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Hamlet 2: A Reluctant Review
Apr. 30th, 2009 01:10 pmIf you like South Park, you may like parts of Hamlet 2. Dreadful, absolutely dreadful. I barely made it to the end. A no-talent drama teacher in a low-budget high school in Tuscon works for gas money. All of a sudden, the school cancels all other electives and the class has an influx of new students who don't care about drama. He can't deal.
Really, it's a pretty bad movie. But it has nuggets of fun stuff. Mostly, the actual play itself. Somewhat to my surprise, the little snippets of Hamlet 2, and the audience reaction, almost rescue the movie. Almost. You have to wallow through an hour of profanity, stupid plotlines and predictable set-ups before you get to the main event.
I've never heard of most of the actors, and could live without ever hearing of them again. The "device" to have a sequel to a movie where everyone dies at the end is... a time machine. Plus Jesus, telling Hamlet he has to forgive his father. The light saber duel between Hamlet and Laertes is pretty good. I don't feel remotely guilty about these mild spoilers. If you liked the two songs from the play, "Raped In The Face" (really) and "Rock Me Sexy Jesus" (which works), you can sing along with one of the extras.
Elizabeth Shue is terrific. She plays Elizabeth Shue, who has given up acting to be a nurse.
Without the play, I would give Hamlet 2 one star. With the play (and the fun extras), it has worked it's way up to two stars (out of Netflix' 5). If you're into self-destructive humor, don't like Tuscon or like to talk over bad movies, this is for you. Everyone else should either run for the hills or only catch the last half hour.
Really, it's a pretty bad movie. But it has nuggets of fun stuff. Mostly, the actual play itself. Somewhat to my surprise, the little snippets of Hamlet 2, and the audience reaction, almost rescue the movie. Almost. You have to wallow through an hour of profanity, stupid plotlines and predictable set-ups before you get to the main event.
I've never heard of most of the actors, and could live without ever hearing of them again. The "device" to have a sequel to a movie where everyone dies at the end is... a time machine. Plus Jesus, telling Hamlet he has to forgive his father. The light saber duel between Hamlet and Laertes is pretty good. I don't feel remotely guilty about these mild spoilers. If you liked the two songs from the play, "Raped In The Face" (really) and "Rock Me Sexy Jesus" (which works), you can sing along with one of the extras.
Elizabeth Shue is terrific. She plays Elizabeth Shue, who has given up acting to be a nurse.
Without the play, I would give Hamlet 2 one star. With the play (and the fun extras), it has worked it's way up to two stars (out of Netflix' 5). If you're into self-destructive humor, don't like Tuscon or like to talk over bad movies, this is for you. Everyone else should either run for the hills or only catch the last half hour.
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