Making a sequel to “Hamlet” is, of course, Shakespearean blasphemy. Creating a time machine to bring back all the dead characters from “Hamlet” kills the power of the tragedy, which is, of course, theatrical blasphemy. Adding a musical number to the show named “Rock Me Sexy Jesus” is, of course, religious blasphemy. At one point a student notes, “We are all going to hell for doing this play.” To paraphrase Jim Gaffigan, “They’re not just going to hell, they’re practically sprinting there!”
The man responsible for the play is high school drama teacher Dana Marschz (Steve Coogan). Lacking school funding, Marschz faces the demise of his teaching position. His spirit is crushed, but alas! his fervor for the theater burns on. Confronted with an unruly class of delinquents, he sets out to change their hearts while saving the drama department. He believes he can achieve this by writing a sequel to “Hamlet,” and adding supporting characters like Jesus, Einstein and Snoopy.
My question is, why? Why “Hamlet 2?" Why does he think an offensive play like that will inspire his students and save drama? It’s like he’s making a play as offensive as “Springtime for Hitler” from “The Producers,” but even those characters were self-aware of how offensive the play was going to be. They were counting on it being offensive, and they had a point to make it offensive. Marschz doesn’t have a great enough reason to even try making a sequel to “Hamlet,” and he’s not even aware of how offensive his play actually is. With songs about rape and “Rock Me Sexy Jesus,” I find his ignorance to be somewhat unrealistic.
Again I ask, what’s the point to this offensive material if it’s not going to be used for some great purpose? Early on in the film, the movie hints at derailing and exploring new territory, but it deviates back on course too soon. When Marschz is dealing with his disruptive class, he can’t get their attention. He gets frustrated and drops a loud F-bomb. Immediately, everyone perks up. The movie could have taken this scenario and applied it to the rest of the film; it could have made a point that being offensive has the power to get people’s attention. Marschz’s “Hamlet 2” would wake up a new generation of apathetic students who don’t care about theater, and put their attention on the stage.
But director Andrew Fleming doesn’t take the movie there. It’s not funny when the film wants to be offensive for the sake of being offensive. The great British comedian Steve Coogan does what he can, but he doesn’t have great enough material here to work with. Let’s just hope his talent isn’t wasted on a script labeled “Hamlet 3” anytime soon.
“Hamlet 2” is rated R for language including sexual references, brief nudity and some drug content.
