Hamlet 2 (DVD)

The various independent film festivals that dot the calendar are a great way for smaller films to gain recognition. Since the 90s places like Sundance have given the little man a shot at the big time. Several Oscar winners and breakout box-office hits have first appeared in a festival only to spark a bidding war. However, for every 'Paranormal Activity' there is a film that the studios paid a lot of money for only for it to fail. Often this is no fault of the film itself, but of poor marketing or the Studio deciding to look elsewhere. One film that this happened to is 'Hamlet 2' a comedy that was sold for millions, but was unable to remake that in the cinemas. ...  Read the complete review

Hamlet 2 is a comedy film starring Steve Coogan as an all too nice drama teacher about to lose his job in an American school. When he inherits a new class full of hard, street-wise ethnics, things start looking pretty bad for him, and it's his job to win them over. First off, this film is not as corny as it sounds; if anything, it's a mick-take of Dangerous Minds-esque school dramas. It still does have a story about saving a school and a group of tough kids, but it's all so tongue in cheek you can't help but enjoy it. Steve Coogan is excellent as the teacher. He's so likable, but also very random. When he's struggling to get the class to listen, he ...  Read the complete review

Dana Marschz is a failed, penniless and impotent actor. He teaches drama to unwilling students for gas money and has a rocky relationship at best with his alcoholic wife. A child critic ridicules his stage reproductions of popular films and with the drama course on the brink of closure Marschz has one last chance of success, a sequel to Shakespeare's "Hamlet" which of course will be called "Hamlet 2". "Hamlet 2" really is a quite brilliant film. A gentle parody of kids come good films such as "Dead Poets Society" and "Dangerous Minds" it is filmed in a mockumentary style with Steve Coogan narrating and ...  Read the complete review

Hamlet 2 tells the story of a failed actor who, over a period of time, watches his work descend from being a ridiculous villain in Xena to advertising herpes treatment. He teaches drama at a high school, but he is no better at that. Each year his plays, hopeless renditions of feature films starring his only two students, receive scathing reviews until cutbacks convince the school's head to drop drama altogether. Back home our hero kids himself that he has the perfect partner, but continues to fail to get her pregnant. Back at school Coogan's last class is suddenly filled with new students forced to take the subject. He sees this as a challenge to win their ...  Read the complete review

Note: also appears in part on Flixster and The Student Room Hamlet 2 did not enjoy a big release at all in the UK, but it is a rather clever, biting comedy, thanks in large part due to Steve Coogan's performance, but it's also got a clever script and some rather knowing allusions to the theatricality of cinema. It deserves a bigger audience than it ever got, and while not a commercial success, it largely fared well with critics. Dana Marschz (Steve Coogan) is a recovering alcoholic and a failure of an actor, having resorted to the old notion "those who can't...teach", so decides to teach drama at an American school. Aside from two ...  Read the complete review