'Hamlet 2' review

Steve Coogan and Elisabeth Shue (as herself) in "Hamlet 2" (Credit: Focus)

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Failed actor/inept high-school drama teacher Dana Marschz (Steve Coogan) is a doofus who roller-skates to work, writes without pants and isn’t quite sure how to pronounce his own last name. Needing to raise $6,000 or have his theater program canceled, Marschz works to stage his first original play, “Hamlet 2,” a non-sensical, time-traveling mess featuring the hilarious song, “Rock Me, Sexy Jesus.”

Big question: Can this absurd comedy, directed by Andrew Fleming (“Nancy Drew”) and co-written by Pam Brady (“Hot Rod”), stay funny without flying off the rails?
 
Catch it: Coogan brings idiotic vulnerability to a Will Ferrell-esque role, turning Marschz into a lovable fool who at times doesn’t seem too far from Steve Carell’s Michael Scott on “The Office.” (His genuine belief in drama also makes up for an overwhelming number of outrageous antics and underwhelming performances from the kids.) Few actors besides Coogan could make lines like, “I have so much anger I feel like I've been raped in the face,” sound borderline endearing. Borderline.
 
Skip it: If you can’t understand Marschz when he professes the artistic value of kicking a garbage can at a student just because it registers as a theatrical moment that the kids won’t soon forget. Surely the school board would feel the same!
 
Bottom line: This is an awfully rickety vehicle, clunking around with no hands on the wheel because it’s so busy trying to push the audiences’ buttons. At one point the school’s teenage theater critic tells our hero, “Sometimes an idea can be so bad it starts to turn good again,” and “Hamlet 2” volleys back and forth so often you won’t be quite sure where it lands.
 
Bonus: The movie gets a big assist from supporting roles by Catherine Keener as Marschz’s unhappy wife and Amy Poehler as the director’s attorney. Can you believe anyone would dream of shutting down a play with controversial religious content?

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