Hamlet 2
Encyclopedia
Hamlet 2 is a 2008
American
comedy film
directed by Andrew Fleming
, written by Fleming and Pam Brady
, and starring Steve Coogan
, Catherine Keener
, Amy Poehler
, and David Arquette
. It was produced by Eric Eisner
, Leonid Rozhetskin
, and Aaron Ryder. Hamlet 2 was filmed primarily at a high school in New Mexico
from September 2007 to October 2007. The film premiered at the 2008 Sundance Film Festival
and was distributed by Focus Features
. The film had a limited release
on August 22, 2008, followed by a wide release
on August 27. Its UK
release was originally scheduled for December 28, 2008, postponed until February 27, 2009, and eventually cancelled.
) is a recovering alcoholic and failed actor who has become a high school drama teacher in Tucson, Arizona
, "where dreams go to die". Despite considering himself an inspirational figure, he only has two enthusiastic students, Rand (Skylar Astin
) and Epiphany (Phoebe Strole
), and a history of producing poorly-received school plays that are essentially stage adaptations of popular Hollywood films (his latest being Erin Brockovich
). When the new term begins, a new intake of students are forced to transfer into his class as it is the only remaining arts elective available due to budget cutbacks; they are mostly unenthusiastic and unconvinced by Dana’s pretentions, and Dana comes into conflict with Octavio (Joseph Julian Soria), one of the new students.
Dana is floored when Principal Rocker (Marshall Bell
) notifies him that the drama program is to be shut down at the end of the term. Seeking to inspire his students, Dana undertakes to write and produce an original play: a sequel to Hamlet
featuring time travel
to avoid the deaths of the characters, and new, more controversial content, including the introduction of Jesus Christ (played by Marschz) as one of the characters, complete with a song-and-dance number titled "Rock Me Sexy Jesus". The kids gradually warm to the project, but Rand — cast as a bi-curious
Laertes and overshadowed by Octavio as Hamlet — storms out of the drama group and provides a copy of the play’s script to Principal Rocker, who orders Dana to stop the controversial production.
Dana is further traumatized when his wife Brie (Catherine Keener
) leaves him for the uninteresting, but fertile, boarder Gary (David Arquette
) they had taken into their home to supplement their modest income, and reveals that he himself is infertile. Despondent, Dana falls off the wagon and tries to abandon the project, but his students encourage him to continue, arranging an abandoned warehouse and rave
spot, technical assistance, and security being provided by the high school's football and wrestling teams. Dana also learns that the cancellation of the play has become a civil liberties
issue encouraged by fanatical ACLU activist Cricket Feldstein (Amy Poehler
). As a result, the play opens to a sold-out house, including a critic from The New York Times
. Rand returns to the group, apologizing for his desertion; Dana allows him to return to the role of Laertes.
The play itself initially meets with a mixed reception, due to its controversial content and mangling of the original play; in keeping with a running joke throughout the movie, much of the content revolves around the characters using time travel to mend their troubled relationships with their fathers; it ends with both Hamlet
and Jesus forgiving their fathers for the wrongs done to them. Although initially reluctant to engage with the play, with several protesters infiltrating the audience to stage a direct protest, the play gradually wins the audience over. The film ends with Dana and his favorite actress, Elisabeth Shue
— whom he is now dating — meeting Dana’s students to prepare for the show's Broadway
opening, complete with original cast.
. Filming took place mainly at West Mesa High School
in Albuquerque
, where actual students were permitted to perform as extras in the film. Filming concluded on October 31, 2007. The film was executive produced by Albert Berger and Ron Yerxa, who also produced Little Miss Sunshine
.
, where it was a late addition, three days before its scheduled screening. The film premiered at the festival on January 21, 2008. After the screening, an all-night bidding war took place for rights to distribution, which Focus Features
won for $10 million, acquiring worldwide rights to the film. The purchase of Hamlet 2 nearly broke the Sundance record set by Little Miss Sunshine
, which sold for $10.5 million in 2006. In wide release, the film grossed roughly half of the rights cost.
The DVD
was released December 21, 2008. The DVD includes deleted scene
s, an audio commentary
, and a sing-along.
described Hamlet 2 as "a slam-bang patchwork of more inspired comedies, such as Ace Ventura: Pet Detective
and Borat
". Byrge described the premise as "a twist on the formula of let's-put-on-a-show, with the twist being that no one wants the show". He thought that the screenwriters had put together "a string of gags in a hit-and-miss dither".
The New York Times
noted of the film, "It made sure to take shots at Christian
s, gays, Latino
s, Jews, the American Civil Liberties Union
, and Elisabeth Shue
, one of its lead actresses."
Roger Ebert
gave the film 3 out of 4 stars.
The film currently holds a 63% positive rating on film review site Rotten Tomatoes
.
2008 in film
This is a list of all major films made in 2008.-Highest-grossing films:Please note that following the tradition of the English-language film industry, these are the top grossing films that were first released in the USA in 2008...
American
Cinema of the United States
The cinema of the United States, also known as Hollywood, has had a profound effect on cinema across the world since the early 20th century. Its history is sometimes separated into four main periods: the silent film era, classical Hollywood cinema, New Hollywood, and the contemporary period...
comedy film
Comedy film
Comedy film is a genre of film in which the main emphasis is on humour. They are designed to elicit laughter from the audience. Comedies are mostly light-hearted dramas and are made to amuse and entertain the audiences...
directed by Andrew Fleming
Andrew Fleming
Andrew Fleming is an American film and television director and screenwriter. He directed and wrote or co-wrote the films Bad Dreams, Threesome, The Craft, Dick, Nancy Drew and Hamlet 2. He also directed, without writing, the 2003 film The In-Laws...
, written by Fleming and Pam Brady
Pam Brady
Pam Brady is an American writer and television producer, best known for her work with Trey Parker and Matt Stone.-Career:Pam Brady first met Parker, Stone and Jason McHugh while working under Brian Graden at 20th Century Fox. Brady suggested that the two make a weekly version of their student film...
, and starring Steve Coogan
Steve Coogan
Stephen John "Steve" Coogan is a British comedian, actor, writer and producer. Born in Manchester, he began his career as a standup comedian and impressionist, working as a voice artist throughout the 1980s on satirical puppet show Spitting Image. In the early nineties, Coogan began creating...
, Catherine Keener
Catherine Keener
Catherine Ann Keener is an American actress. She has been nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for Being John Malkovich and Capote...
, Amy Poehler
Amy Poehler
Amy Meredith Poehler is an American comedian, actress and voice actress. She was a cast member on the NBC television entertainment show Saturday Night Live from 2001 to 2008. In 2004, she starred in the film Mean Girls with Tina Fey, with whom she worked again in Baby Mama in 2008. She is...
, and David Arquette
David Arquette
David Arquette is an American actor, film director, producer, screenwriter, fashion designer, and occasional professional wrestler. A member of the Arquette acting family, he first became known during the mid 1990s after starring in several Hollywood films, such as the Scream series, Wild Bill and...
. It was produced by Eric Eisner
Eric Eisner
Eric Eisner is the son of Disney magnate Michael Eisner and a producer. He currently co-owns the film production company L+E Productions.-Career in Entertainment:...
, Leonid Rozhetskin
Leonid Rozhetskin
Leonid Rozhetskin is a financier and lawyer who is missing under suspicious circumstances after disappearing from his villa in Jūrmala, Latvia on March 16, 2008.- Early life and education :...
, and Aaron Ryder. Hamlet 2 was filmed primarily at a high school in New Mexico
New Mexico
New Mexico is a state located in the southwest and western regions of the United States. New Mexico is also usually considered one of the Mountain States. With a population density of 16 per square mile, New Mexico is the sixth-most sparsely inhabited U.S...
from September 2007 to October 2007. The film premiered at the 2008 Sundance Film Festival
2008 Sundance Film Festival
The 2008 Sundance Film Festival ran from January 17, 2008 to January 27 in Park City, Utah. It was the 24th iteration of the Sundance Film Festival. The opening night film was In Bruges and the closing night film was CSNY Déjà Vu.-Films:...
and was distributed by Focus Features
Focus Features
Focus Features is the art house films division of NBC Universal's Universal Pictures, and acts as both a producer and distributor for its own films and a distributor for foreign films....
. The film had a limited release
Limited release
Limited release is a term in the American motion picture industry for a motion picture that is playing in a select few theaters across the country ....
on August 22, 2008, followed by a wide release
Wide release
Wide release is a term in the American motion picture industry for a motion picture that is playing nationally . Specifically, a movie is considered to be in wide release when it is on 600 screens or more in the United States and Canada.In the US, films holding an NC-17 rating almost never have a...
on August 27. Its UK
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
release was originally scheduled for December 28, 2008, postponed until February 27, 2009, and eventually cancelled.
Plot
Dana Marschz (Steve CooganSteve Coogan
Stephen John "Steve" Coogan is a British comedian, actor, writer and producer. Born in Manchester, he began his career as a standup comedian and impressionist, working as a voice artist throughout the 1980s on satirical puppet show Spitting Image. In the early nineties, Coogan began creating...
) is a recovering alcoholic and failed actor who has become a high school drama teacher in Tucson, Arizona
Tucson, Arizona
Tucson is a city in and the county seat of Pima County, Arizona, United States. The city is located 118 miles southeast of Phoenix and 60 miles north of the U.S.-Mexico border. The 2010 United States Census puts the city's population at 520,116 with a metropolitan area population at 1,020,200...
, "where dreams go to die". Despite considering himself an inspirational figure, he only has two enthusiastic students, Rand (Skylar Astin
Skylar Astin
Skylar Astin is an American actor, best known for his performance as "Georg" in the Tony award winning musical, Spring Awakening.-Early life and education:...
) and Epiphany (Phoebe Strole
Phoebe Strole
Phoebe Strole is an American actress and singer.-Stage career:While in high school, Strole performed in several musicals at Casa Manana Theatre in Fort Worth, Texas, including Evita, Violet and Bye Bye Birdie. In 2001, Strole starred as Jean in A Different Moon at the Penguin Repertory Theatre in...
), and a history of producing poorly-received school plays that are essentially stage adaptations of popular Hollywood films (his latest being Erin Brockovich
Erin Brockovich (film)
Erin Brockovich is a 2000 biographical film directed by Steven Soderbergh. The film is a dramatization of the story of Erin Brockovich, played by Julia Roberts, who fought against the US West Coast energy corporation Pacific Gas and Electric Company. Roberts won the Academy Award, Golden Globe,...
). When the new term begins, a new intake of students are forced to transfer into his class as it is the only remaining arts elective available due to budget cutbacks; they are mostly unenthusiastic and unconvinced by Dana’s pretentions, and Dana comes into conflict with Octavio (Joseph Julian Soria), one of the new students.
Dana is floored when Principal Rocker (Marshall Bell
Marshall Bell
Archibald Marshall Bell is an American actor. He has appeared in many character roles in movies and television. His best-known movies are probably A Nightmare on Elm Street 2: Freddy's Revenge , Stand by Me , Twins and Total Recall .-Early life:He was born in Tulsa, Oklahoma, where he lived until...
) notifies him that the drama program is to be shut down at the end of the term. Seeking to inspire his students, Dana undertakes to write and produce an original play: a sequel to Hamlet
Hamlet
The Tragical History of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, or more simply Hamlet, is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1599 and 1601...
featuring time travel
Time travel
Time travel is the concept of moving between different points in time in a manner analogous to moving between different points in space. Time travel could hypothetically involve moving backward in time to a moment earlier than the starting point, or forward to the future of that point without the...
to avoid the deaths of the characters, and new, more controversial content, including the introduction of Jesus Christ (played by Marschz) as one of the characters, complete with a song-and-dance number titled "Rock Me Sexy Jesus". The kids gradually warm to the project, but Rand — cast as a bi-curious
Bi-curious
Bi-curious is a term used to refer to people of a heterosexual or homosexual identity who, while showing some curiosity for a relationship or sexual activity with a person of the sex they do not favor, distinguish themselves from the bisexual label. The term is sometimes used to describe a broad...
Laertes and overshadowed by Octavio as Hamlet — storms out of the drama group and provides a copy of the play’s script to Principal Rocker, who orders Dana to stop the controversial production.
Dana is further traumatized when his wife Brie (Catherine Keener
Catherine Keener
Catherine Ann Keener is an American actress. She has been nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for Being John Malkovich and Capote...
) leaves him for the uninteresting, but fertile, boarder Gary (David Arquette
David Arquette
David Arquette is an American actor, film director, producer, screenwriter, fashion designer, and occasional professional wrestler. A member of the Arquette acting family, he first became known during the mid 1990s after starring in several Hollywood films, such as the Scream series, Wild Bill and...
) they had taken into their home to supplement their modest income, and reveals that he himself is infertile. Despondent, Dana falls off the wagon and tries to abandon the project, but his students encourage him to continue, arranging an abandoned warehouse and rave
Rave
Rave, rave dance, and rave party are parties that originated mostly from acid house parties, which featured fast-paced electronic music and light shows. At these parties people dance and socialize to dance music played by disc jockeys and occasionally live performers...
spot, technical assistance, and security being provided by the high school's football and wrestling teams. Dana also learns that the cancellation of the play has become a civil liberties
Civil liberties
Civil liberties are rights and freedoms that provide an individual specific rights such as the freedom from slavery and forced labour, freedom from torture and death, the right to liberty and security, right to a fair trial, the right to defend one's self, the right to own and bear arms, the right...
issue encouraged by fanatical ACLU activist Cricket Feldstein (Amy Poehler
Amy Poehler
Amy Meredith Poehler is an American comedian, actress and voice actress. She was a cast member on the NBC television entertainment show Saturday Night Live from 2001 to 2008. In 2004, she starred in the film Mean Girls with Tina Fey, with whom she worked again in Baby Mama in 2008. She is...
). As a result, the play opens to a sold-out house, including a critic from The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
. Rand returns to the group, apologizing for his desertion; Dana allows him to return to the role of Laertes.
The play itself initially meets with a mixed reception, due to its controversial content and mangling of the original play; in keeping with a running joke throughout the movie, much of the content revolves around the characters using time travel to mend their troubled relationships with their fathers; it ends with both Hamlet
Prince Hamlet
Prince Hamlet is a fictional character, the protagonist in Shakespeare's tragedy Hamlet. He is the Prince of Denmark, nephew to the usurping Claudius and son of the previous King of Denmark, Old Hamlet. Throughout the play he struggles with whether, and how, to avenge the murder of his father, and...
and Jesus forgiving their fathers for the wrongs done to them. Although initially reluctant to engage with the play, with several protesters infiltrating the audience to stage a direct protest, the play gradually wins the audience over. The film ends with Dana and his favorite actress, Elisabeth Shue
Elisabeth Shue
Elisabeth Judson Shue is an American actress and producer, most famous for her roles in the films The Karate Kid, Adventures in Babysitting, Cocktail, Back to the Future Parts II and III and Leaving Las Vegas, for which she won five acting awards and was nominated for an Academy Award, a Golden...
— whom he is now dating — meeting Dana’s students to prepare for the show's Broadway
Broadway (New York City)
Broadway is a prominent avenue in New York City, United States, which runs through the full length of the borough of Manhattan and continues northward through the Bronx borough before terminating in Westchester County, New York. It is the oldest north–south main thoroughfare in the city, dating to...
opening, complete with original cast.
Cast
- Steve CooganSteve CooganStephen John "Steve" Coogan is a British comedian, actor, writer and producer. Born in Manchester, he began his career as a standup comedian and impressionist, working as a voice artist throughout the 1980s on satirical puppet show Spitting Image. In the early nineties, Coogan began creating...
as Dana Marschz / Narrator (uncredited) - Catherine KeenerCatherine KeenerCatherine Ann Keener is an American actress. She has been nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for Being John Malkovich and Capote...
as Brie Marschz - Amy PoehlerAmy PoehlerAmy Meredith Poehler is an American comedian, actress and voice actress. She was a cast member on the NBC television entertainment show Saturday Night Live from 2001 to 2008. In 2004, she starred in the film Mean Girls with Tina Fey, with whom she worked again in Baby Mama in 2008. She is...
as Cricket Feldstein - David ArquetteDavid ArquetteDavid Arquette is an American actor, film director, producer, screenwriter, fashion designer, and occasional professional wrestler. A member of the Arquette acting family, he first became known during the mid 1990s after starring in several Hollywood films, such as the Scream series, Wild Bill and...
as Gary - Elisabeth ShueElisabeth ShueElisabeth Judson Shue is an American actress and producer, most famous for her roles in the films The Karate Kid, Adventures in Babysitting, Cocktail, Back to the Future Parts II and III and Leaving Las Vegas, for which she won five acting awards and was nominated for an Academy Award, a Golden...
as Herself - Marshall BellMarshall BellArchibald Marshall Bell is an American actor. He has appeared in many character roles in movies and television. His best-known movies are probably A Nightmare on Elm Street 2: Freddy's Revenge , Stand by Me , Twins and Total Recall .-Early life:He was born in Tulsa, Oklahoma, where he lived until...
as Principal Rocker - Melonie DiazMelonie DiazMelonie Diaz is an American actress who has been appeared in many independent films, including four shown at the 2008 Sundance Film Festival.-Biography:...
as Ivonne - Phoebe StrolePhoebe StrolePhoebe Strole is an American actress and singer.-Stage career:While in high school, Strole performed in several musicals at Casa Manana Theatre in Fort Worth, Texas, including Evita, Violet and Bye Bye Birdie. In 2001, Strole starred as Jean in A Different Moon at the Penguin Repertory Theatre in...
as Epiphany Sellars - Skylar AstinSkylar AstinSkylar Astin is an American actor, best known for his performance as "Georg" in the Tony award winning musical, Spring Awakening.-Early life and education:...
as Rand Posin - Joseph Julian SoriaJoseph Julian Soria-Filmography:...
as Octavio Marquez - Arnie Pantoja as Vitamin J
- Natalie Amenula as Yolanda
- Michael Esparza as Chuy
- Shea Pepe as Noah Sapperstein
Production
The play shown within the film was written on deadline for production. The film was budgeted at a little over $9 million. Production began in September 2007 in New MexicoNew Mexico
New Mexico is a state located in the southwest and western regions of the United States. New Mexico is also usually considered one of the Mountain States. With a population density of 16 per square mile, New Mexico is the sixth-most sparsely inhabited U.S...
. Filming took place mainly at West Mesa High School
West Mesa High School
West Mesa High School is a public senior high school in Albuquerque, New Mexico, located on the city's West Mesa. It is a part of the Albuquerque Public Schools. The school colors are scarlet, royal blue and white, and their mascot is the Mustang...
in Albuquerque
Albuquerque, New Mexico
Albuquerque is the largest city in the state of New Mexico, United States. It is the county seat of Bernalillo County and is situated in the central part of the state, straddling the Rio Grande. The city population was 545,852 as of the 2010 Census and ranks as the 32nd-largest city in the U.S. As...
, where actual students were permitted to perform as extras in the film. Filming concluded on October 31, 2007. The film was executive produced by Albert Berger and Ron Yerxa, who also produced Little Miss Sunshine
Little Miss Sunshine
Little Miss Sunshine is a 2006 American comedy-drama film. The road movie's plot follows a family's trip to a children's beauty pageant.Little Miss Sunshine was the directorial film debut of the husband-wife team of Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris. The screenplay was written by first-time writer...
.
Release
A rough edit of Hamlet 2 was prepared for the 2008 Sundance Film Festival2008 Sundance Film Festival
The 2008 Sundance Film Festival ran from January 17, 2008 to January 27 in Park City, Utah. It was the 24th iteration of the Sundance Film Festival. The opening night film was In Bruges and the closing night film was CSNY Déjà Vu.-Films:...
, where it was a late addition, three days before its scheduled screening. The film premiered at the festival on January 21, 2008. After the screening, an all-night bidding war took place for rights to distribution, which Focus Features
Focus Features
Focus Features is the art house films division of NBC Universal's Universal Pictures, and acts as both a producer and distributor for its own films and a distributor for foreign films....
won for $10 million, acquiring worldwide rights to the film. The purchase of Hamlet 2 nearly broke the Sundance record set by Little Miss Sunshine
Little Miss Sunshine
Little Miss Sunshine is a 2006 American comedy-drama film. The road movie's plot follows a family's trip to a children's beauty pageant.Little Miss Sunshine was the directorial film debut of the husband-wife team of Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris. The screenplay was written by first-time writer...
, which sold for $10.5 million in 2006. In wide release, the film grossed roughly half of the rights cost.
The DVD
DVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
was released December 21, 2008. The DVD includes deleted scene
Deleted scene
In Entertainment, especially the film and television industry, Deleted scenes are parts of a film removed or censored from or replaced by another scene in the final "cut", or version, of a film...
s, an audio commentary
Audio commentary
On disc-based video formats, an audio commentary is an additional audio track consisting of a lecture or comments by one or more speakers, that plays in real time with video...
, and a sing-along.
Critical reaction
Duane Byrge of The Hollywood ReporterThe Hollywood Reporter
Formerly a daily trade magazine, The Hollywood Reporter re-launched in late 2010 as a unique hybrid publication serving the entertainment industry and a consumer audience...
described Hamlet 2 as "a slam-bang patchwork of more inspired comedies, such as Ace Ventura: Pet Detective
Ace Ventura: Pet Detective
Ace Ventura: Pet Detective is a 1994 American comedy film directed by Tom Shadyac and starring Jim Carrey. It co-stars Courteney Cox, Tone Loc, Sean Young and former Miami Dolphins quarterback Dan Marino....
and Borat
Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan
Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan, often referred to simply as Borat, is a 2006 mockumentary comedy film directed by Larry Charles and distributed by 20th Century Fox...
". Byrge described the premise as "a twist on the formula of let's-put-on-a-show, with the twist being that no one wants the show". He thought that the screenwriters had put together "a string of gags in a hit-and-miss dither".
The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
noted of the film, "It made sure to take shots at Christian
Christian
A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament...
s, gays, Latino
Latino
The demonyms Latino and Latina , are defined in English language dictionaries as:* "a person of Latin-American descent."* "A Latin American."* "A person of Hispanic, especially Latin-American, descent, often one living in the United States."...
s, Jews, the American Civil Liberties Union
American Civil Liberties Union
The American Civil Liberties Union is a U.S. non-profit organization whose stated mission is "to defend and preserve the individual rights and liberties guaranteed to every person in this country by the Constitution and laws of the United States." It works through litigation, legislation, and...
, and Elisabeth Shue
Elisabeth Shue
Elisabeth Judson Shue is an American actress and producer, most famous for her roles in the films The Karate Kid, Adventures in Babysitting, Cocktail, Back to the Future Parts II and III and Leaving Las Vegas, for which she won five acting awards and was nominated for an Academy Award, a Golden...
, one of its lead actresses."
Roger Ebert
Roger Ebert
Roger Joseph Ebert is an American film critic and screenwriter. He is the first film critic to win a Pulitzer Prize for Criticism.Ebert is known for his film review column and for the television programs Sneak Previews, At the Movies with Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert, and Siskel and Ebert and The...
gave the film 3 out of 4 stars.
The film currently holds a 63% positive rating on film review site Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is a website devoted to reviews, information, and news of films—widely known as a film review aggregator. Its name derives from the cliché of audiences throwing tomatoes and other vegetables at a poor stage performance...
.