I decided to take a chance on Hamlet 2 tonight because it seemed like a fun comedy I could end my weekend with. Steve Coogan (Tropic Thunder, Night at The Museum) stars as Dana Marschz, a drama teacher at an Arizona high school whose passion for the arts has shaped his life. From herpes medication commercials to spots on Xena Warrior Princes, clips of Dana’s failed acting career show just how tragic a character he has become. He continually puts on productions of Hollywood movies like Erin Brokavich that only receive scathing reviews from their resident high school theater critic. After Dana receives news that the theater department will cease to exist at the end of the term, he becomes motivated to put on a musical sequel to Hamlet that involves dance numbers, a sexy Jesus Christ and a time machine in order to save his job.

The film could almost fit into the same category as Freedom Writers, Take the Lead and Dangerous Minds. Y’know? The determined teacher finds a way to instill passion into the hearts of his/her students no matter how troubled or Mexican they are? In fact, Dana references Michelle Pfeiffer’s struggle to connect with the ethnic students she tries to teach in Dangerous Minds. But Hamlet 2 works as more of a spoof of the teacher-student relationship. And instead of having the students put their minds to passing a test or winning a prestigious competition, the film has Dana’s class putting on the most offensive play imaginable.

The movie has a few comedic instances that fall short, like the several bare-ass shots of Coogan, and slapstick punches, falls and wall-bangs. (Why was Dana so horribly bad at skating if he supposedly did it every single day of the year because he had no car?) It also has the obligatory interracial romance and shy girl that speaks up when it’s most important. And I was seriously disappointed that Amy Poehler had me wishing she had a better script to work with.

However, Dana’s dedication and relentless hard work had me rooting for the show to go on, despite how ridiculously terrible I knew it would be. And the result is a hysterically over-the-top, musical that I wish I could pay to see in an actual playhouse. Check out “Rock Me Sexy Jesus” below.

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