{ "id": "epmg8pxxsr", "slug": "hamlet-2", "title": "Hamlet 2", "updated": "2026-11-01", "topic_path": [ { "id": "culture", "label": "Arts and culture", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture" }, { "id": "culture.performance", "label": "Screen and stage", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen", "label": "Film and television", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.films", "label": "Films and standalone screen works", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.films" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works", "label": "Individual films by title and year", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.comedy-romance", "label": 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"https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.us.t2001.culture.performance.screen.films" }, { "id": "geo.us.t2001.culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works", "label": "Individual films by title and year", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.us.t2001.culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works" }, { "id": "geo.us.t2001.culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.comedy-romance", "label": "Comedy and romantic films (individual works)", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.us.t2001.culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.comedy-romance" }, { "id": "geo.us.t2001.culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.comedy-romance.comedies-of-2007-to-2008", "label": "Comedies of 2007 to 2008", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.us.t2001.culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.comedy-romance.comedies-of-2007-to-2008" } ] } ], "excerpt": "Hamlet 2 is a 2008 American comedy film directed by Andrew Fleming, starring Steve Coogan as a high school drama teacher who stages a musical sequel to Shakespeare's Hamlet.", "snippet": "Hamlet 2 is a 2008 American comedy film directed by Andrew Fleming, starring Steve Coogan as a high school drama teacher who stages a musical sequel to Shakespeare's Hamlet.", "node": "culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.comedy-romance.comedies-of-2007-to-2008.yr-2008", "markdown": "# Hamlet 2\n\n**Hamlet 2** is a 2008 American comedy film directed by Andrew Fleming, written by Fleming and Pam Brady, and starring [Steve Coogan](https://www.edgepedia.org/steve-coogan) as Dana Marschz, a failed actor turned high school drama teacher in [Tucson, Arizona](https://www.edgepedia.org/tucson-arizona), who stages a politically incorrect musical sequel to Shakespeare's *Hamlet* to save his school's theater program.[1](https://www.focusfeatures.com/hamlet_2) • [2](https://www.boxofficemojo.com/title/tt1104733/) The film premiered at the 2008 [Sundance Film Festival](https://www.edgepedia.org/sundance-film-festival), where Focus Features acquired it for a reported $10 million, and it opened in US theaters on August 22, 2008.[3](https://playbill.com/article/much-ado-about-hamlet-2-sequel-film-sells-for-10-million-at-sundance-com-147096) • [4](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/64656-HAMLET-2)\n\n| Key fact | Detail |\n|---|---|\n| Director and writers | Andrew Fleming; screenplay by Fleming and Pam Brady[1](https://www.focusfeatures.com/hamlet_2) |\n| Lead cast | Steve Coogan (Dana Marschz), Catherine Keener, David Arquette, Amy Poehler, Elisabeth Shue, Melonie Diaz, Skylar Astin, Phoebe Strole[1](https://www.focusfeatures.com/hamlet_2) |\n| Sundance sale | Sold to Focus Features for a reported $10 million within hours of its world premiere at the 2008 festival[3](https://playbill.com/article/much-ado-about-hamlet-2-sequel-film-sells-for-10-million-at-sundance-com-147096) |\n| Release | August 22, 2008 (US, limited then wide); rated R; 92 minutes[4](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/64656-HAMLET-2) |\n| Box office | $439,925 domestic opening; $4,886,216 domestic; $4,925,288 worldwide, against a $9,000,000 budget[2](https://www.boxofficemojo.com/title/tt1104733/) |\n| Critical reception | 63% on the Tomatometer (144 reviews); Metascore 54, \"mixed or average\"[5](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/hamlet_2) • [6](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/hamlet-2/critic-reviews/) |\n| Music | Score and songs by Ralph Sall, including the number \"Rock Me Sexy Jesus\"[4](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/64656-HAMLET-2) • [7](https://playbill.com/article/high-school-drama-teacher-creates-musical-theatre-sensation-in-hamlet-2-com-152685) |\n\n## Spoilers\n\n### Plot\n\nDana Marschz, described in the studio synopsis as a failed actor turned worse high school drama teacher, writes pretentious musical adaptations of Hollywood blockbusters for his indifferent students. When budget cuts threaten the theater department, he writes an original piece he hopes will solve everything: a sequel to *Hamlet*.[1](https://www.focusfeatures.com/hamlet_2) His home life is equally shambolic, with his hostile and unhappy wife having an affair with their lodger.[5](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/hamlet_2)\n\nThe play-within-the-film sends Hamlet back in time, aided by a time machine built by the shop class, to team up with Jesus Christ and save the characters killed in the original play; Roger Ebert, longtime film critic of the *Chicago Sun-Times*, notes it also brings back Einstein and [Hillary Clinton](https://www.edgepedia.org/hillary-clinton), with music by the Tucson Gay Men's Chorus.[8](https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/hamlet-2-2008) The risque content provokes opposition from the principal, local protests, and legal intervention by the ACLU, and the production is finally staged not in the school but in an abandoned railroad shed.[9](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2008-aug-21-et-hamlet21-story.html) • [8](https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/hamlet-2-2008) A running device is the school newspaper's freshman theater critic, Noah Sapperstein, whose savage reviews of Dana's earlier work push him toward originality and whose verdict on the sequel frames the ending.[8](https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/hamlet-2-2008) • [10](https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/style/2008/08/22/hamlet-2-a-fellow-of-infinite-jest/8b5efe4a-4e00-48f9-a88b-94763e4ff996/)\n\n## Production\n\nFleming and Brady, who had previously collaborated on unproduced television pilots, wrote the script independently over about five years without pitching it to studios first. Fleming said the starting point was the character of Dana, an \"insane idealist\" whose optimism survives with no positive feedback, and that the satire, including the ACLU storyline, emerged during writing rather than by design. An early title was \"Mr. Holland's A--s\", abandoned because it had already been used by a pornographic film.[11](https://www.cinema.com/articles/5732/hamlet-2-andrew-fleming-pam-brady-explain-it-all.phtml) Brady had previously worked on *South Park* and *Team America*.[11](https://www.cinema.com/articles/5732/hamlet-2-andrew-fleming-pam-brady-explain-it-all.phtml)\n\nThe film was produced by Eric Eisner, Aaron Ryder, and Leonid Rozhetskin for L & E Pictures, with [Focus Features](https://www.edgepedia.org/focus-features) as distributor; Alexander Gruszynski was the cinematographer and Ralph Sall the composer.[4](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/64656-HAMLET-2) After wrapping production, the filmmakers had ten weeks before showing it at Sundance, where it became one of the festival's hits.[12](https://playbill.com/article/stage-to-screens-chats-with-maura-tierney-hamlet-2-creator-fleming-actors-astin-strole-com-152647)\n\n## Reception\n\n**Critical response was divided.** On Rotten Tomatoes the film holds 63% from 144 reviews, with the site's critics consensus crediting \"the script's biting premise and Steve Coogan's endearing, off-the-handle performance\"; audience scores were lower, at 56% from more than 10,000 ratings.[5](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/hamlet_2) Metacritic assigned a Metascore of 54 from 28 reviews, categorized as mixed or average, with 12 positive, 14 mixed, and 2 negative.[6](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/hamlet-2/critic-reviews/)\n\nReviewers consistently singled out Coogan. Peter Travers in *Rolling Stone* called it his breakthrough star performance, and Roger Ebert called the film \"an ideal showcase for the talents of Coogan\".[6](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/hamlet-2/critic-reviews/) • [8](https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/hamlet-2-2008) Nathan Rabin of The A.V. Club wrote that \"at its best, *Hamlet 2* is nothing short of hilarious\".[6](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/hamlet-2/critic-reviews/) Negative reviews targeted the execution: Time Out called it \"dishearteningly unfunny\" and questioned the Sundance purchase, while Richard Corliss in *Time* wrote that the film \"is as needy as its hero\".[13](https://www.timeout.com/movies/hamlet-2-1) • [14](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1104733/criticreviews/)\n\n**Box office fell well short of the acquisition price.** Against a $9 million budget, the film earned $439,925 on its domestic opening and finished with $4,886,216 in the United States and $4,925,288 worldwide, with international receipts of only $39,072 from a handful of territories including Romania, the Netherlands, Greece, France, and Iceland.[2](https://www.boxofficemojo.com/title/tt1104733/)\n\n## Legacy\n\nThe film is frequently discussed as a satire of the inspirational-teacher genre and of putting-on-a-show high school musicals; the *Washington Post* described it as playing with \"the stock figures of the high school musical and the inspirational-teacher flick\", and Fleming and Brady confirmed in interviews that aggravation with inspirational-teacher movies was an early inspiration.[10](https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/style/2008/08/22/hamlet-2-a-fellow-of-infinite-jest/8b5efe4a-4e00-48f9-a88b-94763e4ff996/) • [11](https://www.cinema.com/articles/5732/hamlet-2-andrew-fleming-pam-brady-explain-it-all.phtml) It gave early film roles to [Skylar Astin](https://www.edgepedia.org/skylar-astin) and Phoebe Strole, and [Elisabeth Shue](https://www.edgepedia.org/elisabeth-shue) appears as herself.[12](https://playbill.com/article/stage-to-screens-chats-with-maura-tierney-hamlet-2-creator-fleming-actors-astin-strole-com-152647) • [8](https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/hamlet-2-2008) The film remains available for digital rental and purchase.[15](https://www.justwatch.com/us/movie/hamlet-2)\n\n## References\n\n1. [Hamlet 2, Focus Features](https://www.focusfeatures.com/hamlet_2)\n2. [Hamlet 2 (2008), Box Office Mojo](https://www.boxofficemojo.com/title/tt1104733/)\n3. [Much Ado About \"Hamlet 2\": Sequel Film Sells for $10 Million at Sundance, Playbill](https://playbill.com/article/much-ado-about-hamlet-2-sequel-film-sells-for-10-million-at-sundance-com-147096)\n4. [Hamlet 2 (2008), AFI Catalog](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/64656-HAMLET-2)\n5. [Hamlet 2, Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/hamlet_2)\n6. [Hamlet 2 Critic Reviews, Metacritic](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/hamlet-2/critic-reviews/)\n7. [High School Drama Teacher Creates Musical Theatre Sensation in \"Hamlet 2\", Playbill](https://playbill.com/article/high-school-drama-teacher-creates-musical-theatre-sensation-in-hamlet-2-com-152685)\n8. [Hamlet and Jesus return in rockin' musical sequel, review by Roger Ebert](https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/hamlet-2-2008)\n9. [Dangerous minds, Los Angeles Times](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2008-aug-21-et-hamlet21-story.html)\n10. [\"Hamlet 2\": A Fellow of Infinite Jest, The Washington Post](https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/style/2008/08/22/hamlet-2-a-fellow-of-infinite-jest/8b5efe4a-4e00-48f9-a88b-94763e4ff996/)\n11. [Hamlet 2: Andrew Fleming & Pam Brady Explain It All, Cinema.com](https://www.cinema.com/articles/5732/hamlet-2-andrew-fleming-pam-brady-explain-it-all.phtml)\n12. [STAGE TO SCREENS: Chats with Maura Tierney, \"Hamlet 2\" Creator Fleming & Actors Astin, Strole, Playbill](https://playbill.com/article/stage-to-screens-chats-with-maura-tierney-hamlet-2-creator-fleming-actors-astin-strole-com-152647)\n13. [Hamlet 2, Time Out review](https://www.timeout.com/movies/hamlet-2-1)\n14. [Hamlet 2 Metacritic reviews, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1104733/criticreviews/)\n15. [Hamlet 2 streaming, JustWatch](https://www.justwatch.com/us/movie/hamlet-2)\n\n---\n*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Films and standalone screen works › Individual films by title and year › Comedy and romantic films (individual works) › Comedies of 2007 to 2008 › Released in 2008*\n\n*Initially written Oct 3, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 3, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 3, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*\n\n*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*\n\nLicense: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license\n", "same_as": [], "url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/hamlet-2", "markdown_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/hamlet-2.md", "license": { "name": "Edgepedia Community License 1.0", "url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license", "summary": "Free with credit, commercial use included. AI training is open to everyone. For other uses, organizations over USD 100M in revenue or 100M monthly users license separately.", "spdx": "LicenseRef-Edgepedia-Community-1.0" }, "credit": "\"Hamlet 2\", Edgepedia (EdgeChat), https://www.edgepedia.org/hamlet-2. Edgepedia Community License 1.0.", "credit_md": "\"[Hamlet 2](https://www.edgepedia.org/hamlet-2)\", Edgepedia (EdgeChat), [https://www.edgepedia.org/hamlet-2](https://www.edgepedia.org/hamlet-2). [Edgepedia Community License 1.0](https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license).", "credit_html": "\"Hamlet 2\", Edgepedia (EdgeChat), https://www.edgepedia.org/hamlet-2. Edgepedia Community License 1.0.", "speakable": "Hamlet 2 is a 2008 American comedy film directed by Andrew Fleming, starring Steve Coogan as a high school drama teacher who stages a musical sequel to Shakespeare's Hamlet." }