If anyone tries the stunts in this movie, they deserve what they get.
Paul Soder: Jan Wolfhouse
Erik Stolhanske: Todd Wolfhouse/Young Baron Ludwig
Steve Lemme: Fink/Emcee
Kevin Heffernan: Landfill/Gil/Sausage Lady
Jay Chandrasekhar: Barry/Blind Sikh
Eric Christian Olsen: Gunter
Jurgen Prochnow: Baron Wolfgang Von Wolfhousen
Directed By: Jay Chandrasekhar
Release Date: August 25, 2006
Running Time: 1 hour and 50 minutes
Rated R for pervasive crude and sexual content, language, nudity and substance abuse.
It should be no shock to moviegoers that the majority of mainstream critics have not enjoyed one gulp of Beerfest’s particular brew of comedy. The primary argument made states that Broken Lizard’s latest offering is directed at one audience, primarily of college students. This is true in a way, since the biggest fans of Beerfest will be generally young adults in higher education, but proclaiming this to be solely aimed at those kids is like saying no adults drink beer. Sounds foolish doesn’t it? Anyone who drinks beer regularly, including those who drink occasionally (such as myself), or not at all, will have a riotous good time chugging down everything last drop of this keg.
The grandfather of Jan (Paul Soder) and Todd Wolfhouse (Erik Stolhanske) has just died, and his wishes were to have his ashes scattered in Germany during Oktoberfest. The brothers jump at the chance to visit Germany during this festival. Upon arrival, they meet up with a man in Germany who takes them to a secret underground club that houses an ancient drinking contest. They immediately get into a confrontation with the German champions, who accuse grandfather Johann von Wolfhaus (Donald Sutherland) of stealing a special beer recipe, and fleeing to America. After being humiliated in a short chug race, the boys vow to avenge that loss and return to Oktoberfest the following year as enhanced drinkers. The recruiting begins, and they draft Landfill (Kevin Heffernan), a larger man who guzzles a deserving amount of food and drink to live up to his name, Fink (Steve Lemme), the crazy scientist who knows all the strategies of beer drinking, and Barry (Jay Chandrasekhar), the guy who was terrific at every drinking game back in college. Together, as representatives of Team USA, the group must train vigorously in order to stand a chance against the Germans in the "Olympics" of beer drinking.
The Broken Lizard squad are willing to go any length, for any amount of time, to induce a chuckle, and while some might view that as a weakness, it is a strength this time around. The laughter is generated from completely random gags, which aren’t as chaotic as Grandma’s Boy, but still unswervingly hilarious. Almost all the jokes revolve around beer drinking in one way or another. Beerfest acts as a comedic guide to beer drinking, iand is a horrible influence on every human, especially those from the ages of 16-23. It teaches you the numerous types of games such beer pong, quarters, beer table tennis, and a slue of others whose bizarre names escape me. It educates the public on how to chug large quantities, how to swallow with rapid quickness, and how perfect any number of tricks involving beer.
All the usual faces viewers met in Super Troopers have returned for this outing. The most likeable qualities of these actors are their dedication and enthusiasm to the projects. They have a goal to make the audience laugh, even if it means swigging rams piss. Rams piss is used as a training technique so that beer will go down smoother and easier. Kevin Heffernan portrays Landfill, and he is indisputably an under appreciated comic genius. Perhaps it is the mannerisms and tone of voice he operates with. Just about every appearance Heffernan makes will induce non-stop hilarity. Having said that, Director Jay Chandrasekhar is strangely uproarious as Barry. His character is a perverted former prostitute, who was once a God at college parties due to his extraordinary skills at every drinking game. One sequence displays the horrible effects of drunkenness as Barry flirts with a woman he perceives as sexy. With respect, Steve Lemme, Paul Soder, and Erik Stolhanske each convey their moments of entertainment, but this film belongs to Barry and Landfill. Each characters is suitably lampoon, but not inflated to the point of annoyance.
This is without a doubt the most obnoxiously hilarious comedy of the year, but the plot does concentrate on alcohol, so what do you expect? Of course you’ll see the belching, the hangovers, the constant gratuitous nudity, and the refreshing trips to the bathroom after massive consumptions. This was, after all, given the title Beerfest. Do not anticipate an artistic and compelling masterpiece, but future cult hits such as this do possess a space in the world of cinema. The other argument most commonly heard is the running time. Clocking in at almost 2 hours, some believe this to be a bit drawn out. What I saw was ambition and determination in this motion picture. Instead of cutting the party short at a standard 80 - 90 minutes, the troupe decided to prove a point, and fashion a film that is rewarding because of the progression, not the conclusion. Mo’Nique signifies my main problem with Beerfest. I understand that her style of wit appeals to many, but that technique does not match well with these five drunken losers. In addition, the radically exaggerated voices of the Germans become irritating, but luckily their screen time is properly sporadic.
After enduring the calamity of Club Dread I thought Super Troopers was a one hit wonder for this bunch. My expectations have been exceeded with Beerfest. They have taken a seemingly cliché storyline, and turned it into a sporting competition that causes us to actually root for these degenerate adults to win. Director Jay Chadrasekhar inserts obvious CGI adjustments here and there to expose that normal people could not realistically chug a gallon of beer without having a drop hit the floor, but his stroke keeps this on a straight track. Each of the five Broken Lizard members contributes to the script, which is not Shakespeare, but sidesplitting nonetheless. It’s rude, crude, vulgar, cretinous, offensive, and childish. Who cares? Not every segment in this beer cooler is humorous (jacking off frogs?), character development is non-existent, and comedic timing was not in the ensemble’s vocabulary, but this remains one of the most satisfying comedies of the year. It is the ultimate beer movie that will inevitably become a staple at parties. Beerfest holds a special taste that goes down smooth, and unless you’re drinking while watching this, you won’t throw up, or have a headache the morning after.
The 411: I suppose some people out there who prefer an intelligent comedy, and will not care for the Broken Lizard style of comedy, but I would say give this a shot anyway. This is the only beer movie you could ever want to watch. It is funny, surprising, and a great time with friends.
