#MichaelEsparza

[doomonfilm]

Thoughts : Hamlet 2 (2008)

Sometimes, just sometimes, an enthusiastic recommendation can be the difference between experiencing and missing out on a true gem.  As someone who is known to get overly-excited when talking about movies, having a movie be recommended to me as if all life depended on it (in conjunction with a Netflix DVD account long after it was fashionable to have one) was my key to seeing Hamlet 2.  I can safely say with confidence that my life is better for it.

Hamlet 2 is the story of Dana Marschz (Steve Coogan), a washed up actor turned high-school drama teacher living in Tuscon, Arizona.  His wife (Catherine Keener) despises him, his ‘plays’ (stage reenactments of popular films) are constantly criticized by school critic Noah Sapperstein (Shea Pepe), and his drive to stay sober after 3 years is constantly challenged.  School budget cuts turn his drama class from his normal 2 students to nearly 30 unexpectedly, and then the drama department is given a death sentence.  Feeling completely lost and at the end of his rope, Dana Marschz decides it is time to write and produce his magnum opus : Hamlet 2, a sequel to the Shakespere original.  Dana attempts to climb this mountain, and hilarity ensues.

This film is an absolute delight.  It wears its influences proudly on its sleeve, outright referencing films such as Dead Poets’ Society, Mr. Holland’s Opus and Dangerous Minds.  The choice of using films as plays hearkens back to Rushmore.  Even Catherine Keener’s character rode the line of typecasting, reprieving shades of her role from Being John Malkovich.  The humor is non-stop, both in intellectual and physical realms.  The majority of the cast is made up of young adult actors, many of whom had little to no motion picture experience, and yet they manage to give compelling performances that fall far from the one-note realm.  Most every moment is squeezed for maximum emotional or comedic reaction to a sensationally wonderfully degree.

This was the film that won me over in terms of Steve Coogan, someone who up to this point I saw as mostly silly in a very disposable way.  His deadpan reactions, golden physical comedy and consistent state of obliviousness make him the perfect tour guide for the audience in this crazy film.  Catherine Keener and David Arquette manage to take very cardboard roles and make something entertaining out of them, constantly saving the few parts of the film that could otherwise derail momentum, and adding to our compassion for Coogan’s character.  Elisabeth Shue is a delight as always, managing to go hilariously meta by playing an exaggerated version of herself.  Amy Poehler and Nat Faxon pop up in short but extremely memorable roles, Faxon probably having my purely favorite moment in the film as the play begins.

As mentioned before, the young portion of this cast stands out, particularly Joseph Julian Soria in the role of Octavio ‘Heywood Jablowme’ Marquez and Shea Pepe in the brief but powerful role of Noah Sapperstein.  Melonie Diaz plays the exposition dispenser role as well as one can, managing to bring her charm to the scream.  Armie Pantoja is consistently entertaining as the enigmatic Vitamin J.  Skylar Astin’s Rand and Phoebe Strole’s Epiphany play their fish out of water roles perfectly.

Andrew Fleming (who also made The Craft, another slept-on favorite of mine) will also hold a positive place in my heart for making this wonderful movie.  I love a film that I can watch and laugh like it’s the first time every time, and Hamlet 2 is certainly that.