We have the movies filed under Broken Lizard. Broken Lizard is an acting troupe of the same five guys: Jay Chandrasekhar, Kevin Heffernan, Steve Lemme, Paul Soter, and Erik Stolhanske. They formed when in college, and have been performing together ever since. Jay tends to be the director (and has even directed some of the best episode of various TV shows). We have seen their film school project "Puddle Cruiser" previously, but we don't own it (and no one has heard of it anyway) so we won't be watching it (it wasn't that good, you're not missing out). They crew also appeared together in several other movies like "The Dukes of Hazard", but those were not Broken Lizard movies so we're not counting them.
Be aware that just about all these are stoner comedies - comedies by stoners primarily intended for stoners. You obviously do not need to be a stoner to enjoy this movie. In fact, being clean helps you see how ridiculous the stoners in this movie are.
Before we get started, my order of favorites goes "The Slammin' Salmon", "Club Dread", "Super Troopers", and "Beerfest". If we're looking at it strictly comedy-wise, swap "Club Dread" and "Super Troopers". I know many people are going to disagree with me here, and that's okay. It's a personal preference, and inherently we're all going to have one. That's the definition of the word.
Probably the weakest of the four, "Beerfest" came out two years after "Club Dread". Paul Soter and Erik Stolhanske are two brothers in Germany for Oktoberfest to spread their grandfather's ashes when they stumble on a secret Olympic-style annual beer drinking competition. They are humiliated and decide to train for the competition next year as the team from America. They recruit fellow Broken Lizard alums to join the team, and start the heavy drinking. In the process they discover a secret family beer recipe and start their own brewery.
Watching through it this time I discovered part of the reason I find this one so weak is the delivery of lines. In their other movies the funny lines are delivered with great timing and the right tone. IN this movie they follow the sitcom philosophy: loud and dirty is the best. Many lines are delivered louder than the rest of the scene, and often many lines are delivered purely for a shock value (like Cloris Leachman saying "Because if you can drink ram's piss, fuck you can drink anything"
Just because this is the weakest of the four does not make it not funny. I think that's a double negative. What I'm trying to say is that this is still a funny movie. IF you're okay with ridiculousness. "Beerfest" is loaded with ridiculous, it's just delivered in a much less interesting way than their other movies. I'm not sure what happened with this one, but it felt like it was rushed through writing and production. I'm not sure if that was the case, but that's how it feels. It is definitely feels like a Comedy Central Saturday morning go-to, and it is.
"The Slammin' Salmon" is in my top ten favorite movies. It came out in 2009, but was largely dismissed. I'm not sure why. The late-great Michael Clark Duncan plays Slammin' Cleon Salmon, a former heavyweight boxer-turned restaurateur. The troupe are all staff members at the restaurant, with Heffernan being the manager. The movie takes place over the course of one night's service (similar to "Waiting...", another great comedy we'll cover WAY later), where the staff are trying to make as much money as possible, because Cleon lost a $20,000 bet to the Yakuza.
This movie is simple fun. The laughs come fast and hard. The character interactions among each other and the guests are great. Anyone who's eve worked in food service will get huge laughs out of this, because we've all met each one of these people before. And we've all wanted to do many of the things the staff do in this movie. Maybe I only love this movie because of my experience in the food service industry, but I feel this move is genuinely their best. It is also is their only one that doesn't feel like a stoner comedy, oddly enough. And almost every word that comes out of Michael Clark Duncan's mouth is so funny you'll be crying.
When it comes right down to it, check all four of these movies out. They are all highly entertaining. Pop a bag of popcorn and enjoy each one!
2002's "Super Troopers" was an instant comedy classic. The Broken Lizard crew are a bunch of goofy Highway Patrol men under Brian Cox. They're in danger of their station being shut down, and don't want their rivals the local Sudbury Police taking over their route. They stumble on what they think is a drug conspiracy in their small town, and hilarity ensues.
If you like comedies, this one is a must-see. Many people haven't even bothered watching their other movies. This group has an obvious rapport with each other, and the comedic timing of most every scene is perfect. It's quotable, and so much of the movie will stick with you for years.
"Club Dread" came out two years after "Super Troopers", and arguably is a better movie. Bill Paxton plays Coconut Pete - a Jimmy Buffet-esque musician who started his own Pleasure Island with his fortune where guests come to forget about life, have sex with anyone and everyone, drink, smoke, do drugs, and take part in general debauchery. The Broken Lizard guys all are different members of the staff. On the last week of the summer, suddenly staff members start to show up dead. Is it the new masser Lars? Is it the British Tennis Instructor with crazy-long dreadlocks Putman? One of the other staff? Or is it actually Machete Phil, the character from the ghost story the staff tells the guests?
This is a slasher comedy, but not the same type of comedy that "Behind the Mask" is. This is still Broken Lizard stoner comedy, but with a fun story that has some genuine jumps and scares. But also some ridiculous moments. It's a fun movie with a fun story. Great use of the slasher cliches, and it will keep you guessing who the killer is until the end.
Watching through it this time I discovered part of the reason I find this one so weak is the delivery of lines. In their other movies the funny lines are delivered with great timing and the right tone. IN this movie they follow the sitcom philosophy: loud and dirty is the best. Many lines are delivered louder than the rest of the scene, and often many lines are delivered purely for a shock value (like Cloris Leachman saying "Because if you can drink ram's piss, fuck you can drink anything"
Just because this is the weakest of the four does not make it not funny. I think that's a double negative. What I'm trying to say is that this is still a funny movie. IF you're okay with ridiculousness. "Beerfest" is loaded with ridiculous, it's just delivered in a much less interesting way than their other movies. I'm not sure what happened with this one, but it felt like it was rushed through writing and production. I'm not sure if that was the case, but that's how it feels. It is definitely feels like a Comedy Central Saturday morning go-to, and it is.
"The Slammin' Salmon" is in my top ten favorite movies. It came out in 2009, but was largely dismissed. I'm not sure why. The late-great Michael Clark Duncan plays Slammin' Cleon Salmon, a former heavyweight boxer-turned restaurateur. The troupe are all staff members at the restaurant, with Heffernan being the manager. The movie takes place over the course of one night's service (similar to "Waiting...", another great comedy we'll cover WAY later), where the staff are trying to make as much money as possible, because Cleon lost a $20,000 bet to the Yakuza.
This movie is simple fun. The laughs come fast and hard. The character interactions among each other and the guests are great. Anyone who's eve worked in food service will get huge laughs out of this, because we've all met each one of these people before. And we've all wanted to do many of the things the staff do in this movie. Maybe I only love this movie because of my experience in the food service industry, but I feel this move is genuinely their best. It is also is their only one that doesn't feel like a stoner comedy, oddly enough. And almost every word that comes out of Michael Clark Duncan's mouth is so funny you'll be crying.
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When it comes right down to it, check all four of these movies out. They are all highly entertaining. Pop a bag of popcorn and enjoy each one!
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