Quint dances along with Steve Coogan’s Sexy Jesus in HAMLET 2 at Sundance!

March 5th, 2008

From Ain’t it Cool News

Ahoy, squirts! Quint here finally catching up on my Sundance
coverage. In the last month I’ve seen somewhere in the neighborhood of
50-60 films theatrically and another half dozen screeners to add onto
that pile.

Of all those movies only about a fifth were damn good and of those only a handful that are what I’d call fuckin’ good or better.

HAMLET 2 made the cut.

Steve Coogan. If that name puts a smile on your face, then get in
line now. This is Coogan at his finest. If his name got a “Huh?”
response, then that’s okay, too. You’ll be a new fan of his once Hamlet
2 hits and then, I’m sure, you’ll dive into the hilarious world of Alan
Partridge.

While Ricky Gervais, Martin Freeman, Simon Pegg and Nick Frost broke over here Mr. Coogan was biding his time.

In HAMLET 2, Coogan plays an Arizona drama teacher. In his mind he’s
a great actor and in the opening moments of the movie we’re treated to
his highlight reel, which consists of bit parts on infomercials and
speaking roles in STD treatment commercials.

He gets paid next to nothing, his wife (played by Catherine Keener)
is always bitchy to him (she married him and waited for his bit acting
career that never came), he’s got a live-in hanger-on (played almost
silently by David Arquette) and he’s struggling in a school system that
doesn’t value the arts. His classroom has been moved into the cafeteria
where his lectures have to compete with the lunch ladies noisily
cooking.

In short, his life’s a mess, but he still has a hopeful smile on his face, an almost childlike optimism.

In his new year of teaching he is given a class of delinquents. The
irony is not lost on him or the movie as he studies films like
DANGEROUS MINDS in order to learn how to make the transition from his
pure white-bread theater snob class to a multi-cultural class just
trying to get an easy A.

This same year, he finds out that the school has finally cancelled
theater and that situation brings the class together to achieve
Coogan’s game plan: He’s going to put on a play that is so popular, so
good, that the school board will be forced to reinstate the class.

In the past, Coogan’s plays all consisted of stage remakes of
popular movies. We’re treated to a glimpse at one of his previous
works, a stage version of ERIN BROKOVICH. He has a heated conversation
with his biggest critic, the high school newspaper’s entertainment
reviewer (a child no older than 12). He asks this kid why he always
gets a negative review. The kid simply states that his shows suck. Of
course, Coogan breaks down and the kid has to console him and gives him
a piece of advice. Do your own thing, don’t just copy everybody else.

With that in mind, Coogan is inspired to create his masterpiece…
HAMLET 2. But… everybody dies at the end of Hamlet, right? Aha! Well,
that’s where the time machine comes in.

Seriously, the final version that ends up onstage is something they
should tour with. You have time travel, historical figures coming in to
change the events of the first HAMLET and a dance number involving
Christ called SEXY JESUS.

And yes, his main inspiration to sequelize HAMLET is that he thought
Shakespeare’s original was too much of a bummer and he wanted a chance
to make it happier. He takes the tragedy out of HAMLET, essentially.

I can’t write this up without mentioning a particular actress. One
of the secondary stories is the difficulty Keener and Coogan are having
conceiving a child. So they go to a sperm bank and while they’re
waiting, Coogan bumps into a cute nurse, played by Elisabeth Shue. His
mouth hangs open and he says, “Excuse… but you look exactly like my
favorite actress Elisabeth Shue.” She smiles and says, “I am Elisabeth
Shue.”

And so it goes. She quit acting and became a sperm bank nurse in
Arizona… and she’s not a throwaway joke. She is a real character in the
movie, playing herself, and boy does she still have it. I’ve had a
crush on her since my childhood viewings of ADVENTURES IN BABYSITTING
and KARATE KID. She’s looking great and is as charming as she’s ever
been.

The script was whip-smart, as should be expected from Pam Brady. She
works with Trey Parker and Matt Stone a lot on South Park, the South
Park movie as well as TEAM AMERICA. She doesn’t disappoint here.

The flick just finished filming in November, so the cut we saw in
January I’m sure is still rough. There was a little drag in the middle,
but I’m sure they’ll tighten the film a bit before release. Even if
they don’t, it’s already hilarious.

It was the biggest pick-up at Sundance, with Focus Features dishing
a reported $10 million for it, so you know you’ll see a big release.
This’ll be one Sundance movie I”m sure will be at a theater near you no
matter where near you is.

Anyway, that’s it for HAMLET 2. Still more Sundance/Santa Barbara
flicks to go through before I’m done. Keep an eye peeled, squirts!

 

Leonid Rozhetskin via Wikipedia

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leonid_Rozhetskin

 

Leonid Rozhetskin`s Homepage

http://leonidrozhetskin.net/

 

 

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