Scotland, Pa.

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05/04/2022 I love a good Shakespeare adaptation — and Macbeth happens to be my favorite play of The Bard — but Scotland, PA, at its best, is a dark comedy, but at its worst, is just plain silly. First off, Joe ‘Mac' McBeth (James Le Gros) plays our protag as a numbskull while his wife, Pat (Maura Tierney), is the classic femme fatale. Part of what makes the play so enjoyable is that both characters are cunning and opportunistic, not just the female half. The plot revolves around ownership of a fast-food restaurant in the 1970s — very cool. However, where a real adaptation concerning innovation, greed, and pride could've driven the story, comedy rears its ugly head and derails the momentum. The "three witches" are feral hippies (Andy Dick, Amy Smart, and Timothy Levitch) and don't do the story any favors, unfortunately. Where the nods to the original are well-done comes in the form of "Tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow" soliloquy on the self-help tape and the "bloodstain" changed to a burn from errant, hot oil. Yeah, Walken is good as Lieutenant McDuff, but it's not enough to push this into the recommends. Had Scotland, PA committed to either drama or comedy, it likely would've been a better movie. See more 08/23/2021 Great modernized Shakespeare piece on my favorite story of his: Macbeth. The witches are great modernized satire of the story. I loved this. Walken is WalkenL Excellent/ See more nilufer e @Nilicim 05/09/2021 I usually like black comedy when they are funny but this one was more of a eye-roller for me. I love Maura Thierney and Christopher Walken but they weren't enough to save the movie for me. See more 12/26/2020 I was expecting a smart, funny update on Macbeth. Instead, it's boring and bad except for the excellent first encounter with the witches, the murder of Duncan (and subsequent burn biz), and the always reliable Christopher Walkom. (If you want a fantastic Macbeth update, check out Men of Respect (1990) with John Turturro and Rod Steiger set in the world of the Mafia. Great gangster flick that is also perfect for teachers who want to get kids turned on to Shakespeare.) See more 04/27/2017 There is nothing bad about this movie. Excellent production, writing, acting, and Shakespeare to boot! One of my favorites!! See more 06/10/2014 From the 1600s to the 1900s this film is a different atmosphere from before. A burger joint? Pretty unique and made Scotland, PA even more funny and interesting. Scotland PA is the same story of Macbeth just in a different setting, more modern time, and in this case this film is about a burger joint and who can do a better job at working a restaurant ; Macbeth or McDuff. Shakespeare's Macbeth is a tragedy and is one of his darkest works ever created but this film didn't seem that way and I enjoyed the movie even more because it made of fun of Macbeth but got the point through. Scotland PA reminds me of a competition of who can be better and a burger joint makes sense. As I was watching this film with my Drama class it was more exciting and I got more of an understanding what Shakespeare was trying to say on Macbeth. Very dramatic that it almost didn't seem like they were being serious because of how each character acted; exaggerated and hilarious. Since William Shakespeare was such an amazing storyteller it was so different from what I expected. I felt like the theme of this movie was not only to see who is better but shows what frustration and power can lead to and how it can be dangerous. See more Read all reviews

Scotland, Pa.

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