Jung would point male aggression without release breeds anti intellectual action. Rocker could not possible comprehend the ramifications of transposed aggression and questions of self worth. ..."

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Goofs

In the newspaper clipping, "The Price of Free Speech", (38:20) the prose is complete gobbledegook.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Narrator: To act is to live.
[followed by a commercial for "Jack LaLanne's Power Juicer"]

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Connections

Referenced in Tropic Thunder (2008)

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Soundtracks

Raped in the Face
Written by Andrew Fleming, Pam Brady, and Steve Brown
Produced by Ralph Sall for Bulletproof Company, Inc.
Performed by Steve Coogan, Phoebe Strole, and Skylar Astin

User Reviews

Good "Off the Wall" Type of Comedy

I enjoyed Steve Coogan's performance earlier this Summer in "Tropic Thunder", where he played a supporting role as the hapless movie director, and many of his earlier works.

In "Hamlet 2", he plays the lead role, as a high school drama teacher in Tucson, AR, where he is trying to teach his under-achieving students acting, without much success. The movie begins with a school play rendition of "Erin Brockovich", which was unintentionally hilarious. The drama critic for the school newspaper panned the play, which drives Coogan nuts. The interaction between Coogan & the drama critic is one of the high points of the film. The critic looks like he's about 11 years old, but Coogan hangs on his every word. After providing some sage advice to Coogan, the critic excuses himself to "go clean the gerbil cage". Then the school principal informs Coogan that funding for his drama program has been ended, and he'll need to find a new job. Coogan comes up with the idea to save the program by putting on a brilliant new play, written by himself, called "Hamlet 2".

There were many scenes that were excellent and hilarious. Elizabeth Shue had a major role (playing herself), which was very funny.

If you've seen Steve Coogan comedies before, such as "24 Hour Party People" or "Tristam Shandy", you are familiar with his brand of humor. If you liked that sort of movie, you'll like this. Even if you didn't care for either of those films, you might want to take a chance anyway. It's a clever comedy & well worth checking out.

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English Spanish

Release Date:

27 August 2008 (USA)

Also Known As:

Hamlet 2

Filming Locations:

West Mesa High School - 6701 Fortuna Road NW, Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$9,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$439,925, 24 August 2008

Gross USA:

$4,886,216

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$4,925,288

Company Credits

Production Co:

Bona Fide Productions, ContentFilm International, L+E Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

92 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital DTS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1