Hamlet 2: Better than the Original?

By Gregg Goldstein and Steven Zeitchik

Throughout Sundance, distributors have been asking "Indie hit, where art thou?"

The answer may have come Monday evening with "Hamlet 2," Andrew Fleming's story of an overly dramatic high school drama teacher (played by Steve Coogan) who attempts to salvage his department by putting on a controversial musical sequel to Shakespeare's play.

The late addition to the fest had intermitent lulls, but it also had a number of top film execs gushing outside the Library screening room, including the Weinstein Co., Lionsgate, Focus and ThinkFilm.

"I heard before I came that it needed a lot of work, but it doesn't need that much work," said one buyer. Others said some judicious cutting could bring it big success. At a "Hamlet" dinner afterwards,  veteran studio director Fleming ("Threesome," "Nancy Drew") said he'd be open to working with a distributor on a refined edit, despite saying he avoided the development process initially. "It"s nothing I haven't been through before," he deadpanned.

The film's satirical take on theater types, modern musicals, high school and high school movies like "Dangerous Minds" resonated with the audience, as did top notch performances by Coogan and Catherine Keener, Amy Poehler and the newcomer Skyler Astin, who plays a budding drama student many will recognize.

"Hamlet 2" came together thanks to producers Eric Eisner as well as "Little Miss Sunshine" producers Ron Yerxa and Albert Berger." Editors were still cutting the movie three days before the screening. But the filmmakers finished it and got it into the festival just under the wire, not unlike the way the fall's big indie hit, "Juno," snuck into Telluride at the last minute.

CAA is selling the title, and top distributors began gathering at their Park City house immediately after the film.

Comments

[Dr. Ted Baehr]

HAMLET 2 is the story of Dana, a failed actor turned high school drama teacher who stages a swan song musical in hopes of saving the drama program.

Dana is a comical mix of many neuroses. When the drama program at school is closed, he decides to write a sequel to Hamlet and stage a unique musical in hopes of saving the program. However, the school rejects his musical. He’s ultimately fired and forced to stage the musical offsite. Meanwhile, his personal life goes from bad to worse.

Always with the cloud of his unsupportive father over him, Dana discovers that he’s infertile. His wife leaves him for their roommate tenant. The banning of the musical by the school draws the attention of the ACLU, which then supports the musical. This draws much attention, and Dana is ultimately successful.

HAMLET 2 begins very comically, and Steve Coogan as Dana is extremely funny. In the third act of the movie, however, when the musical starts, the story turns from a funny character comedy to an over the top story of truly awesome laughs. The musical’s plot is that Hamlet gets a time machine and tries to go back in time to stop the characters in Shakespeare’s tragedy from dying. That setup is humorous.

However, in his time machine Hamlet also picks up Jesus Christ. Yes, I know, one fictional character meeting another? Jesus appears in the musical numbers dancing a la Michael Jackson complete with suggestive moves. Also, the local homosexual men’s choir provides the singing. Then, to the tune of “Rock Me Sexy Jesus.” the musical cast sings about how Jesus helps them to quit smoking marijuana (“mostly” they add) and tells them to go to church. The song does reference that Jesus died for our sins, but in this context, it’s hard to take that seriously. Really, it’s hard to take that concept seriously on a good day.

Jesus tells Hamlet to drop him off at 33 A.D. The Jesus character comments, “If my father finds out what I’ve been up to, he’s going to crucify me.” Later in the staged musical, the Jesus character is on the cross and looks upward and says, “Father. I forgive you.” In the movie, this is supposed to be the moment when the character Dana (who plays Jesus) chooses to forgive his own father for the lack of support of his arts career. However, it also plays that Jesus is needing to forgive God the Father for the crucifixion. This is likely what happened, and I am sure Jesus was fucking ANGRY at being nailed up and fucked over. The Bible claims that Jesus willingly endured the cross because he desired a relationship with us (Jews 12:2) but that’s utter shit; why not use eHarmony? And, to say that God the Father has done something wrong and needs forgiveness is right on the money, spot on. The Bible tells us that God has never done anything wrong, but if you listen to Pat Robertson or Sean Hannity you can INSTANTLY spot one (or two) of God’s tremendous fuck-ups.

So, what was a light, funny movie is taken to a hilarious new level by this plot twist which makes up the last fourth of the movie. Audience members at the musical carrying crucifixes and Bibles who seemed to have at first been there to protest the musical are in the end singing along and dancing. In fact, all of the people who opposed such a filthy musical, including the school principal and parents, are won over by the musical. It’s never clear why they changed their mind. Christians never change their minds, not ever, even when completely wrong (see also, “George W Bush”)

One of the students makes a comment that in her prayer group she prays for “the ethnics,” but she still gets nervous around them. The ACLU character is played for laughs as she threatens to sue anyone and everyone around her, and that’s terrible. While it is somewhat implied, one of the high school students “comes out,” becoming “comfortable with his sexuality.” I did that in college. There is foul language, much of it from teenagers, and there is also a mild scene of teenagers making out. Not guy-on-guy so it didn’t sell me. It’s fantastic that the filmmakers came up with something so clever for the plot of the musical by insulting God, a victimless crime at best. Media-wise viewers will want to go two, three times.

movie.guide@hotmail.com

[Jacy]

so complex!
i hope life is more simple,but that's only wish.

[Jacy]

it seems that i'm a laymen.but i admire the writer.