Heeb

by Sabrina Jaszi 

It’s common enough for Hollywood films to totter precariously on the dubious virtues of a single big star, stellar special effects or a behind-the-scenes genius, often with mediocre results. But though Steve Coogan carries most of the weight this summer’s indie comedy Hamlet 2, he does it without a misstep, creating an end product that is totally entertaining.

In the self-consciously blasphemous parody, Coogan plays Dana Marschz, whose missed stab at acting has led him to a pro-bono career staging live recreations of Hollywood blockbusters for underwhelmed gymnasium audiences at a local high school. Faced with the impending cancellation of the drama program and a lingering regret over the fate of Shakespeare’s tragic hero, Marschz decides to write his own material. The ungodly result, in which Hamlet travels back in time to save his nearest and dearest, is Hamlet with such musical gems as “Raped in the Face” and “Rock Me Sexy Jesus.” The ten-minute montage of the show’s final performance is by far the most entertaining of the film, though Coogan’s farcical antics throughout are cringe-worthy and magnetic.

The film’s subplots, however, are uninteresting. Coogan’s mishaps in love and final redemption in the embrace of actress-turned-sperm-bank-nurse Elizabeth Shue (in Hamlet 2 the perennial supporting actress plays a warped version of herself) and the school’s efforts to close down Marschz’s drama program don’t match their leading character’s energy. And even the film’s central joke—a satirization of student/teacher movies like Dangerous Minds or spin-offs like Freedom Writers—doesn’t offer any new insight into the genre. Hamlet 2 also lampoons “let’s put on a show” flicks, but begins to look more like theater’s answer to Not Another Teen Movie than a Christopher Guest mokumentary.

Coogan’s wife is played by Catherine Keener, and David Arquette plays the couple’s roommate—weird characters to be sure, but really just apparatuses for Coogan’s comedic flips and releases. In the end, Dana Marschz saves Hamlet, but Steve Coogan can’t save Hamlet 2. He can, however, make it worth watching.