Anyway, in his effort to save the drama department, as well as please the school's critic, Marschz spends many sleepless nights working on a new, original script. The result of his hard work is his masterpiece Hamlet 2. That's right, the name of the movie is the name of the play within the movie and not actually indicative of this movie being any sort of sequel, direct or not, to the William Shakespeare masterpiece. Marschz even finds an ingenious way to get around the fact that all the interesting characters in Hamlet die at the end — a time machine. Not to mention Jesus, leading to the big musical number "Rock Me Sexy Jesus," because, you know, he's hot.
Plenty of roadblocks are placed in the way for him and his class to overcome, but we don't want to it to be too easy, right? Hamlet 2 is not all that different in structure from the inspirational student/teacher dramas that it targets, not to mention directly references, such as Dangerous Minds, Mr. Holland's Opus, and Dead Poet's Society.
There is nothing structurally special about Hamlet 2. What makes the movie work so well are the writing and the performances. The screenplay from director Andrew Fleming and Pam Brady (South Park, Team America, and the underrated Hot Rod) is quick on its feet, and actually has some heart behind the offensiveness. I even like how they explain the appearance of Jesus in the musical. It is a movie that definitely trades on not being politically correct, but is not without genuine characters to connect with, which helps set it apart from other comedies with modest aspirations which often try for the quick joke at the expense of character.
Andrew Fleming directs the film with little flair. I would be hard pressed to point out any particular directorial style, especially from a filmmaker whose career includes such diverse offerings as last year's Nancy Drew, The In-Laws, and The Craft. Still, the film does have a certain vibrancy as we follow Steve Coogan and his journey to achieve his dreams as well as inspire those around him.
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