#1
Posted: 8/15/08 at 11:16am
I saw a screening of this last night.
During the movie, one of the characters, watching the show within the show at the end, says (I'm paraphrasing) "this is utterly detestable, yet oddly fascinating".
that is sort of how I felt about the movie as a whole. for those who don't know, the basic plot is that our main character, Dana Marschz, (whose last name becomes a running gag) is a failed actor. The movie starts off with some hilarious examples of his utterly hopeless acting, the funniest being a Herpes medication commercial. He winds up as drama teacher at a high school in Tucson, Arizona. He directs the theatre productions there as well, which are mostly re-written scripts of famous movies, like Erin Brokovich and Mississippi Burning, for his two actors, the only two people in the class. When a group of about 10 minorities come into the class, of course tensions rise. It takes a comedic approach a'la "dangerous Minds", which is alluded to by Dana's character, who feels compelled to view the movie in order to get inspiration on how to deal with these "gangsters".
We come to find out that the school has cut arts out of the budget for the following year, so in an effort to go out with a bang, and hopefully save the arts program, Dana takes it upon himself to create a completely "new" work, based on the story of Hamlet, where somehow a time machine is involved, and we get Jesus, Hillary Clinton, and all the hamlet characters in present day, singing and dancing their hearts out to songs such as "She's a maniac" and "someone Saved my life tonight" sung by the Gay Mens' chorus of Tucson.
The plot is ridiculous, but that is the fun in this movie. The final performance is worth the admission price alone, and along the way, there are some very nice gags, wonderfully funny one-liners delivered by ensemble cast, including the wonderful Amy Poehler who plays a spokesperson for the ACLU who is not afraid to break some balls, Catherine Keener, (who I don't usually care for, but she was wonderfully funny), and a great turn by Elizabeth Shue, who plays herself. It turns out that she got tired of the Hollywood scene, and retired to Tucson to be a nurse, where Dana finds her, and convinced her to come into the class to give the students a little pep talk. And Steve Coogan in the Dana Marschz role is does a great job at playing a lousy, pathetic, waste a human being that you still feel for. Though sometimes, he gets a little too close to imitating Steve Carell's Michael Scott in "the Office"
that being said, Everyone on this board should go see this, since it is about, and poking a little fun at theatre at the same time.
What I liked about it was that it managed to walk that fine comedic line between parody and genuine sentiment, and became touching at times, if only for 15 second increments, then going straight back to the laughs.
It also made some commentary about censorship and freedom of speech, as the play gets so much press because it is "blasphemous" that it creates a huge spectacle that requires security guards outside the high school, provided, of course by the minority members' friends, the 1st avenue Angels.
It is not a perfect comedy, some parts are shoddily written, and contrived, but I still enjoyed myself immensely.
During the movie, one of the characters, watching the show within the show at the end, says (I'm paraphrasing) "this is utterly detestable, yet oddly fascinating".
that is sort of how I felt about the movie as a whole. for those who don't know, the basic plot is that our main character, Dana Marschz, (whose last name becomes a running gag) is a failed actor. The movie starts off with some hilarious examples of his utterly hopeless acting, the funniest being a Herpes medication commercial. He winds up as drama teacher at a high school in Tucson, Arizona. He directs the theatre productions there as well, which are mostly re-written scripts of famous movies, like Erin Brokovich and Mississippi Burning, for his two actors, the only two people in the class. When a group of about 10 minorities come into the class, of course tensions rise. It takes a comedic approach a'la "dangerous Minds", which is alluded to by Dana's character, who feels compelled to view the movie in order to get inspiration on how to deal with these "gangsters".
We come to find out that the school has cut arts out of the budget for the following year, so in an effort to go out with a bang, and hopefully save the arts program, Dana takes it upon himself to create a completely "new" work, based on the story of Hamlet, where somehow a time machine is involved, and we get Jesus, Hillary Clinton, and all the hamlet characters in present day, singing and dancing their hearts out to songs such as "She's a maniac" and "someone Saved my life tonight" sung by the Gay Mens' chorus of Tucson.
The plot is ridiculous, but that is the fun in this movie. The final performance is worth the admission price alone, and along the way, there are some very nice gags, wonderfully funny one-liners delivered by ensemble cast, including the wonderful Amy Poehler who plays a spokesperson for the ACLU who is not afraid to break some balls, Catherine Keener, (who I don't usually care for, but she was wonderfully funny), and a great turn by Elizabeth Shue, who plays herself. It turns out that she got tired of the Hollywood scene, and retired to Tucson to be a nurse, where Dana finds her, and convinced her to come into the class to give the students a little pep talk. And Steve Coogan in the Dana Marschz role is does a great job at playing a lousy, pathetic, waste a human being that you still feel for. Though sometimes, he gets a little too close to imitating Steve Carell's Michael Scott in "the Office"
that being said, Everyone on this board should go see this, since it is about, and poking a little fun at theatre at the same time.
What I liked about it was that it managed to walk that fine comedic line between parody and genuine sentiment, and became touching at times, if only for 15 second increments, then going straight back to the laughs.
It also made some commentary about censorship and freedom of speech, as the play gets so much press because it is "blasphemous" that it creates a huge spectacle that requires security guards outside the high school, provided, of course by the minority members' friends, the 1st avenue Angels.
It is not a perfect comedy, some parts are shoddily written, and contrived, but I still enjoyed myself immensely.
"I'm an American, Damnit!!! And if it's three things I don't believe in, it's quitting and math."
Updated On: 8/15/08 at 11:16 AM
