I Hope They Serve Beer in Hell: An Unfunny Waste of Time

BuzzSugar — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 08:30:13 -0700

You're supposed to think that the jokes in I Hope They Serve Beer in Hell are so shocking, so offensive, that you laugh because you forget being PC for a moment. And if you don't laugh, you're the kind of square that Tucker Max, the lead character, takes aim at.

The real story is that the movie is offensive, but not because it's just so edgy. It's offensively unfunny - that is, the movie's jokes are not so offensive that they're not funny, they're such bombs you're shocked someone got paid for this. To see why I thought this movie was so terrible, just read more.

The Tucker Max of the movie (played by Matt Czuchry) is based on the real-life Tucker Max, who wrote the memoir the film is based on, which was based on his blog. I read the blog a bit and found it mildly amusing - so what changed in the film version? Nothing, really, I just think the larger scale of a movie can't validate the boringly immature Max. There's a plot, here, sort of: Tucker wants to give his best friend an epic bachelor party and whisks him out of town, where hijinks ensue (sound familiar? More on that later).

Tucker is supposed to be totally boorish and offensive, but his crudeness and raunchy jokes are not shocking; they're just lame. He talks about killing a fat girl and brags about having sex with a deaf girl. Yeah. Laughing at the inappropriate is not the new territory this movie acts like it is; five minutes of It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia provides more laughs than this movie does in its 105 minutes.

The one emotion I had watching I Hope They Serve Beer in Hell that wasn't disgust or boredom was sympathy. I felt bad for the poor actors, especially Gilmore Girls' Matt Czuchry, whom I've rooted for - I hoped he would land a great role that would invigorate his career. This is not that role. (All is not lost: he's in this Fall's The Good Wife.)

Even the adorable Czuchry can't make Max charming, nor can cute Jesse Bradford make Max's best friend Drew anything but abhorrent. It's painful watching him force out such pathetic one-liners. By the time Max and Drew are supposed to be redeemed, you don't believe any of it (but it does signal the end of the movie, so that's a relief). And I have to mention: there's the grossest fecal scene I've ever seen in a movie (it puts the poop monster in Dogma to shame).

Pouring salt in the movie's unfunny wounds is timing - The Hangover was released earlier this summer with a similar storyline, and it was a huge hit. But to call it a poor man's The Hangover is too generous; The Hangover was funny.

What movies are you seeing this weekend? Review them in our Movie Review Group!

W Gets a Poster and a College Roommate

BuzzSugar — Fri, 06 Jun 2008 14:48:10 -0700

Casting for Oliver Stone's movie W, based on the presidency of George W. Bush, just continues to roll along and so far it all seems a little. . . absurd (the idea of Elizabeth Banks as Laura Bush just makes me chuckle, for example). Today there's a poster, which gives us some new hints at what we can expect. I'm now willing to predict that this will be total and utter farce, given that the poster is simply a roundup of some of the most. . . questionable statements George Bush has ever uttered.

As for the latest casting news, Jesse Bradford (a.k.a. that guy from Bring It On and Swimfan) has been added to the group as Thatcher, president of Bush's fraternity. Shooting is underway as I type in Shreveport, LA and the movie will be careening toward a theater near you this October.

So, what do you make of all this? Will this movie be brilliant? Could you see it as a drama, or do, too, you think it'll be farcical?

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