{"id":2390,"date":"2017-02-08T16:37:01","date_gmt":"2017-02-08T16:37:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/performerstuff.com\/mgs\/?p=2390"},"modified":"2018-08-30T20:22:35","modified_gmt":"2018-08-30T20:22:35","slug":"theatre-in-film-hamlet-2-2008","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/performerstuff.com\/mgs\/theatre-in-film-hamlet-2-2008\/","title":{"rendered":"Theatre in Film: Hamlet 2 (2008)"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"fusion-one-full fusion-layout-column fusion-column-last fusion-spacing-yes section-header-post\" style=\"margin-top:;margin-bottom:;\"><div class=\"fusion-column-wrapper\"><h3>Theatre in Film: <i>Hamlet 2<\/i> (2008)<\/h3>\n<font size=\"2\" color=\"grey\"><span style=\"border:1px solid ;-webkit-border-radius:50%;-moz-border-radius:50%;border-radius:50%;-moz-box-shadow: 0 0 3px rgba(0,0,0,.3);-webkit-box-shadow: 0 0 3px rgba(0,0,0,.3);box-shadow: 0 0 3px rgba(0,0,0,.3);margin-right:25px;float:left;\" class=\"fusion-imageframe imageframe-glow imageframe-1 hover-type-none author-image\"><a class=\"fusion-no-lightbox\" href=\"http:\/\/performerstuff.com\" target=\"_self\"> <img src=\"http:\/\/mgs.performerstuff.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/authorimage.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"img-responsive\" style=\"-webkit-border-radius:50%;-moz-border-radius:50%;border-radius:50%;\"\/><\/a><\/span><p>Written by Ashleigh Gardner<\/p>\n<p>February 3, 2017<\/p>\n<\/font><div class=\"fusion-clearfix\"><\/div><\/div><\/div><div class=\"fusion-clearfix\"><\/div><div class=\"fusion-one-full fusion-layout-column fusion-column-last fusion-spacing-yes section-body-post\" style=\"margin-top:;margin-bottom:;\"><div class=\"fusion-column-wrapper\"><p style=\"text-align: left;\">Welcome to Part VII of Theatre in Film, our weekly feature on a film that depicts a life in the theatre. In Part VII, we examine films with biting humor, fantastical plots, and theatre family values. This week, we feature\u00a0the 2008\u00a0dark comedy that was dubbed &#8220;dementedly hilarious&#8221; by\u00a0<em>Entertainment Weekly\u00a0<\/em>and\u00a0&#8220;comedy heaven&#8221; by\u00a0<em>Rolling Stone\u00a0<\/em>&#8212;\u00a0<em>Hamlet 2.<\/em><\/p>\n<p>Be advised that this film contains adult material and is rated R.<\/p>\n<h4 style=\"text-align: left;\"><i>Hamlet 2<\/i>\u00a0(2008)<\/h4>\n<br><div align=\"center\"><div class=\"fusion-video fusion-youtube\" style=\"max-width:600px;max-height:350px;\"><div class=\"video-shortcode\"><iframe title=\"YouTube video player\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/EOKhaew8ZWc?wmode=transparent&autoplay=0\" width=\"600\" height=\"350\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/div><\/div><\/div><br><p style=\"text-align: left;\"><b>Director: <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Andrew Fleming<br \/>\n<\/span><b>Starring: <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Steve Coogan, Catherine Keener, Amy Poehler, David Arquette, Skylar Astin, Phoebe Strole, and Elisabeth Shue<\/span><\/p>\n<h4 style=\"text-align: left;\">What happens:<\/h4>\n<br><p style=\"text-align: left;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Failed actor, recovering alcoholic, and high school drama teacher Dana Marschz (Steve Coogan) encounters a problem when the underfunded neighboring county schools send students to West Mesa High School and enroll them in the only open class &#8212; drama. The new students in Dana\u2019s class make his life a living hell when they challenge his authority and openly mock him. <\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In addition, Dana and his wife Brie (Catherine Keener) are having marital issues that are caused by Dana\u2019s failed career and the border (David Arquette) who is renting space in their house. Desperate to produce something to impress his principal, his wife, the school\u2019s juvenile theatre reviewer, and the students in his class, Dana writes a controversial, outrageous, and disturbingly funny sequel to Shakespeare&#8217;s <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Hamlet <\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">&#8212; <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Hamlet 2 <\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">&#8212; that features time travel, dancing, and a musical number entitled \u201cRock Me Sexy Jesus\u201d. The play initially garners outrage and criticism, but after a quirky ACLU representative supports the production, it\u2019s allowed to continue and is praised by the <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">New York Times<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, launching its journey to the Broadway stage.<\/span><\/p>\n<h4 style=\"text-align: left;\">Why it matters:<\/h4>\n<br><p style=\"text-align: left;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It\u2019s no secret that drama departments are largely underfunded (or sometimes non-existent in the face of budget cutbacks). Dana Marschz\u2019s struggle to reach his principal on an artistic level is a real battle that all drama teachers have, at one time or another, encountered&#8230;sometimes with little luck. <\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Though Mr. Marschz also has to deal with his own personal hardships as well, he finds a way to reach his unruly class, mostly through using derogatory language and a script that speaks to the teens on a modern, pop-culture laden, and daring manner. In Marschz\u2019s determination to save his drama class and his job, he turns to the most well-known play of all time &#8212; <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Hamlet<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> &#8212; thinking that he\u2019ll educate the students about Shakespeare <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">and <\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">save his career. In his drug-fueled, insane, and fantastical script that utilizes topics like Christianity, alcoholism, sex, and domestic violence, he inadvertently reaches his students on a personal level in addition to educating them. They connect with their roles in a way he hadn\u2019t predicted. A Latino boy from the transfer group and an annoying (and blatantly racist) white girl from West Mesa High School become friends and\u00a0fall in love during rehearsals. Octavio (played by Joseph Julian Soria) slowly comes to understand that theatre is a community to which he belongs (when, before, he openly mocked acting and Dana Marschz in class). And Mr. Marschz finds faith in the transfer students he wrongly thought were deadbeats from the beginning.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">If anything, this comedy of errors provides an insight into how panic can produce a revolutionary piece of art that awakens, inspires, and unites a community that otherwise may have refused to work together.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\">Below is the hit song, &#8220;Rock Me Sexy Jesus&#8221;.<\/p>\n<br><div class=\"fusion-video fusion-youtube\" style=\"max-width:600px;max-height:350px;\"><div class=\"video-shortcode\"><iframe title=\"YouTube video player\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/1NdD6t-lWOw?wmode=transparent&autoplay=0\" width=\"600\" height=\"350\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/div><\/div><br><br><p style=\"text-align: left;\">This film is the\u00a0second\u00a0film in\u00a0Part VII. See below for the other films\u00a0in Part VII.<\/p>\n<ul style=\"text-align: left;\">\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/performerstuff.com\/mgs\/theatre-in-film-synecdoche-new-york-2008\/\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>Synecdoche, New York<\/em> (2008)<\/span><\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/performerstuff.com\/mgs\/theatre-in-film-the-imaginarium-of-doctor-parnassus-2009\/\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus<\/em> (2009)<\/span><\/a><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>Don&#8217;t Think Twice\u00a0<\/em>(2016)<\/span><\/li>\n<li><em>Phoebe in Wonderland\u00a0<\/em>(2009)\u00a0(Coming soon.)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\">Want to start with\u00a0<strong>Part I<\/strong>? Begin with\u00a0<span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><strong><em><a href=\"http:\/\/mgs.performerstuff.com\/?p=133\">42nd Street\u00a0<\/a><\/em>(1933)<\/strong><\/span>.<br \/>\nMiss\u00a0<strong>Part II<\/strong>?\u00a0Check out\u00a0<span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/performerstuff.com\/mgs\/theatre-in-film-series-the-band-wagon-1953\/\"><strong><em>The Band Wagon<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0<strong>(1953)<\/strong><\/a><\/span>.<br \/>\nNeed a refresh for\u00a0<strong>Part III<\/strong>? Start with\u00a0our feature on\u00a0<span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><strong><em><a href=\"https:\/\/performerstuff.com\/mgs\/theatre-in-film-series-all-that-jazz-1979\/\">All That Jazz\u00a0<\/a><\/em><\/strong><strong>(1979)<\/strong><\/span>.<br \/>\nHow about a recap from\u00a0<strong>Part IV<\/strong>? Jump into\u00a0<span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/performerstuff.com\/mgs\/theatre-in-film-a-chorus-of-disapproval-1989\/\"><strong><em>A Chorus of Disapproval\u00a0<\/em><\/strong><\/a><strong>(1989)<\/strong><\/span>.<br \/>\nCheck out\u00a0<strong>Part V<\/strong><em>,\u00a0<\/em>and start with\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/performerstuff.com\/mgs\/theatre-in-film-an-awfully-big-adventure-1995\/\"><em><strong>A<span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">n Awfully Big Adventure\u00a0<\/span><\/strong><\/em><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><strong>(1995)<\/strong><\/span><\/a>.<br \/>\nStart reading\u00a0<strong>Part VI<\/strong>\u00a0with\u00a0<span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/performerstuff.com\/mgs\/theatre-in-film-camp-2003\/\">Camp\u00a0<\/a><\/strong><\/em><strong>(2003)<\/strong><\/span>.<\/p>\n<div class=\"fusion-clearfix\"><\/div><\/div><\/div><div class=\"fusion-clearfix\"><\/div><hr \/>\n<h5 style=\"text-align: left;\"><em><strong>Ashleigh Gardner<\/strong>\u00a0received her AA in Theatre\/Drama\/Dramatic Arts\u00a0from Valencia College and\u00a0her Bachelors Degree in English Literature and\u00a0Masters Degree in Literary, Cultural, and Textual Studies from\u00a0the University of Central Florida. She is a playwright, an actor, and PerformerStuff.com\u2019s Editor.\u00a0<\/em><\/h5>\n<h5 style=\"text-align: left;\">Thumbnail image from\u00a0<em>Hamlet 2.\u00a0<\/em>Copyright Focus Features 2008.<\/h5>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" [...]","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2431,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[259,265],"tags":[139,228,63,105,114],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/performerstuff.com\/mgs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2390"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/performerstuff.com\/mgs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/performerstuff.com\/mgs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/performerstuff.com\/mgs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/performerstuff.com\/mgs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2390"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/performerstuff.com\/mgs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2390\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/performerstuff.com\/mgs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2431"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/performerstuff.com\/mgs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2390"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/performerstuff.com\/mgs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2390"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/performerstuff.com\/mgs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2390"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}