“Hamlet 2” is said to be the most offensive movie of the year. And although I can definitely see reasons for the shock, I don’t think it is as bad as it is being made out to be. If one can simply agree to find some humor in the things held so sacred, I think this movie can be quite enjoyable.
“Hamlet 2” tells the story of high school drama teacher and failed actor Dana Marschz, played by Steve Coogan, who was also in this summer’s hit comedy “Tropic Thunder.” His school year is off to a rocky start when he finds out that all but two of his drama students are only in the class because their other electives have been cut.
It gets worse for him when he is told that funding for the drama department will be canceled, and that after the term he will lose his job.
And so, he aims to write the most outrageous play to show the school what it will be missing. The result is “Hamlet 2,” an attempt to make Shakespeare’s classic “Hamlet” a bit happier. In his musical sequel, Marschz uses a time machine as a plot device to return all the characters of “Hamlet” back from the dead.
As if that’s not enough, Marschz pushes the offensive envelope one bit more by introducing Jesus.as a sex symbol.through a catchy song called, “Rock Me, Sexy Jesus.”
This is, of course, initially very, very, very offensive. Jesus is sacred, and nothing about his life was funny. However, Marschz is genuinely trying not to offend. He’s trying to write his own play complete with his own underlying father issues. He’s so deluded that he thinks “Hamlet 2” is the greatest play in years.?
The song is explained in the movie, and I don’t think that Marschz or the filmmakers are trying to make fun of Jesus. They’re just presenting him in a way one would never think of.
Yes, it is uncomfortable and probably shameful to think of Jesus that way, but if viewers can get over that, I think they’d find the true meaning of the movie more enjoyable.
Behind the offensiveness lies a message. Marschz passes on his love for drama to his students most of whom didn’t want to act in the first place. With his seemingly undying enthusiasm, he teaches them not to give up even when everyone in town wants to shut the play down.
When Marschz decides he’s had enough and begins to feel down, it is he who learns. His students encourage him the way he did them. It’s not a new message.
There have been several other movies of the like (“School of Rock,” “Dangerous Minds,” “Mr. Holland’s Opus”), but “Hamlet 2” delivers this message with crazy, nonstop, and, yes, slightly distasteful humor.
It is definitely one of the funniest movies this year.