Dan's Papers - September 5, 2008

Hamlet 2 is an important film. No, it's not completely genius and it's not completely see through. It's got lulls and moments where the plotlines are wrapped without just cause. But it's an important film to see - that is, if you agree with the moral of this story, that risky thinking can make your life a livable place.

However, if you are easily upset by unconventional takes on religion, closed-minded people who say racist things and a stream of vulgarities so hard and fast that new epithets are actually being generated before your eyes, this film is definitely not for you. But keep in mind, before you say yea or nay to this flick - every nasty moment turns out to be mere potholes on the way to a better place for the film's characters, who dare to take a chance.

It starts with the star Steve Coogan (who gives such a bursting, unbridled performance that this movie could be re-titled Coogan Unleashed) playing failed actor/director/everything else Dana Marschz - pronounced "Mar-ss-ss-zz" - an innocent soul who has culled an absolute love for acting from his need for therapy. Without any marked success on his resumé, he's been reduced to a drama teacher in a Tuscon, Arizona high school. With his class of two devoted students, Rand and Epiphany (Skylar Astin and Phoebe Strole), Marschz struggles to hold on to his love of acting by directing his duo in terrible play after play - which are all adapted from popular Hollywood films - only to receive vicious criticism from the 14-year-old theatre critic for the high school newspaper. Meanwhile, his wife, Brie (Catherine Keener), is a bubbling, loathing, barely-passive/aggressive time bomb who wants to have a baby in the worst way. But Dana keeps it all in check...until the school forces a group of underprivileged Latino students to take his course.

You're right, if you smell parody -- except that the teacher himself also recognizes this as a To Sir With Love and Dangerous Minds-type situation. He comes at the new kids with fervor to pique their interest in the craft of acting, but finds it a lost cause until he's advised to try something more original than a stage version of Sandra Bullock's The Lake House. Completing an idea he had blown off earlier in his life, he tells the class that they will be appearing in Hamlet 2.

For those not familiar with Hamlet, er, 1, it's a very well known fact that everyone dies at the end of Shakespeare's tale. But, armed with a wish that Hamlet just wasn't so darn depressing, he gives his students a play that involves a time machine, Jesus Christ, the Devil and many others - all dressed in sex and foul-mouthedness. And before long, Marschz and his players turn the whole city on its ear. However, the plan also affects the life of the teacher, the students, the community and actress Elisabeth Shue (can't give it away, sorry) in good ways and bad.

What may not be obvious so far is that this movie is very silly - slapstick and immature at times - but it's presented with a deft touch, so prepare to laugh for almost the entire movie. Coogan, who usually takes on minor, yet hilarious, roles (like in Tropic Thunder or Night at the Musuem), here gets a chance to flex his funny in almost every frame. Coogan really comes through on this. His Dana Marschz is sweet and honest, yet he's barely treading the water with his addictions and convictions. The whole time, he mugs and postures, while delivering every line with poise, even when he slips and curses out whomever's nearby. As for the rest of the cast, Keener is awesome as a woman who loves but painfully hates her husband, cursing him with words of love sandwiched in. And as for Shue, she does a really funky job of playing herself as a Hollywood insider who wants to get out. Look for a brief, but over-the-top, turn by Amy Poehler ("Saturday Night Live," Baby Mama) as well as a great job by the young cast who basically plays it straight next to the bizarre adults who populate this movie.

Unfortunately, there are slightly long moments with laughs, and one student, in particular, has a problem that the script glosses over so quickly that it's weird to see his burning issue suddenly abate. But, where this movie shines is in its need to shock in addition to its ability to inspire - once it shows that it really does have a mission statement. The movie is certainly odd by mainstream movie standards, but unlike the tiny plays that play in Lower Manhattan to the choir already converted, this one is playing in multiplexes across the country. It seems like this film has a very rare opportunity to interject some counter-culture and out-of-the-box thinking into the minds of the masses, with rapid-fire humor and a thoughtful conclusion. Like the beginning of the page says, it's an important film - just be ready for some really whacked-out stuff.

Ian Stark is a frequent TV and radio commentator on the film industry, and consults with private organizations on their collections. He is widely published on film and other arts/culture topics.