Review of Hamlet 2 (2008) by Christopher G — 01 Nov 2009
An oddball comedy about a melodramatic high school drama teacher (Steve Coogan) who writes a sequel to the famous Shakespeare play as a swan song for his soon-to-be-eliminated drama department. It's kind of absurd; the writers seem to want to make it as ridiculous as possible.
There are some pretty funny parts. There are only two students voluntarily in the play; the rest is made up of at-risk kids who are taking drama because it's the only elective left available. The film briefly touches on some Dangerous Minds-type stuff, but it doesn't last very long. The delinquent kids take up the play pretty quickly. Elisabeth Shue also stars as herself. I can only imagine how that casting decision went.
The centerpiece of the plot and of the movie itself is the actual play. They incorporate all sorts of crazy things into it--time travel, Jesus, politicians, lightsabers...the names of the two big song numbers are "Raped In The Face" and "Rock Me, Sexy Jesus". That pretty much says it all.
It's a funny movie and kind of a satire of the whole genre, but there isn't a whole lot of substance.
This review of Hamlet 2 (2008) was written by Christopher G on 01 Nov 2009.
Hamlet 2 has generally received mixed reviews.
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