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Hamlet 2
Focus Features (Universal)


5.8

based on 28 reviews
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How did we calculate this?

based on 29 votes
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MPAA RATING: R for language including sexual references, brief nudity and some drug content

Starring Steve Coogan, Catherine Keener, Amy Poehler, David Arquette, Elisabeth Shue, and Melonie Diaz

Dana Marschz--the last name is pronounced...oh, any attempt is close enough, really--is a failed actor-turned-high school drama teacher. Shortchanged in the talent department, Dana still harbors ambitions and passions. At Tucson, AZ's West Mesa High School, Dana sees himself as an inspirational teacher, but when his department is targeted for closure, Dana must reach deep into himself for creativity. After much perspiration, he conceives a sequel to Shakespeare's Hamlet - a musical-theater extravaganza that will disdain both political correctness and dramatic credibility. With rehearsals underway, objections from school officials and the community are soon raised, but Dana will not be denied his freedom of artistic expression. After all, "to thine own self be true." Dana gets unexpected support from ACLU attorney Cricket Feldstein and his favorite actress, Elisabeth Shue. Above all else, he fervently believes that his opus must be staged, and nothing can break his optimistic spirit. (Focus Features)

GENRE(S):	Comedy
WRITTEN BY:	Pam Brady Andrew Fleming
DIRECTED BY:	Andrew Fleming
RELEASE DATE:	DVD: December 16, 2008 Theatrical: August 22, 2008
RUNNING TIME:	92 minutes, Color
ORIGIN:	USA

All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...

The Onion (A.V. Club) Nathan Rabin

Funny excuses an awful lot, and at its best, Hamlet 2 is nothing short of hilarious.

Entertainment Weekly Owen Gleiberman

As a movie, Hamlet 2 is lively, energetically daft, and very, very scrappy -- a broader, more loony-tunes knockoff of "Waiting for Guffman."

Portland Oregonian Shawn Levy

Occasionally sloppy, with a finale so abrupt and incoherent that it feels like something is missing. But it's also pleasantly odd and truly funny, and it builds in strength as it goes along.

San Francisco Chronicle Ruthe Stein

Like its low-key star, Hamlet 2 is more likely to elicit quiet chuckles than raucous laughter.

Rolling Stone Peter Travers

It's Coogan's breakthrough star performance that holds it all together. He's sensational.

Chicago Sun-Times Roger Ebert

The movie is an ideal showcase for the talents of Coogan.

Chicago Reader J.R. Jones

Coogan's screen persona is vain, dim, angry, and deeply miserable, and his handful of scenes here with a smilingly harsh Catherine Keener are little masterpieces of comic sadomasochism.

Austin Chronicle Marc Savlov

Arquette wander in and out of frame, but like everyone else in this film, they're eclipsed by Coogan's gloriously unhinged performance, which has the lunatic, semi-meta tone of a parody within a parody.

Seattle Post-Intelligencer William Arnold

A frequently amusing and consistently outrageous but ultimately tiresome farce.

USA Today Claudia Puig

Elisabeth Shue has a strange role as a version of herself who has given up acting for nursing.

Chicago Tribune Michael Phillips

The film, which really is sloppy, slips around in terms of tone and goes every which way.

ReelViews James Berardinelli

A rather mediocre experience, offering sporadic laughs but never achieving the level of consistent humor necessary to make this memorable.

The Hollywood Reporter Duane Byrge

Attaining somewhat of a bad parody of a comedy, screenwriters Andrew Fleming and Pam Brady have slapped together a string of gags in a hit-and-miss dither. Some of it is quite brainy.

Wall Street Journal Joanne Kaufman

Mostly, though, there's the endlessly resourceful, endlessly inventive, bedazzling Mr. Coogan. Hamlet Schmamlet. Not since "Death of a Salesman" has failure been quite so entertaining.

Christian Science Monitor Peter Rainer

Not infrequently the movie is as mediocre as its target. The great Steve Coogan movie has yet to be made.

Boston Globe Ty Burr

In the new comedy Hamlet 2, Coogan comes perilously close to wearing out his welcome. It's actually a pretty fascinating sight.

New York Daily News Elizabeth Weitzman

There's a lot of potential here, and a sharper script might have made all the difference.

New York Magazine David Edelstein

Coogan's mopiness is oddly riveting.

The New York Times Stephen Holden

It all adds up to the kind of bad family entertainment likely to raise only a few eyebrows.

The Globe and Mail (Toronto) Rick Groen

Let's just say that, when the parody looks indistinguishable from the parodied, something's gone awry.

Variety Dennis Harvey

Amusing but unevenly inspired tale of a deluded high school drama teacher's attempt to stage a career-saving extravaganza has some laughs, to be sure.

Village Voice J. Hoberman

Not nearly as uproarious as it should be.

Time Richard Corliss

Hamlet 2 is as needy as its hero -- because it wants not to be probing or profound or even witty but, above all else, to be loved.

Philadelphia Inquirer Carrie Rickey

Only in its aggressively imaginative profanity is the film consistent.

Los Angeles Times Kenneth Turan

It's an unhinged, off-the-wall comedy that will try anything once, an uneven film in which the hits are so dead-on that the misses don't seem to matter.

Salon.com Stephanie Zacharek

So wearying that it makes you feel duped for being open to it in the first place. Hamlet 2 works so hard at being entertaining, in that quirky, Indie 101 sense, that it just grinds you down.

Miami Herald Connie Ogle

Much like the play within it, Hamlet 2 is lousy. The main difference is that the play is SUPPOSED to be awful. The movie about the play is supposed to be funny.

New York Post Kyle Smith

The laughs begin with the excellent title Hamlet 2 - and they end there.

The average user rating for this movie is 5.8 (out of 10) based on 29 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.

Mark S gave it a9:
Coogan gives a superb performance I did not expect (even though I had been told). The film is hilarious--much funnier than some better-reviewed comedies (e.g. Forgetting Sarah Marshall, or Pineapple Express). And it is far more clever than even its champions give it credit for. I'm amazed people fault the plot (a wonderful send-up of "inspirational teacher" films); no one who understands comedy should level such a criticism, anyway. Comedies exaggerate, take liberties, bizzare segues. While most run-of-the-mill comedies (see anything by an ex-SNL star) start strong and lose steam after a half hour when the plot kicks in, this film is filled with creative set-ups and delivers consistent laughs all the way through. What more can you want? Rock me, sexy Jesus!

Ken S gave it a3:
The movie starts out slow and suddenly stops once it provides the entertainment of the play Hamlet 2. Many parts, such as Mr. M's wife, seemed to just be added in without a purpose to lengthen the boredom. With very few laughs throughout the film, the musical numbers might be the only 4 minutes worth watching.

Jay H. gave it a6:
Funnier than I was expecting, good performances, especially Catherine Keener. Steve Coogan does great also, he is well cast. It doesn't always work, but for the most part it has a lot more hits than misses.

BloggingFun gave it a7:
Hamlet 2 is a fun and light hearted comedy with a cast that really makes this ensemble film complete. It’s a unique twist on the inspirational teach flick and is definitely worth seeing (even if you wait for DVD).

Erica M. gave it an8:
I loved the complete dedication of Steve Coogan to this role. He is so unabashadly pathetic and hopeful. Reminded me a little of Fellini's Nights of Cabiria - vis a vis the main character. I also loved the actual performance and the supporting cast of teenagers. The only reason it's not a 10 for me is that the wife / roommate subplot seemed a little weak, as did the casting for those characters... more for name value than true fit. Anyways. I completely recommend.

Erica Erica gave it a9:
I thought this movie was hilarious. Silly fun, with some clever parts!

Craig A. gave it a7:
Unfairly reviewed, this original attack on both the censorship and the creative freedom lobby showcases the stupidity of both. Steve Coogan's talentless but well-meaning drama teacher is cringeingly pathetic, yet strangely lovable.

Hamlet 2 Focus Features (Universal)

Hamlet 2
Focus Features (Universal)