Stream it now Hamlet 2 2008

 

its a ok!

not the funniest, but its still a good movie

(*** 1/2): Thumbs Up

This was a very funny movie with Coogan leading the way.

These kind of bad comedies are the worst. The writers think they'r making something good and creative (unlike, say, The Love Guru), and all that's produced is a unfunny concept movie. At least is really bad mainstream comedies we get occasional laughs from over-the-top jokes. This movie doesn't even have those! Steve Coogan tries hard, really REALLY hard, but this movie was so far gone that not even what could have been a funny character was completely lost in this dump of a movie.

An OK unorthodox film with a sturdy plot and tolerable characters. It disappoints on the laughter though...

Very much a hit or miss comedy that tries to parody inspirational teacher movies such as

Perdendo a No

I really wanted to see this film and when I was done, it was just ok. I really wanted more out of it though. I think that Steve Coogan did a great job, but his character was not mixing well with the movie. The story line was kind of off and just a bit boring at parts. This type of movie you would expect more really funny parts, but there were only a few giggles. Don't get me wrong, I still enjoy some of the film. Just not to the full extent that I wish I could of. So it was an ok film overall.

I have had the good fortune of being able to actually see several movies over the past week in the theater! It may sound like a thing of the past with the availability of bootleg films online, but I am one those people that occasionally still likes to go to the movie theater for the full on cinema experience. Not to mention the fact that not all the films I want to see are available on those bootleg websites anyway.

Hamlet 2 was one of the movies I had a chance to go see. I opted for the matinee because I am trying to remain financially conscientious these days (considering I am still un-employed). To my surprise the 5:30pm showing of the film drew a crowd of three people total and that included me. I had only recently seen a preview for the film, but something about it spoke to me. For those who have not heard of Hamlet 2 I will provide a brief synopsis:

"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." - IMDB

Overall I thought the movie was impressive and will no doubt speak to anyone that has ever been involved in low budget community or high school theater groups. There are also a lot of great one liners filled with crudeness that actually works to make the movie funnier. Although I wish we would have gotten to see more of Amy Poehler she did have this memorable line:

"I would love it if you hit me because I am married to a Jew and I got nothing to lose." - Cricket Feldstein

Catherine Keener who is another one of my favorites had some pretty good lines as well. That may have been due to the fact that her character drunk in almost every scene. In total the movie reminded me of a sadistically twisted version of the teen sensation High School Musical. It is amazing that now we have movies about kids putting on a play (ie: High School Musical) which have yielded parodies of movies about kids putting on a play (Hamlet 2).

In the same way that schools across the nation are doing there own productions of High School Musical I foresee the same thing happening to Hamlet 2. It will likely be picked up by independent non-school affiliated theater groups because of its adult content. But never the less it will no doubt be replicated.

Two other things that I have to mention are the cameo of Elizabeth Shue and the hit musical number “Rock Me Sexy Jesus.” Now I think I have pretty much covered all the basics of the film.

I would describe it as the lovechild that would come from the combination of High School Musical and The Rocky Horror Picture Show.

I was deeply disappointed in this film. Maybe I just listened to the previews too much and thought them to be true. The beginning was very slow, very boring and filled with horrible, almost slap-stick humor. It had its funny parts every thirty or forty-five minutes, however, David Arquette's character kept me going solely because this role is something way out of the norm for him. As the movie progressed, I was left praying that the actual play would hurry up and be more hilarious than the film. And it wasn't. Though the play itself ended up being strange and offensive, it left me with little laughs. The play just couldn't make up for the rest of the movie, but David Arquette persuades me to recommend this to other movie lovers.