Event

I Hate Hamlet

Paul Rudnick's 1991 comedy I Hate Hamlet revolves around a discontented TV actor named Andrew Rally who is visited by another tutelary spirit -- this time the ghost of John Barrymore. Perhaps best known these days as actress Drew Barrymore's grandfather, between the two world wars John Barrymore was acclaimed as the Great Profile, a handsome matinee idol and movie star but also a noted wastrel.

Rally seems to have it all: celebrity and acclaim from his starring role in a hit television series; a rich beautiful girlfriend; a glamorous, devoted agent; the perfect New York apartment; and the chance to play Hamlet in Central Park. There are, however, a couple of glitches in paradise. Andrew's series has been canceled; his girlfriend is clinging to her virginity with unyielding conviction; and he has no desire to play Hamlet. When Andrew's agent visits him, she reminisces about her brief romance with John Barrymore many years ago, in Andrew's apartment. This prompts a seance to summon his ghost. From the moment Barrymore returns, dressed in high Shakespearean garb, Andrew's life is no longer his own.

Directed by Jonathan Ross