Scotland, PA

Who'd have thought the murder and madness of Macbeth could make a successful transition to a black comedy set in a 1970s fast food diner? Who'd have imagined its fortune-telling witches as pothead hippies with a Magic 8-Ball? Or Macduff, the general who swears revenge for his king's murder, as a police lieutenant played with deadpan delight by Christopher Walken? Who could have imagined TV sweetheart Maura Tierney (Newsradio, E.R.) as a deliciously conniving, yet sympathetically human, bitch-on-wheels Lady Macbeth? Writer-director Billy Morrissette, that's who. Scotland, PA, the fast and loose, wickedly funny, refreshingly accessible debut title on the Sundance Channel Home Entertainment label, stars James LeGros as Joe McBeth, the most under-appreciated burger flipper at Duncan's Diner, who is persuaded by his counter-girl wife (Tierney) to kill his boss and take over the joint. A little contrived and under-rehearsed at times, this is nevertheless full of surprises and genuine character complexity, with a joyous seat-of-the-pants feel. Recommended. (R. Blackwelder)