Beerfest, 2006
Beerfest
Written by .... Broken Lizard
Paul Soter .... Jan Wolfhouse
Erik Stolhanske .... Todd Wolfhouse/Young Baron Ludwig
Kevin Heffernan .... Landfill/Gil/Sausage Lady
Jay Chandrasekhar .... Barry/Blind Sikh
Steve Lemme .... Steve "Fink" Finklestein/Emcee
Cloris Leachman .... Great Gam Gam
Will Forte .... Otto
Nat Faxon .... Rolf
Eric Christian Olsen .... Gunter
Ralf Moeller .... Hammacher
Gunter Schlierkamp .... Schlemmer
Beerfest was a very enjoyable movie. It seemed long, but it wasn't terribly overwrought; the acting and storyline was what one might expect from the Broken Lizard crew; and there was lots and lots of beer. Oh, and theskooch, there were a grand total of 15 naked or mostly naked sets of breasts.
At the moment, I feel that Super Troopers is this comedy troupe's best attempt, but I respect this movie as a new manifestation of Broken Lizard humor. What I like about this group of funny people is that they don't have to be mean and they don't rely on stereotypes to make their movies entertaining. As my boyfriend observed after we watched Beerfest, it would have been so easy for the writers to make jabs at Nazis through Fink (Lemme) and by going to Germany to beat the Germans at their own drinking game--but they didn't do it. They have an entertaining plot with an entertaining goal, and enough dialogue, brains, and physical humor to make this movie work.
I like how the guys in Broken Lizard switch characters in their movies--they really are decent actors. Fink (Lemme) was the most remarkable change from Super Troopers as a Jewish scientist/physicist who, well, jerks off frogs for a living (it's for science!). Landfill (Hefernan) is similar to Farva from Super Troopers, but much less of an idiot and much funnier to the other people in the story. And, of course, Barry (Chandrasekhar) plays a gay prostitute--a real change from his other characters.
In general, I'm probably not the best person to review this movie: I hate beer. I don't have a passion for it like these characters in the movie, and frankly, watching people drink beer for two hours isn't my idea of a wonderful time. I was interested and engaged enough--the movie really did make me laugh--but I'm sure you beer-lovers out there will enjoy this movie much more than I did. I'd watch this movie again, but only if I were drunk and only if I didn't have Super Troopers around to fulfill my need for Broken Lizard comedy.
Pretty much recommended: B.
Written by .... Broken Lizard
Paul Soter .... Jan Wolfhouse
Erik Stolhanske .... Todd Wolfhouse/Young Baron Ludwig
Kevin Heffernan .... Landfill/Gil/Sausage Lady
Jay Chandrasekhar .... Barry/Blind Sikh
Steve Lemme .... Steve "Fink" Finklestein/Emcee
Cloris Leachman .... Great Gam Gam
Will Forte .... Otto
Nat Faxon .... Rolf
Eric Christian Olsen .... Gunter
Ralf Moeller .... Hammacher
Gunter Schlierkamp .... Schlemmer
Beerfest was a very enjoyable movie. It seemed long, but it wasn't terribly overwrought; the acting and storyline was what one might expect from the Broken Lizard crew; and there was lots and lots of beer. Oh, and theskooch, there were a grand total of 15 naked or mostly naked sets of breasts.
At the moment, I feel that Super Troopers is this comedy troupe's best attempt, but I respect this movie as a new manifestation of Broken Lizard humor. What I like about this group of funny people is that they don't have to be mean and they don't rely on stereotypes to make their movies entertaining. As my boyfriend observed after we watched Beerfest, it would have been so easy for the writers to make jabs at Nazis through Fink (Lemme) and by going to Germany to beat the Germans at their own drinking game--but they didn't do it. They have an entertaining plot with an entertaining goal, and enough dialogue, brains, and physical humor to make this movie work.
I like how the guys in Broken Lizard switch characters in their movies--they really are decent actors. Fink (Lemme) was the most remarkable change from Super Troopers as a Jewish scientist/physicist who, well, jerks off frogs for a living (it's for science!). Landfill (Hefernan) is similar to Farva from Super Troopers, but much less of an idiot and much funnier to the other people in the story. And, of course, Barry (Chandrasekhar) plays a gay prostitute--a real change from his other characters.
In general, I'm probably not the best person to review this movie: I hate beer. I don't have a passion for it like these characters in the movie, and frankly, watching people drink beer for two hours isn't my idea of a wonderful time. I was interested and engaged enough--the movie really did make me laugh--but I'm sure you beer-lovers out there will enjoy this movie much more than I did. I'd watch this movie again, but only if I were drunk and only if I didn't have Super Troopers around to fulfill my need for Broken Lizard comedy.
Pretty much recommended: B.