Search - Scotland, PA on DVD

MPAA Rating: R Content Advisory: Violence, Nudity, Adult Situations, Adult Language, Adult Humor Movie Release: 2001 DVD Release: 10/22/2002 Format: DVD - Letterbox for TV - Closed Captioned Audio Tracks: English SwapaDVD Credits: 1 Number of Discs: 1 Run Time: 1 hrs 44 mins Studio: Showtime Entertainment Members Wishing: 2 Genres: Comedy, Parody/Spoof, Farce, Crime Comedy

What happens if you take one of William Shakespeare's darkest tragedies and move it to a burger joint in the early 1970s? The answer can be found in the satiric comedy Scotland, PA, the first feature from writer and director Billy Morrissette. Mac McBeth (James LeGros) is a hard-working but unambitious doofus who toils at a hamburger stand alongside his wife Pat (Maura Tierney), who has a significant edge in the brains department. Pat is convinced she could do a lot better with the place than their boss Norm Duncan (James Rebhorn) is doing, so she works up a plan to usurp Norm, convincing Mac to rob the restaurant's safe and then murder Norm, using the robbery as a way of throwing the police off their trail. Though two stoners (Andy Dick and Timothy Speed Levitch) and a would-be fortune teller (Amy Smart) warn Mac that bad luck awaits him, he gathers his courage and goes through with his wife's scheme. At first, things seem to have gone just as Pat hoped, and after Norm's sons (Geoff Dunsworth and Tom Guiry) sell the restaurant to the McBeths (they pay for it with the money they stole from Norm), business takes off. But vegetarian police detective McDuff (Christopher Walken) is convinced there's foul play at the new center of the fast food universe, and when the McBeths fear that fry cook Banco (Kevin Corrigan) knows more than he's letting on, Pat decides another murder is on the menu. Scotland, PA premiered at the 2001 Sundance Film Festival; incidentally, Shakespeare does receive screen credit for his contribution to the story. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

James LeGros - Joe "Mac" McBeth
Maura Tierney - Pat McBeth
Christopher Walken - Lt. Ernie McDuff
Kevin Corrigan - Anthony "Banko" Banconi
James Rebhorn - Norm Duncan

Scotland, Pa., an unusual, yet often funny, retelling of William Shakespeare's McBeth, simply goes to prove that even a very small, independent film will make the move to DVD. Image wise, this disc is shown 1.85:1, and while not anamorphic, still looks very nice. Colors are realistic, and the earthy tones look entirely natural. Darker scenes, which comprise a good portion of the film, never show any shade imbalance and generally look solid. Grain and scratches are fortunately kept to a minimum. The sound is a bit of a letdown as it's only available in an English Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround leaving it centered up front without any surround material. Given the films low budget this really isn't a surprise, but what isn't welcome is the poor mastering of the soundtrack. Dialogue is often recorded too low, while the music (often by Bad Company) is overly loud. As for extra materials, they aren't exactly plentiful. The highlight would be a commentary from first time director Billy Morrissette. He has plenty to talk about which keeps this scene specific track alive. Other than this there is a short (about 5 minutes) recollection from Morrissette about making the film, and a couple of brief spots for the Sundance Channel. Still, even though the disc is a bit uneven, the movie is just odd enough to keep anyone's attention. Of course, maybe odd enough to turn others off. ~ Trent Fordham, All Movie Guide