Scotland, PA. (2001)

59% of critics liked it
(74 reviews)
73% of users liked it
(5,539 ratings)

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… More 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, Rovi

Play Trailer

Rating, Runtime: R, 1 hr. 44 min.
Directed By: Billy Morrissette
Written By: Billy Morrissette
Genres: Drama, Comedy

In Theaters: Jan 22, 2001 Wide
On DVD: Oct 22, 2002
Studio: Lot 47 Films

Critic Reviews

David Rooney, Variety
Offers more mild amusement than outright laughs...
Steven Rosen, Denver Post
There are some truly wacky parallels with Shakespeare's play.
Desson Thomson, Washington Post
It's simple, sizzly and very funny.
Ann Hornaday, Washington Post
The fun is infectious -- the puns, in-jokes and referential asides will keep Shakespeare buffs busy and the rest of the audience entertained even as some punch lines zing over their heads.
Rex Reed, New York Observer
A trailer-trash version of Macbeth that should be avoided like an Elizabethan pox.
Joe Baltake, Sacramento Bee
Scotland, Pa. is a strangely drab romp. Some studio pizazz might have helped.
Ron Wells, Film Threat
This should have been a black comic masterpiece.
Philip Martin, Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
... can't be dismissed as a vanity project
Stephen Farber, Movieline
A slyly macabre fantasia that works on its own demented terms.
Dennis Schwartz, Ozus' World Movie Reviews
It's as nourishing as a Big Mac with fries.
Hazel-Dawn Dumpert, L.A. Weekly
It's a setup so easy it borders on facile, but keeping the film from cheap-shot mediocrity is its crack cast.
Jean Lowerison, San Diego Metropolitan
An uneven parody that sometimes amuses but just as often annoys.
Paul Salfen, Supercala.com
Quite possibly the best "modernizing" of a Shakespeare tale in recent memory.
Karina Montgomery, Cinerina
McBeth's personal karmageddon builds with comedy and tragedy in equal measure, without being as long as the original.
John Venable, Supercala.com
Very clever writing and great casting make this a comedy that's fun to watch even if you're not familiar with the source material.
Edward Havens, FilmJerk.com
If you keep a list of films you want to see one way or another, you would be doing yourself a service by keeping this film high up on that list.
Jeffrey Bruner, Des Moines Register
It's not exactly a gourmet meal but the fare is fair, even coming from the drive-thru.
James Hebert, San Diego Union-Tribune
Underachieves only in not taking the Shakespeare parallels quite far enough.
Sue Pierman, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
The combined talents of cast and crew create a new take on an enduring drama that pairs nicely with a side order of kitsch.
Brian Orndorf, Modamag.com
As flaccid and undistinguished as star James LeGros's period wig.

Read all 21 critic reviews

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Featured Audience Ratings

jay n

A bit bumpy in execution but an interesting take on updating MacBeth.
Alice S

70s-tastic! Clever adaptation of Macbeth with modern kills, dynasties, and sexplay. Maura Tierney is hot.
Curtis L

Terrible. This goes to show that Christopher Walken really will do anything he is offered. It also proves that Andy Dick must die. Only good part: McBeth shoves a hamburger in vegetarian Walkens mouth as he tries to kill him.
Lanning :

To become king -- of the fast food industry. A wonderful transposition of the MacBeth tragedy. Yeah, it's true, a thousand years ago I guess killing MacDuff's family might have somehow helped expedite the plan, but we're talking the 1970s here, so it really strikes me… More
To become king -- of the fast food industry. A wonderful transposition of the MacBeth tragedy. Yeah, it's true, a thousand years ago I guess killing MacDuff's family might have somehow helped expedite the plan, but we're talking the 1970s here, so it really strikes me as more efficient to get right to the root of the problem: Will the power driven James LeGros, spurred by his ruthless soulmate, kill big city cop Chris Walken before the wily veteran vegetarian detective discovers the truth about this twisted couple's grisly push to the top of all fast foodom? The biggest revelation for me in this one is the job Maura Tierney does of descending very believably into the depths of madness. As Lady MacBeth, she works that oil burn as the sign of blood on her hands to true perfection. If for nothing else -- although it is Shakespeare, after all, so even if it sucked, I'd still feel a need to give it a viewing -- you must see this for Tierney's performance. I'm pretty sure she's a TV veteran, although I don't know what show(s), but I really cannot remember ever seeing her in films before. I can't even guess how old she might be, but she is a comer. I'll be on the lookout for more good work from her. A late bloomer perhaps?
Drew S

Shakespeare's Macbeth plus the fast food industry = awesome comedy movie. Set in the mid-70s, this movie takes the classic tale of betrayal and guilt and deep-fries it to glorious golden perfection. This is an extremely well-thought out, clever and most importantly funny comedy.… More
Shakespeare's Macbeth plus the fast food industry = awesome comedy movie. Set in the mid-70s, this movie takes the classic tale of betrayal and guilt and deep-fries it to glorious golden perfection. This is an extremely well-thought out, clever and most importantly funny comedy. Any movie that can make Andy Dick tolerable MUST be worth watching.
Walter M

[font=Century Gothic][color=darkgreen]"Scotland, Pa" is a deliciously off-beat updating of Shakespeare's MacBeth moved forward in time to small town 70's Pennsylvania. James LeGros and Maura Tierney play Joe and Pat McBeth who work in a fast food restaurant. They… More
[font=Century Gothic][color=darkgreen]"Scotland, Pa" is a deliciously off-beat updating of Shakespeare's MacBeth moved forward in time to small town 70's Pennsylvania. James LeGros and Maura Tierney play Joe and Pat McBeth who work in a fast food restaurant. They are a poor but ambitious couple who aim for better things. And if that leads to robbery and murder, than so be it. Which brings us to Christopher Walken playing a vegetarian detective, named Lieutenant McDuff. I was very pleasantly surprised by how faithful this movie was to its original source material with a few original touches thrown in. For example, the witches are a trio of hippies haunting a disused carnival played by of all people - Andy Dick, Timothy Speed Levitch and Amy Smart.(I know that sounds strange but it works wonderfully.) Just as importantly, the 70's production design is spot on.[/color][/font]
Daniel P

Greasy Spoon, Bloody Murder. Writer/Director Billy Morrissette has made a really fantastic film here - an updating of Macbeth, changing the setting to a fast food joint in Scotland, Pennsylvania (see what they did there?) in the 1970's.… More
Greasy Spoon, Bloody Murder. Writer/Director Billy Morrissette has made a really fantastic film here - an updating of Macbeth, changing the setting to a fast food joint in Scotland, Pennsylvania (see what they did there?) in the 1970's. Rather than a tragedy, the film plays as a black comedy with tragic undertones, mostly played for laughs with an excellent cast. Maura Tierney is truly terrific as Pat McBeth, getting the character just the right shades of wisecracking, manipulative and sympathetic. James LeGros is solid as ever as 'Mac' McBeth, and Christopher Walken is very funny without resorting to his usual creepy shtick. There's also a nice cameo from Amy Smart. There are some really great touches here - I particularly liked how the "washing of the blood" from Lady Macbeth's hands is updated, and how the ghostly visions Mac has are filmed. Great stuff, and I *love* the soundtrack.
Tom S

Andy Dick has never been better cast. I think in my heart of hearts I always knew he was a weird sister/stoner.
Leo L

A personal favorite. Love it!
FanGirl B

MacBeth in a hamburger joint. Do I really need to say anything more? One of my favorite Shakespear to film out there.