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bluemeanie
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Posted: June 7, 2005 at 12:00am
Ahhhh, how I love a good Shakespeare adaptation. That's right, "Scotland, PA"--believe it or not--is a comic retelling of William Shakespeare's famous "Macbeth". Through a group of eccentric and erratic characters and a very humorous subplot involving the restaurant business, this film succeeds brilliantly and is extremely humorous.
James LeGros and Maura Tierney stars as Joe and Pat McBeth, both of whom work at Duncan's Restaurant, under the management of James Rebhorn. Let's just say 'something happens' (I don't want to give anything away) and the restaurant falls into the hands of Rebhorn's 2 sons. They turn the place over to the employees and Joe and Pat buy it up, turning it into McBeth's Diner, where their claim to fame is hamburgers, fries, and, yes, chicken nuggets. Christopher Walken pops up as Lieutenant Ernie McDuff and he is quite enjoyable in that role. The most interesting characters are the 3 hippies, an obvious take on the 3 witches. Andy Dick, Amy Smart, and Timothy "Speed" Levitch play the hippies. They help to guide and direct McBeth through life. And, of course, there are a few murders. Anyhoo...
This is the first film from writer/director Billy Morrissette, who you might remember from his small roles in "Pump Up the Volume" and "Ghoulies 3". He does a wonderful job with this film, though I did expect to see Kenneth Branagh pop up somewhere--he finds his way into every Shakespeare adaptation. Maura Tierney is delightful is a more mainstream film for her, and James LeGros really pulls his weight as the central character.
The only problem I had with this film was that Walken's character was so interesting and he wasn't given as much screen time as I thought he deserved. In a weird way, this film felt like a combination of "State and Main", "Chocolat", and "Little Shop of Horrors"--don't ask me to explain. The characters are interesting and enjoyable, and we actually end up caring what happens to them. As great as this film was, it is one that you can wait until video to see. There's nothing extra special about watching this one on the big screen. But, be sure you do watch it. Shakespeare would have wanted it that way. 6.5/10.
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