Scotland, Pa.

Sundance Channel Home Entertainment | Release Date: February 8, 2002

CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION

49	METASCORE Mixed or average reviews based on 25 Critic Reviews

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Critic Reviews

Critic score Publication By date

Peter Rainer

Writer-director Billy Morrissette doesn't have much feeling for satire -- or for Shakespeare. This is a comedy for people who couldn't make it through the CliffsNotes. Read full review

Jay Carr

Blurs the line between black comedy and black hole.

Roger Ebert

I have the curious suspicion that it will be enjoyed most by someone who knows absolutely nothing about Shakespeare, and can see it simply as the story of some very strange people who seem to be reading from the same secret script. Read full review

Hazel-Dawn Dumpert

It's a setup so easy it borders on facile, but keeping the film from cheap-shot mediocrity is its crack cast. Read full review

J. Hoberman

The irrepressible Walken smiles benignly down on his colleagues, secure in the knowledge that his antics have capsized sturdier vessels than this. Playing a supposed health-food nut, he enters the movie chewing and doesn't stop until he's devoured every scene down to the props. Read full review

Michael Wilmington

Think about the worst movie ideas you've had in your life, the ones so embarrassing they make you wince. Now imagine this: a modernized version of Shakespeare's "Macbeth" titled Scotland, Pa. Read full review

Keith Phipps

Shakespeare hasn't had it this rough since Lemmy from Motörhead performed the opening soliloquy in "Tromeo And Juliet." Read full review

Stephen Holden

Too leisurely paced and visually drab for its own good, it succeeds in being only sporadically amusing. Read full review

Rene Rodriguez

Shakespeare purists may scoff and wonder what the point is, but Morrissette would probably shrug and say ``Why not?'' Read full review

New Times (L.A.)Gregory Weinkauf

Hovers curiously short of its full potential for mirth and mayhem. Still, the movie is more fair than foul, and it succeeds well enough as a freakish experiment and mockery of all concerned.

Jami Bernard

As Shakespeare adaptations go, Scotland, PA. is just a McNugget, but the actors help sustain the satiric tone right up until McBeth's lady finally gets that stain out the old-fashioned way, with a cleaver.

Kevin Thomas

It's easy to accuse Morrissette of condescending to a bunch of yokels, but hardly anybody would hold that against him if the result had been hilarious instead of deadly dull. Read full review

TV Guide MagazineKen Fox

Basically a one-joke film, but the joke is a good one. Read full review

Desson Thomson

It's simple, sizzly and very funny. Read full review

Peter Travers

Walken is so funny, he almost makes you forget this flick is one joke stretched thinner than Calista Flockhart. Read full review

Lou Lumenick

The first half of Scotland, PA is by far the funniest, with witty dialogue, hilariously ugly period fashions and hairstyles. Read full review

Lisa Alspector

Kitschy, clever expressionist sets, subtly marvelous 70s costumes, and an almost monolithic rock sound track enhance the meaty performances of actors who clearly appreciate the opportunity to riff on a classic--and promote vegetarianism. Read full review

Joe Morgenstern

At many points along the way I wanted to wash my hands of Scotland, PA., but then this sly, silly comedy got me smiling again.

Sean Axmaker

Murders aside, Mac and Pat are the most fun-loving Shakespearean couple to hit the screen, and Morrissette's answer to Lady Macbeth's damned spot is brilliant. Read full review

Charles Taylor

This adolescent comic-noir trounces Shakespeare's "Macbeth," but Maura Tierney sizzles as a vengeful Lady Frycook. Read full review

Ron Wells

This should have been a black comic masterpiece. The cast is certainly up to the task, even in the small roles. Read full review

Owen Gleiberman

Funny? Yes, but in its slapdash way, it sounds nuttier than it plays. Read full review

Kim Morgan

Has two other notable things going for it: the brilliant Christopher Walken and a soundtrack packed with songs by the drippy power ballad band Bad Company.

Carla Meyer

Succeeds because of the cast's communal vibe of arrogant stupidity. Read full review

Carrie Rickey

That very curious thing, a Shakespearean happy meal. Read full review