When William Shakespeare wrote Macbeth in the 17th century, I’m certain he never expected that one day his tragedy would feature the likes of Andy Dick. Then again, I doubt he would have ever thought there would be so many different adaptations of his works centuries after his death. 

And yet, here we have Scotland, PA (Rated R), a 2001 adaptation of Macbeth, in which the daring general and his wife work at a greasy spoon in a small Pennsylvania town in the ‘70s. While Joe “Mac” McBeth (James LeGros) has worked his butt off at the restaurant “Duncan’s,” he and his wife, Pat (Maura Tierney), feel underappreciated working there, especially when he is once again passed over for promotion.

Meanwhile, Mac meets up with three gypsy stoners hanging out at the nearby carnival who tell him visions of a drive-thru at the restaurant, with Mac as the manager. Of course, Mac already knows he has not gotten a promotion and he and Pat decide to meet with the owner, Norm Duncan (James Rebhorn), to get information they can use later. Unfortunately, playing informants accidentally turns into a robbery and murder, with Norm being killed in a deep fryer, splashing grease on Pat (Out out damn spot!). In the end, this helps Mac and Pat as Norm’s son leaves the restaurant to them instead of taking over.

This, of course, follows roughly with the classic tale of Macbeth, the Scottish general who kills the king after receiving visions from three witches, only to feel guilt later about his actions. Lt. McDuff (Christopher Walken) joins the cast after Norm’s death, investigating everybody in town, always one step behind the McBeth’s as more people are killed and injured in the small town.

As an avid fan of Shapespeare’s plays, I enjoyed this version almost more than the 2005 Shakespeare Retold adaptation featuring James McAvoy as a chef and trash collectors as the witches. By adding comedy to Shakespeare’s tragedies, they become more available to modern audiences and keep from being serious the entire stories. If you are looking for a fun way to introduce Shakespeare into your life, I recommend Shakespeare, PA, if nothing else to see Christopher Walken play McDuff.