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Unfunniest comedy ever?

Jason R. Grace | 03/24/2007

(1 out of 5 stars)

"I'm torn as to whether to label this as the most unfunniest comedy ever, for I have "Disorderlies" with the Fat Boys and "Private Resort" with Johnny Depp and Rob Morrow to contend with. Regardless, as lame as most of the recent National Lampoon titles have been as of late, this one certainly takes the cake of being the most unwatchable. Mel Smith (the co-writer/director) apparently has a few good friends, for I can't imagine any other reason as to why James Cromwell and Vince Vaughn would even think to sign on to something this ridiculously bad (although they, to their credit are only featured in supporting roles). To sum it up briefly, this movie takes a predictable and watered-down "Dodgeball" approach, punishes you with creating the most annoying main character in history (and yes, he is more annoying than Pauly Shore, Yahoo Serious, Jerry Lewis and Pee-Wee Herman have done on their worst day), wastes your time by featuring an incredibly dull sport and fails to muster one single laugh out of the proceedings. Being a Vince Vaughn fan, I was expecting this to be one of those "under-the-radar" flicks that I would be happy to uncover. Instead, I'm left wishing that I didn't waste my time watching it----and I only sat through the whole thing because I had a morbid curiousity to see if it was possible for the film to fail on all accounts. Well, that's the one factor in which this movie succeeded. Zero stars for this one. Avoid it."

Glory Be

James Green | Indio, CA USA | 04/26/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I simply don't get it. Given a second thought, perhaps I do. If you've ever found yourself tantalized by the local paper's movie reviews, only to find, upon seeing a particular movie, that your opinion actually differed from the voice upon high (blasphemy!), you may consider yourself baptized.
Paul Kaye acts his behind off, while it's nice to see James Cromwell (Babe, Clear and Present Danger) in majestic motion. Vince Vaughn adds a nice touch of extra comedy and you can't go wrong with Mr. Double Down.
This movie might not be funny if: you need a laugh-track to cue the humorous parts, story and character development take a backseat to explosions and gratuitous T/A, or this movie was not featured in the Men's Health Entertainment Section, and if you're reading that, I can only pray for your conversion in the least anyways.
The National Lampoon moniker threw me at first, but don't let it deter you. Even the worst tennis player scores a point now and then. Bring on the soundtrack featuring Queen, The Who, and U2. The only thing missing from this movie is a Stone Roses song. I waited to write this review until I had two copies in my library, so now drink deep from the well and be satisfied at last."