Movies

Link: http://imdb.com/title/tt0486551/

Beerfest is the latest project to hit the theaters from the Broken Lizard team who has been responsible for the rip-roaring comedy Super Troopers and the lesser-known, though still funny (to me), Club Dread and Puddle Cruiser.

My expectations were left at the door and all that I sat down with was the hope that it would be better than Club Dread. As the movie started, I had my reservations. I am never one to shy away from gratuitous nudity, but I have often considered it a last-ditch effort to wrench a laugh from the audience. If they were resorting to that in the first few minutes of the movie, things did not look good. Little did I know at the time that there was a necessary set up for the storyline. There had to be some actual time spent on explaining a thing or two before things could progress. The nudity, reminiscent of comedies from nearly a generation ago, was only something to hold your attention while they warmed the engine. It was as if Broken Lizard said, "We apologize that our plot line is a little far-fetched. We have to jump through a few hoops and clear up some red tape before we can get going. Oh, here are some topless girls to help pass the time and make up for any inconvenience we may have caused." And then the movie took off...

This is such a stupid idea -- getting five guys together to compete in a secret beer-drinking competition in Germany -- that the strength had to be in the writing. And it was. The dialogue was great, the sight gags were great.

Paul Soter and Erik Stolhanske are Jan and Todd Wolfhouse, brothers and the descendents of the Germans which lead them to Beerfest. Jay Chandrasekhar plays Barry, a character who was the best at all drinking games in college. Jan and Todd find him a bit down on his luck when they ask him to join the team. Aside from directing the movie, I have to say that Jay is the most talented of the Broken Lizard team. Kevin Heffernan who is most beloved as "Farva" (Super Troopers) plays "Landfill," the team's former competitive eater. (According to the credits, he also painted the portraits of Stolhanske and Soter that appear in the Beerfest arena.) Steve Lemme is single handedly (pun only slightly intended) responsible for the beginning of the hilarity in the movie.

This is the perfect movie for me to want to say, "Hey, remember the part when..." and when you do, we share a laugh. I would love to recite the movie for you quote by quote, but obviously that would ruin it.

The movie was very funny and I loved it. I'm not ashamed to admit when a movie makes me cry. During Beerfest I had tears streaming from my eyes. I have not laughed that hard in a long time. Beerfest had my face contorted in laughter until my cheeks hurt. My hat is off, once again, to the Broken Lizard team. I may have laughed more frequently during Super Troopers, but I laughed harder at Beerfest.

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