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Nancy Drew, with just a smidge over $25 million, is his biggest moneymaker in unadjusted dollars. Before Hamlet 2, his lowest grosser was Dick with $6 million. Rights to Hamlet 2 were purchased at the 2008 Sundance Festival for a near-record $10 million but when the film went wide in late August of that year, it struggled to get to $5 million (against a budget of $9 million). I am always shocked when big money is paid for little films that probably won’t get all that much audience attention (in this case, the hope was there that this could be the next Little Miss Sunshine), but in the case of Hamlet 2, I can see both sides of the fence. The studio was counting on the raunch generating some controversy and making it a must-see, and then letting good word-of-mouth on the film’s quality do the rest. Unfortunately, neither scenario took hold.

Fleming’s co-writer on the screenplay and many of the songs was Pam Brady, who works on South Park and has been involved in various capacities from writing to producing over its long run. She also co-wrote Bigger Longer & Uncut and Team America: World Police and many of the musical numbers therein. I wouldn’t have pegged her to be a good fit with Fleming and Hamlet 2 emerges as one of his weaker efforts if only because it seems like there is a hella raunchier, more offensive film, squirming to get out from the midst of Fleming’s kinder, gentler, though still barbed, satire.

A similar vein was evident on Nancy Drew. That feature admirably strove to be both true to Carolyn Keene’s creation and be a family-friendly outing, while finding the potential for satire and ironic humor hidden just beneath the surface. It was entertaining but never really found its groove. I think a better recent reimagining of the heroine was Chelsea Cain’s delightful comic novel Confessions of a Teen Sleuth. I would have loved to see Fleming tackle that, although its commercial potential would have been even more lackluster.

Hamlet 2 is both an open send-up of the inspirational teacher genre and, at heart, another tale of a teacher who winds up being an inspiration against all odds and quite by accident. Coogan shares with fellow Brit Ricky Gervais the ability and delight in playing potentially unlikable characters and finding something for an audience to like about them. Coogan isn’t quite at his best here, though (see 24 Hour Party People or Tristram Shandy for that), and I think the reason is that Marschz isn’t a fully realized character. He’s a little bit pratfall, a little bit funny, and a lot pathetic, but this never seems to coalesce into a comic creation. Ditto for the play Dana is writing. We gather hints of how awful and deranged it is, but most of this remains unseen in the end (which may be for the best.)

Among the other players, Catherine Keener as Dana’s wife Brie and David Arquette as a boarder that the couple have taken in to make ends meet, both underwhelm for quite different reasons. Keener is playing a spin on her “usual” brittle characterization but Brie alternates between abusive and soft quite schizophrenically. Arquette’s role is near silent and passive which is amusing given his capacity to steal a scene with his energy and volume. It’s good casting against type, but Arquette never gets a chance to make much of an impression.

And then, there is Elisabeth Shue playing…“herself.” This conceit may have become overworked in the decade since Being John Malkovich, but Shue is remarkably note-perfect. She doesn’t have the luxury of shock value (see Neil Patrick Harris in the Harold and Kumar series) and she isn’t entirely integral to the film’s plot, but she is sunny and unflappable and her reaction shots in the audience as the play unfolds get some of the film’s biggest laughs.

As for that ending, well Hamlet 2 (the play) is the best part of Hamlet 2 (the film). The showstopper, “Rock Me, Sexy Jesus” is a Grease-esque 1950s-style rock n roll parody and is a success not simply because it is funny and borderline offensive, but because the song is catchy and instantly hummable. Coogan with a wife-beater tee and shoulder-length hair strikes the right messianic pose. This is followed by a spirited and uplifting rendition of Elton John’s anthemic “Someone Saved My Life Tonight” performed in the film by the cast and The Gay Men’s Choir of Tucson but credited on the soundtrack to The Ralph Sall Experience. Taken together, these two numbers perfectly illustrate satire (the former) and earnestness (the latter). I am not sure that they fit together well here, but both songs help lift the film out of its doldrums.

And how does Hamlet 2 stack up as a creation? Well, considering that Dana writes it as a healing tool against the father who never supported his performing arts dream, it makes sense that Hamlet and JC - two figures with “father issues” if there ever were any - would team up to help each other out. After all, what’s a few centuries between new friends when you have a time machine?

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