Jon Peters Reviews: “Hamlet 2″

Obviously this summer will be know as the Summer of Superheroes, but comedy has been there, perhaps even more so, maybe not in box office receipts, but in numbers. ‘Hamlet 2′ might appear to be a silly, one-note spoof of films like ‘Dangerous Minds’ or ‘Mr. Holland’s Opus’, instead it’s a heart felt ode to creativity and perseverance.

Dana Marschz (Steve Coogan) is a terrible actor, who after being in a few commercials finds himself teaching drama in Tucson, a place not known for a thriving acting scene. He’s hapless in almost every aspect; he gets ripped on by his wife, his peers, he doesn’t have a lot of money and has to roller skate to work. In an early scene, after some lowbrow laughs, we see him stumble in the middle of the street in between two passing cars. They honk and curse him. All in a distance shot, there’s a lot of pathos for his character. He’s a sad sap. This is a really good scene, even in its brief running time. It’s subtle and genuine.

Actually there are a lot of scenes like that, which is good because they’re sprinkled softly between scenes of pure goofiness. The comedy works well mostly when it deals with in-jokes about theater and the play. There’s far too much goofiness, but that’s okay, because whenever we don’t laugh, we smile, but when we laugh, it’s a good one. The basic concept of sequelizing ‘Hamlet’ is ridiculous in theory, but as a device it excels. There comes a point where we really don’t care about what the play deals with anymore, we just want to see the team and Dana succeed.

The film plays up to the opening night. We see the drama students at odds with each other, Dana’s life slowly crumbling, people getting up in arms about the play’s content, so when we do see the play, it’s just as exciting as the people who are there are experiencing ir. Most of the film plays to a theme: who cannot stop great art. Or maybe it’s passion? ‘Hamlet 2′ provides enough themes to work as a play. Dana knows its possible shit, but sometimes things eek out. He had one shot at saving the drama department and possiblely did with the uproarious stage play, one that challenges free speech. As Dana says to the ACLU member, ‘We think it’ll be good.’ She responds, ‘It doesn’t matter.’

There’s stuff that doesn’t work here, like Dana’s wife and her decision midway through as there is no payoff to it. Elisabeth Shue cameos, but there’s no real reason other than a quick joke about acting and her career. Some of the goofiness is too silly. There’s a reoccurring gag in which one student gets hit in the head repeatedly, after the second time it’s no longer funny, but it continues a handful of other times.

‘Hamlet 2′ surprised me. Thinking that it was just going to be a spoof like I mentioned prior, instead is a comedy with heart, laughs, and good themes about free speech and going through bad times together. It’s a nice change of pace from the Apatow crowded field, one that’s probably funnier than anything he’s done this year. Plus, ‘Rock Me Sexy Jesus’ is just plain hilarious. It’ll be stuck in your head for days.