A lively debate has been going on here between Idol Chatter readers about the controversial comedy “Hamlet 2.” In particular the movie’s big musical number “Rock Me Sexy Jesus” has raised concerns for its irreverent content. I promised I would weigh in once the movie was in theaters, and since it opened in limited release last weekend, the time has come.
“Hamlet 2″ certainly does have some laugh-out-loud moments, and the movie will undoubtedly make create some new fans of British actor Steve Coogan, but as a whole the movie is really not as clever as it obviously believes it is. The themes it treads on and the cultural icons it mocks are really old material that are only occasionally given a fresh twist – and for some, I am guessing that will be enough, but I was hoping for a litle bit more.
A sequel to Shakespeare’s “Hamlet” is the brainchild of a second-rate actor and pathetic drama teacher Dana Marschz (Coogan) who decides that “Hamlet 2″ is the answer to saving the high school drama program. While others wisely mention that a sequel is a problem because most of the characters from the original play are dead, Marschz has the solution: He’ll create a time machine that helps Hamlet go back in time – with a little help from Jesus. Soon the production – and the storyline- are out of control and certain members of the community try to shut it down.
Religious controversy aside for just a minute, I honestly think that “Hamlet 2′s” biggest problem is that it tries to satirize too much. It spoofs the “High School Musical” craze, it riffs on musicals in general and “Jesus Christ Superstar” in particular, it makes fun of inspirational teacher movies, and it mocks sterotypes of Christians, gays, and Hispanics. With so much to poke fun at and only so much screen time, the movie ends up feeling like a hodgepodge of comic bits that have a hit-or-miss feel when it comes to actual laughs.
In terms of courting religious ire, the “Rock Me Sexy Jesus” number is actually not quite as offensive in the movie as it is when you see it out of context , and I would argue that that song is actually not the most offensive moment in the movie, period. There is another musical number that I think has it beat.
Though this movie is being compared to “Napoleon Dynamite” and other recent hot teen flicks, the movie this actually reminds me of the most is the dark comedy “Saved.” It also tried to mock many aspects of teen life, religion, etc. and did so with erratic results, And I can remember conversations with my friends in which we proclaimed how much better the satirizing would have been if only a few Christians would have been brave enough to tackle the same material. That’s exactly how I feel about “Hamlet 2.” I could complain more about it than I have, but there’s no point when Christian storytellers and audiences are still too afraid to tackle the cultural issues of the day with unflinching humor.
posted August 26, 2008 at 12:44 am
in a satirical movie how exactly does one satirize too much?
tho im sure you rarely watch south park, most of its humor is derived from poking fun at pop cultural, from the capitalist excesses to the lack of intelligence seen in most reality tv and hollywood in general.
and their satire is so vital to the nation, acting as a foil to the inane programming seen twenty four hours a day. so given a 2 hour window to bring our pop snobberies down a notch how can one movie deeply debunk everything from american idol and dangerous minds to jerry falwell and the republicans. its impossible.
so i can only hope that they continue to work their magic, this country takes itself too seriously sometimes and we need the matt stones and trey parkers of the nation (who are products of that environment) to shine a mirror in our faces.
posted August 26, 2008 at 10:31 am
I thought the movie was uneven but with some very funny moments and that Steve Coogan’s performance was one of the best I’ve seen this year. And I found the “Rock Me Sexy Jesus” unexpectedly sincere. The movie and the musical number made fun of Coogan’s character’s naivety and hubris but it did not make fun of Jesus — the Jesus character had the effect on the play-within-the-movie’s characters one would hope — he helped them to be better and more forgiving people. It is not dignified but in my opinion it is not disrespectful.
posted September 7, 2008 at 10:31 pm
The movie is an attack on Christ and all that is of God. Its called blasphemy
posted December 28, 2008 at 3:17 pm
I’m not sure what to think about this movie. I agree that the “Sexy Jesus” message is unexpectedly sincere and that the overarching message is good, but that message is wrapped in some flawed packaging. For example, in the movie Jesus encourages the kids to do the right things: to not smoke, etc. The kids praise the way he fought Satan (the Temptations?). These are good.
But, the kids also treat Jesus as a sex symbol. This has been done before, as in Jesus Christ Superstar and Godspell, but perhaps not quite as overtly or crudely as in Hamlet 2. But then again (and I must be getting old to admit this), so much of today’s pop culture is shocking in contrast to when I was young. Is it that society has degraded or simply that styles have changed?
When the kids sing “rock me,” slang for sex 30 years ago, is that sexual or simply a modern way to express the sentiment of being moved spiritually? Is it cynical innuendo on the behalf of the filmmakers or are they trying to shock the audience or is their message sincere?
The motives of the filmmakers are irrelevant. What they tried to say and what is said are two different things (ever try to relay a sincere compliment and inadvertently insult the recipient?). What matters most is the way digest the message. Cynics will laugh, but those with faith will accept the good with the bad.
The movie is rated R and kids should not see it. As adults, we can choose to see it or not, but we should not fear it. At times, God has a strange way of reaching out to us. He’s always there, but sometimes we’re too involved with our material lives to notice and He has to get creative. Maybe, just maybe, this is another of His peculiar ways of trying to reach a few more.