Trailer Hitch
By Eric Hughes
August 6, 2008
Welcome to Trailer Hitch, BOP's look at the latest movie trailers to hit the Internet. This week: All comedy! Enjoy.
Hamlet 2 – Opens August 22nd
Little Miss Sunshine broke the Sundance Film Festival record in 2006 when Fox Searchlight bought the rights for $10.5 million. As we all know, the film turned into a critical and financial success, and racked up a crap load of awards, including two Oscar wins (from four nominations). Two years later, we have Hamlet 2, a comedy that nearly eclipsed Sunshine's total, missing it by just half a million following an all-night bidding war (ultimately won by Focus Features). Do you see where I'm going with this?
Featuring Jesus nonchalantly asking Hamlet whether he indeed has his cell phone number, followed later by a song titled, "Rock Me Sexy, Jesus," Hamlet 2 looks like it could very well be a lucrative buy for Focus Features. In Hamlet 2, Steve Coogan stars as failed-actor-turned-drama teacher Dana Marschz, who pens a sequel to Hamlet in hopes that his politically incorrect, albeit musical creation staves off the threat of theater department shutdown. Expert opinion would conclude that a sequel to Hamlet would be all but impossible, but not when you have a time machine! Catherine Keener, Amy Poehler and Elisabeth Shue (playing herself) also star.
Grade: A Also expected to be released on this date: Death Race, The House Bunny, The Longshots, The Fifth Commandment, I Served the King of England, Cthulhu, Momma's Man
Ghost Town – Opens September 19th
Man, Ricky Gervais is one funny dude. I loved the Brit in The Office (the original, not Greg Daniels' equally funny Americanized version), and then again in Extras. Now he's made the transition to the big screen, with the clever Ghost Town marking the actor's first role as lead. In it, Gervais plays Bertram Pincus, a dentist who gains the ability to see ghosts after a near-death experience during a hospital exam. After this discovery, a slew of ghosts constantly ask him to do them favors, and in particular Frank Herlihy (Greg Kinnear), who wants Bertram to stop his former wife (Tea Leoni) from remarrying a dud. If successful, Bertram's annoying new ability will disappear.
Gervais' character brought a lot of laughs in the sneak peek, especially in the cold open where he is seen doing whatever it takes to shut up an annoying client. You know what else was a plus? An appearance by funny girl (and current SNL player) Kristen Wiig, whose involvement in any sort of film is always a worthy mention.
Grade: B Also expected to be released on this date: My Best Friend's Girl, Igor, Lakeview Terrace, Management, Taken, Tropa de Elite, The Duchess, Breakfast with Scot, A Thousand Years of Good Prayers
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