As it is the first day of classes, I will be posting my film rec later. I will give you a hint. It's both technically a sequel and not a sequel, and it bombed miserably in the box office. Mean spirited comedies with allusions to a certain classic playwright for the win. Film Rec: Hamlet 2 Ladies and Gentleman, we have a new front runner for the Sketchies. Move over The Strangers, Hamlet 2 just raped you in the face*. If you've seen the trailer, you think you know the film: a drama teacher writes a sequel to Hamlet to save the school; it just happens to be the most offensive play in the history of the world. And you would be wrong. The genius of Hamlet 2 is the multi-layered tribute to the Bard's play, wherin all the major players in the school's universe are characters from Hamlet. IE: Coogan is Hamlet, the principal is the new king, Elizabeth Shue is Ophelia (or is Amy Poehler more Ophelia..., Keener's got to be Gertrude, for sure), the school film critic is Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, etc., etc., etc. Then, when the musical begins, it stays extremely true to the Shakespeare and is actually an uplifting tale about the power of Christ and redemption. Is Rock Me Sexy Jesus still blasphemous? Yes, but not as bad as the 15 seconds in the trailer makes it seem. Honestly, the DVD will come out, what, tomorrow?, to make up for the lackluster box office (Wednesday nationwide release and it STILL didn't crack the top 10? yikes!). See it for Elizabeth Shue being incredible as Elizabeth Shue. See it for the mean-spirited drunken antics of Katherine Keener, or the Hamlet styled mopyness of Steve Coogan, or the spot on entertainment lawyer (and I know some entertainment lawyers) of Amy Poehler. See it for the music, the magic, the drug abuse. Just see it. It's smart, it's funny, and probably will not be effective for you if you embody the stereotypical viewing habits of the flyover states. *please note that such offensive comments are not my own original ideas; Raped in the Face is the openning song of the musical within the film Hamlet 2; please assume any further offensive remarks are a loving homage to its comedic brilliance.

Labels: film rec