Hamlet: The Prince Of Denmark Vs. Strange Brew

Shakespeare's Hamlet is what can be seen as one of the best tragedies of all time. In the spoof Strange Brew (1983), director and actors Dave Thomas and Rick Moranis take bits of the original story and parallel it with their own. Rather than being set in Denmark, the film takes place in Canada, and rather than Hamlet being the brooding son of a king facing his fathers death, it's a brew makers daughter has just died, leaving the empire of Elsinore beer in her hands. Though Strange Brew strays far into the realm of slapstick comedy, Shakespeare's classic tragedy is modernized and made into a story audiences can relate to while still paying respect to this tale of love and revenge through the use of plot line, characters and theatrical elements.

As the film first opens, we are introduced to two brothers, Doug and Bob McKenzie who host a Canadian television show which basically explains how a person can acquire free beer. They spend the last of their money on an angry crowd and are sent on a quest by their father to obtain more beer. Job and penniless, these two set out to take their own advice, and use a baby mouse in a beer bottle as reasoning for why free beer should come their way, and this is the location in the plot where the Shakespearean tale starts to intertwine. Their quest takes them to the Elsinore Brewing Company which they find has recently passed hands due to John Elsinore's recent death, leaving in charge daughter Pamela, 21, and wife Gertrude. As the two brothers learn more, Gertrude has married John's brother Claude, who through marriage owns 49% of the factory. Through the use of a magical arcade machine, Pam and her friend and advisor learn the truth behind what happened to her father, he was not electrocuted like they had originally thought, but killed by her uncle Claude and his evil henchman Brewmeister Smith. This sets in motion Pam's attempts at revenge which are thwarted by being placed in a mental institution that is somehow adjacent to the brewing factory, this is one part of the film that is never explained which can be perceived as parallel to the discrepancy in the inner structure of the plays reasoning. This film adds a less morbid twist at the close of the play with the deaths of Hamlet, Laertes, Claudius, and Gertrude amassed into one death of Brewmeister Smith, leaving the rest of the characters to go about their existences in peace. With comparing and contrasting the two plots, the audience gathers two different messages. From Hamlet, we see the complexity of action, whether or not to act, and what consequences that will ultimately have, the mystery in death, what it means when someone in your life dies, and the morality of suicide, and finally the welfare of the country of Denmark in conjunction with the royal family's situation. With Strange Brew, we see the ghost itself serving justice upon those who killed him, there is no call to act or honor found by the daughter to right the wrongs of the past, and the country will not be effected by this family's situation. Through the plot, there is a connection to the original Shakespeare play which will only be strengthened by the deep explanation of characters.

Through Strange Brew, there are no direct connections that can be found through characters within Hamlet, but there are aspects of each personality and actions that can be related. First, there are Bob and Doug, the dynamic duo who serve as the quasi heroic protagonists who can be related to Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, the two messengers sent by Claudius to uncover Hamlet's distress. In Hamlet, these two appear to be bumbling fools who wander around the castle, not sure what's going on around them at all times. This is also seen in the two characters in Strange Brew, Doug and Bob obviously help the plot along, but are over all inconsequential to the main idea of the story. Next, there is Pamela Elsinore who merely by plot appears to be closest in relation to a modern day Hamlet. She has obviously lost her father due to outside influences, and she seeks to revenge his death. Strange Brew, unlike the play Hamlet, doesn't center the entire story development around Pamela, or Hamlet if you will, and though she most closely resembles Hamlet, pieces of Hamlet's persona are scattered throughout characters in the film. Pam is touched by strange family interrelations, incest if you will, which has another drawing effect to seek revenge upon those members and through the film, she is one of the only cast members that is not effected by madness unlike her Shakespearean counterpart. Pam again, unlike Hamlet, does not play the person embittered by events in her life, though she is also not portrayed as a deep, thoughtful person overcome by her own self questioning. Last, there is the characters of Claude and Brewmeister Smith, who when combined seem to make up the entire evil, deceitful character of Claudius.

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