Review of Hamlet 2 (2008) by Chads. — 24 Aug 2008

"Hamlet 2" rocks "sexy Jesus" gently, when it should be rocking him "like a hurricane". The ABC song that plays over the closing credits sums it all up, as to why "Hamlet 2" doesn't rock hard, or often enough, for a generation raised on the offensive, but purposeful antics of Comedy Central's "South Park"(or Kevin Smith's "Dogma").

Trey Parker and Matt Stone would "Shoot That Poison Arrow" through the heart of evangelical Christiandom, unafraid and without mercy. "Hamlet 2", on the other hand, has "The Look of Love".

It's a politically correct film about political incorrectness; an indie with the verve of a studio film(like Brian Dannelly's "Saved"). Case and point: high school drama teacher Dana Marschz(Steve Coogan) visits the home of a Hispanic pupil he presumes to be a troubled kid.

His expectations are mistaken, however, when it turns out that Octavio(Joseph Julian Soria) is a scholastic star, raised by intellectual parents in a middle-upper class environment. This scene plays out like an ironical rebuke against pedagogical Hollywood, who asserts that all young Latin males are destitute and in need of a white savior to keep them off the streets.

Since Octavio's background is clearly meant to surprise us, this scene has the unintended effect of being more racist than Epiphany's admission that she feels "anxious" around "ethnics".

"Hamlet 2" is perfectly set up to disembowel a coded Christian film like John N. Smith's "Dangerous Minds"(starring Michelle Pfeiffer as a Christ-like figure), but too often pulls punches, and abides by an abridged lexicon of love.