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.

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/

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.

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.)

There is nothing bad about this movie. Excellent production, writing, acting, and Shakespeare to boot! One of my favorites!!

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.

cool take on the bard

While watching the movie of Scotland pa, I noticed how this movie is really related to how Shakespeare wrote his most famous play of Macbeth. I was able to find a lot of similarities in this movie for example when lady Macbeth had any visitors in her restaurant the people that would go would end up being dead. She would even be bleeding from her hands which showed how she would always get scared about what she would be bleeding about. This movie was really fascinating because I feel like this made me understand how Macbeth really was. Then something I really noticed was on how this story began in Duncan's food restaurant and how hoe Macbeth took over hat restaurant and turned it into Macbeth's restaurant reminds me of how Macbeth took over MC.Duffs's kingdom when he was forced by his wife to take over the kingdom.. Just by watching this movie I was able to see how this scene looked like and I understood it much better. Even though I did see some differences than expected for example at the end of the movie I saw hoe Macbeth ended up dying and was killed by MC.Duff which went way different instead of MC.Duff dying it was Macbeth. I finally was able to understand the movie because I saw how each character looked like or how they each acted for example MC.Duff's kids who were different that he was.

Scotland Pa. is an interesting yet simple interpretation of William Shakespeare Macbeth in the 1970's. Mac (Macbeth) is an employee at McDuff's burger joint. But stuff happens and soon enough the burger joint becomes "McBeths's". If you know the story of Macbeth then you would easily understand every situation in this movie and if you don't know, I suggest you learn about it because it won't be as funny to you unless you know the story. Christopher Walken and James LeGros shine in their genius satyr roles. "Mac" played by James LeGros does a great job at interpreting what a modern-day Macbeth would be like. It's a great movie for students who are learning about Macbeth to watch because it's A: it's not boring and B: although it is not the exact story line, the movie is gets the gist of the play. The movie has everything you need to explain Macbeth. It has murders, prophecies, lying and action. Out of five stars I would rate this movie at a 3. It honestly helped me understand Shakespeare's "Macbeth" a lot better. If I were Shakespeare and I was able to see this movie, I would be pleased how well and how interesting it follows the plays story line.

pretty funny and clever flick.

Scotland, PA (2001) is a hilarious modern day incarnation of one of Shakespeare's most famous plays, Macbeth. Morrissette turns this dark tragedy into a satire of greed, and lust for power, in which the characters eventually feel remorse for their actions. Learning about Shakespeare's plays is not the most exciting thing, but after watching this film, it really helps you understand what the play Macbeth was about in an entertaining way. The film begins with Joe McBeth(James LeGros) and Pat McBeth (Maura Tierney) working at Duncan's, fast food restaurant. McBeth has many ideas to improve the restaurant but they never get considered. After the assistant manager of the restaurant gets fired and the place turns into a drive thru, McBeth and his wife decide to take action in the opportunity and kill Duncan. They succeed and eventually turn Duncan's into McBeth's restaurant. The restaurant continues selling burgers, but just when the McBeth's think everything is alright, McBeth's friend Banko and Lieutenant McDuff(Christopher Walken) start suspecting of them killing Duncan. This brings the McBeths to have hallucinations because of their guilt and they aren't capable of following through with the rest of the events. McBeth ends up killing Banko since he knows too much and he begins to lose his sanity. The witches in this film are stoned hippies. These hippies tell McBeth to kill McDuff but in a turn of events McBeth is the one who ends up being killed when he falls of the building. In the end of the film, McDuff turns the restaurant into McDuff's instead of McBeth's. Most of the characters in this film are very similar to those of the famous play. McBeth just like in the play is a sympathetic villain, he is easily persuaded by his wife who only lusts for power. She causes McBeth to turn ambitious, paranoid, and greedy. Both characters lose sanity which leads them to their death. The film involves a lot of profanity from the characters. The director's choice of actors was very clever since they were very similar to the characters they portrayed. As for the costumes, they were very much like how people in the 70's would dress, the language and personality of the characters as well fit into the 70's theme. Scotland PA, is not a movie for everyone but it is certainly for someone who enjoys dark comedy or the works of Shakespeare. People without knowledge of the play Macbeth, would just think the characters are awkward and strange.

An incredibly clever take on the classic tale of Macbeth, SP succeeds for those who know the story. For the rest unfamiliar with the Bard's original, the slow pacing will put you to sleep. I used this in conjunction with a homeschool study on Macbeth - my kid enjoyed it and it made for a good discussion session, post-viewing (sadly, the language would prevent it from being used in the schools - an educational loss). 5-star concept with 3-star execution~

Pretty funny...I wish I remembered "MacBeth" better but it did start to come back to me while I watched it.

I praise originality over most everything, this movie may not have been perfect or even great. But it was certainly enjoyable

A fun take on the story of Macbeth with a lot of unexpected laughs in it. Maura Tierney in particular is good as the Lady Macbeth character, and Christopher Walken is extremely entertaining as Lieutenant McDuff. It's interesting to see the comedic angle on such a well-known play. The abrupt ending didn't quite work for me, but overall it was fun to watch.

An odd parody of The Scottish Play and poking fun at the American lust for fast food, this one walked the line for me. I don't believe the writing lived up to the potential of the concept.

Maybe I didn't "get" it. I didn't find it funny or even interesting. And I usually love "restaurant" movies. Don't mix fries and Shakespeare. Please.

This was a strange movie. Macbeth in the 1970's. I thought the movie was good, if not strange, but I don't think I would sit through it again.

"Unusual" adaptations of Shakespeare often work better for me that straightforward adaptations (at least straightforward filmed adaptations). This is maybe my favorite version, perhaps because making it a black comedy helps accommodate the frankly ridiculous existing plot line. Scotland, PA. is sometimes trippy, sometimes hilarious, and usually inventive.

If you're familiar with Shakespeare's Macbeth, you might find this movie enjoyable. If not, then perhaps you should look elsewhere.