BEERFEST
Warner Bros.
Rated R
THE VERDICT:
Those expecting a deep story or smart comedy should stay away, but those in the mood for inane, risqu‹¨ laughs will feel satisfied with the outcome of Broken Lizard’s most recent endeavor.
2 1/2 stars
Broken Lizard, the sick and twisted minds that gave the world “Super Troopers,” is back with a vengeance, this time with “Beerfest,” quite possibly the most aptly titled film of all time.
The casual moviegoer will probably enter the movie expecting a lewd, mindless, comedy with little practical or redeeming value beyond the laughter it inspires. They will not be disappointed.
Within the depths of “Beerfest” you will find truckloads of gratuitous (and sometimes quite creative) nudity, references to every drinking game known to man, racial stereotypes, bong hits, ram urine and a large batch of very horny frogs. Oh, and yes, beer. A lot of beer. We’re talking the amount of beer that was consumed on frat row last night.
The film’s premise itself is pretty hilarious. Brothers Todd and Jan Wolfhouse travel to Germany’s Oktoberfest to carry out their dead grandfather’s final wishes and have his ashes spread there. After a series of ridiculously unfortunate events, they stumble upon an ancient and top secret festival of beer drinking games.
After being humiliated and having their family name disgraced by the German team, they fly back to America plotting to build their own team of top-rated beer drinkers, practice for a year and win back their honor at the next beerfest. Most of the film’s best humor is found in the gang of idiots and losers they assemble for their ultimate drinking team.
One is the appropriately nicknamed “Landfill,” a beer guzzling giant somewhat lacking in the intelligence department.
Another recruit is Barry, a fallen king of drinking games who has been making his living on the streets in a … um … not-so-dignified manner.
With the team in place, the training begins. After a year of every form of chugging imaginable, America’s team heads to the beerfest, with their family name and the honor of their entire country on the line.
To say that the acting in “Beerfest” isn’t quite Oscar-worthy would be a bit of an understatement. However, it certainly gets the job done. Todd, portrayed by Erik Stolhanske (“Club Dread”) and Jan, portrayed by Paul Soter (“The Dukes of Hazzard”) are probably the film’s low points as far as characters go. While they each certainly have their funny moments, the characters themselves are rather hollow.
Jay Chandrasekhar (“Puddle Cruiser”) inspires much of the film’s laughter as Barry, especially when the character finds himself intoxicated. Steve Lemme’s (“The Dukes of Hazzard”) portrayal of Steve Finklestein is pretty much your basic nerdy, sarcastic genius, and Landfill, portrayed by Kevin Heffernan (“Sky High”) is the never-outdated stupid fat guy and could have used a little more depth as a character. Most of the more minor characters – such as the suspender-clad German drinking team and Todd and Jan’s Great Gam Gam (Cloris Leachman) do a superb job of providing their share of the laughs.
While a couple of “Beerfest’s” jokes do fall flat, they are certainly outnumbered by those that hit dead on. “Beerfest” follows in the footsteps of “Dodgeball” as far as mindless comedies go, and with its inclusion of the universal college guy pastime, it’s destined to sit alongside “Animal House” and “Old School” at the poster sale each semester.
Beerfest1.tif: The laughs in “Beerfest” flow like boxed wine in this enjoyable, low-brow film about a trip to Germany gone drunk.