Scotland, PA

Unfortunately, the few other reviewers were expecting Caddyshack or something. This is a Black Comedy, and it is very good. The scenes are quick and engaging. The actors are well suited for their characters. The Duncan brothers could have their own sequel. Christopher Walken is very sly and humorous, shaking his castanetta's while trying to solve a murder. If it was not made aware to you, this is a 1980's version of Macbeth, with Maura Tierney and James LeGros playing the scheming murderous couple, the McBeths. A hamburger restaurant is at the center of the action, with the McBeths being willed the restaurant from their former boss, Mr. Duncan. The cinematography very much captures Pa., as well as the sets.

Two final comments. The soundtrack was one of the best I have heard in years. Bad Company songs make up about half of it, with sprinklings of other ditties included as well. The second and most important is that Maura Tierney steals this film. Every scene she is in, you are transfixed to her. Her actions, her (in some cases) vulgarity and her great acting makes this her showcase. The scene with her and the pharmacist at the end is hysterical as she attempts to remove a burn from her hand which has long since healed. Bravo Maura and Bravo to this little movie that SHOULD have been a bigger success. Shakespeare adaptation not withstanding, you do not need to be familiar with the Bard to enjoy this film.

There are some that say if Shakespeare lived today he'd be a screenwriter. I don't know if that would be true, but it would be nice to speculate about it. Some proof that this might be possible comes from viewing actor/ first time writer director Billy Morrissette's (Pump up the volume) SCOTLAND, PA, a modern day reworking of MacBeth.

Set in the mid seventies SCOTLAND, PA stars James LeGros (Psycho) as Joe MacBeth a cook at Duncan's café. He the kind of guy with lots of ideas, but absolutely no drive and so people walk all over him. So when his boss Norm Duncan (James Rebhorn, Far From Heaven) uses some of them while promoting his useless son Malcolm, his wife Pat(Maura Tierney, Primary Colors), a beautiful and driven hatch's a plan. She and ‘Mac' are going to kill Duncan (who by the way made his fortune in Donuts (yes it's corny but I found it kind of funny)) and open up MacBeth's the first fast food drive-thru restaurant in Scotland, PA.

SCOTLAND, PA plays fast and loose with it's source material and has some really great ideas jammed packed in it. It's always fun to reinterpret Shakespeare, because his works are timeless. You can set them in the 18th century or a hundred years in the future and the characters are still real and powerful.

Maura Tierney's Lady MacBeth is phenomenal. It is a performance full of subtle nuance; of course she hatches the plan and is able to manipulate MacBeth. But there is also vulnerability about her. I wonder if she were my wife would I not follow? I'd probably do anything she said. She kind of reminds me of my fiancé, in whom I would probably kill for. That's the mark of a great femme fatale. Her performance is engaging and wonderful, and one of the best I've seen in a long time.

It's the other character's that seem understated and dull. No other performance really sticks out until Christopher Walken show's up. He portrays Lieutenant McDuff, the detective sent out to figure out just who killed Duncan. He plays the part with that certain gusto that only Walken could bring to the role. He's plays parts like these so well, he's always walking that thin line between quirky and bored and you can't help but be enchanted by him. He's really amazing.

I also enjoyed Amy Smart (Outside Providence), Andy Dick (Dude, Where's My Car?) and Timothy ‘Speed' Levitch (The Crusie) as the three witches. They offer the comic relief that some points of the movie desperately needed. Sure they were a little corny and maybe a bit to zany for the film, but since the movie has a certain silly tone, it was okay with me.

First time director and writer Billy Morrissette will always hold that special place in my heart at the tough guy in Pump up the Volume. He is defiantly a fun director who has a nice visual sense. I liked how the film may have been set in the 70's and yet also felt like it could have been happening in present day. Many lesser films would have felt like the characters were at a 70's party and not like real people living at the time.

I also liked the look of the press conference as they drove in the convertible. It's was just a beautiful sequence right before the dam breaks. It pretty powerful stuff.

Scotland PA is not a brilliant reworking of the MacBeth story, but it's fun, vibrant, and Tierney and Walken are worth and hour and forty minutes. I only wish the rest of of the cast were up to snuff. All in all I recommend this movie.

SCOTLAND PA is well worth a visit.

Lately, I've been forcing everyone I know to watch this film. It may not go down in history, but it is hilariously funny--especially if you don't take it too seriously! People need to chill out a bit about it, and not try to analyze it too deeply. It's a funny 1970's version of Macbeth with fabulous actors and actresses, and while much of its comedy comes from its similarites to the play, much of the comedy stands on its own. It's a great update, and I don't think it should be compared to films like "Shakespeare in Love" because the idea is completely different. It's not too violent of a black comedy, either, though moments like the killing of Duncan are outright hilarious. Take smaller moments, too, like when the children play with the body of Banco as it's being taken away. The acting is excellent--Tierney, Le Gros, Walkin...what else do I have to say? It's a fun film that I think you should see.

I really didn't get the "Duncan Donuts" gag until I sat down to write this brief review. It's that kind of movie, I guess: it is smarter than you think, but in ways that aren't necessarily very illuminating to the core of the drama.

This take on Shakespeare's MacBeth is both lightweight and light on its feet. It doesn't take itself very seriously but it takes what it wants from the material and spins it into an unexpected and hard to categorize movie. Think "Dazed and Confused" meets the Bard and you're getting pretty close to the mark, but it's campier than that, not as heartfelt, more smart-alecky. There's a little Twin Peaks bound up in the recipe, as well.

Though the material is not as well-crafted as, say, "Shakespeare in Love", the sloppy, homemade quality almost becomes its central aesthetic. It feels like something you'd dream up on a Friday night sitting around a hookah with your best friends, and by Saturday morning nobody could remember quite what you were talking about.

Even though the film utterly lacks the air of serious drama that one normally expects in a rendition of a Shakespearian tragedy, one can't help but wonder if the slapdash charms of this production might not actually lie closer to what versions Shakespeare himself might have seen produced at the Globe...rowdy, loose, untamed entertainment that races from one side of the stage to the other without pausing to ask what its all about.

Absolutely bizarre but effective adaption of the Shakespeare tale "MacBeth" by frist-time writer and director Billy Morrissette. In "Scotland, PA.", a '70s-like working class-like couple, Joe and Pat McBeth (James LeGros and Maura Tierney), who both work at Duncan's, a small-town fast food joint, dream of running their own restaurant and go to great lengths to earn it. However, they get their opportunity by sending their boss, Norm Duncan (James Rebhorn) to an unpleasant demise and quickly give the place a complete make-over. Before the duo think that they're never be caught and tried for their crime, a police lieutenant named McDuff (Christopher Walken), strolls into town to look into the case and find out who is responsible for Duncan's death. There's isn't a lot of funny moments in the movie, nevertheless, it makes you want to giggle with delight. The standouts here are Tierney and LeGros, who are fine in holding their ground throughout the time. As for Walken, who handles his character like Peter Falk did as Columbo or Frances McDormand in "Fargo" very well, gives the viewer another reason to enjoy the movie. This movie may not be well-made as "Shakespeare in Love", but this film also has the emotional edge and that counts as well.