As a big fan of Tim and Eric's Adult Swim work, I was looking forward to their first feature film. I was lucky enough to get to interview the guys a couple years back and asked them then if they had any aspirations for the big screen. Tim informed me that (at that time) Universal enjoyed their work as well and were ready to have them start work on a movie.
As much as I love their TV shows, though, the feature length version of their humor drags a bit. This is probably going to be the main complaint most critics will give this flick. You either love or hate Tim and Eric, so there's no point in going into their style of humor and why someone may or may not like it for the umpteenth time.
I watched this this morning On Demand, as it's currently being offered before hitting the theaters. Unfortunately, I can probably count the number of times I laughed on one hand. Amongst these were the mini-movie of Diamond Jim that opens the film, the obnoxiously over the top shot of Eric getting his (prosthetic) urethra pierced, Eric jerking off in bed to a picture on his cell phone while Tim is trying to go to sleep next to him, and Will Ferrell's performances throughout.
John C. Reilly as Taquito isn't as funny as he could have been, but that has more to do with the character he was given than his performance. And therein lies the whole problem with parts of this film. Much of it is hit or miss, and while the fast cuts and quirky edits on the TV shows make for some surreal moments most of the time, here they sometimes feel a little forced and "expected." But as I said, a lot of fans will really love this film, especially if they go about it while enjoying their favorite mind or mood altering substance. Whether or not "Billion Dollar Movie" will achieve the same sort of cult status as stuff like "Brain Candy" or "UHF" remains to be seen. I don't see this thing raking in much cash on the theatrical circuit, and that's even part of the overall joke of this movie in turn.
Lastly, for those expecting a direct copy of "Awesome Show" to the big screen, this movie isn't quite like that, though it does feature brief cameos by James Quall and David Liebe Hart and some of the other cast members. But don't go in expecting a lot of Pep-Pep jokes and the like, because they're absent.
Bottom line: if you're a fan, you'll definitely laugh. Just how much you laugh is up for speculation.
UPDATE: February 8, 2012 - Having read the fans' reviews who enjoyed this film, I'm perplexed as to why some of them go off on that "you aren't a real fan" tangent. I think its safe to say the majority of us here have explicitly stated that were huge fans of Tim and Eric's, but the problem is that this movie just isn't up to par with their best work.
Having thought about it some more since seeing the film, I have to say I'm in agreement with other sentiments echoed here that a really big problem with it is the reliance on gross out humor. I'm not a prude by any means, but the majority of the gross jokes just felt tacked on, and not put in there for any real comedic reason. The kids taking a crap on Eric in the bathtub seemed lazy at best, as if it was their own poor attempt at "Salo"-type shock.
In all, it just felt like the guys made the mistake many other brilliant TV comedians have made when making a feature film, and that's making an R-rated flick with cheap and easy gags, rather than just doing what they do best. If the truth of the matter is Tim and Eric's art works best on the small screen, there's nothing wrong with that. If they do ever get the chance to make another theatrical release, hopefully they'll stick to their guns and not simply try for the easy laughs.
As much as I love their TV shows, though, the feature length version of their humor drags a bit. This is probably going to be the main complaint most critics will give this flick. You either love or hate Tim and Eric, so there's no point in going into their style of humor and why someone may or may not like it for the umpteenth time.
I watched this this morning On Demand, as it's currently being offered before hitting the theaters. Unfortunately, I can probably count the number of times I laughed on one hand. Amongst these were the mini-movie of Diamond Jim that opens the film, the obnoxiously over the top shot of Eric getting his (prosthetic) urethra pierced, Eric jerking off in bed to a picture on his cell phone while Tim is trying to go to sleep next to him, and Will Ferrell's performances throughout.
John C. Reilly as Taquito isn't as funny as he could have been, but that has more to do with the character he was given than his performance. And therein lies the whole problem with parts of this film. Much of it is hit or miss, and while the fast cuts and quirky edits on the TV shows make for some surreal moments most of the time, here they sometimes feel a little forced and "expected." But as I said, a lot of fans will really love this film, especially if they go about it while enjoying their favorite mind or mood altering substance. Whether or not "Billion Dollar Movie" will achieve the same sort of cult status as stuff like "Brain Candy" or "UHF" remains to be seen. I don't see this thing raking in much cash on the theatrical circuit, and that's even part of the overall joke of this movie in turn.
Lastly, for those expecting a direct copy of "Awesome Show" to the big screen, this movie isn't quite like that, though it does feature brief cameos by James Quall and David Liebe Hart and some of the other cast members. But don't go in expecting a lot of Pep-Pep jokes and the like, because they're absent.
Bottom line: if you're a fan, you'll definitely laugh. Just how much you laugh is up for speculation.
UPDATE: February 8, 2012 - Having read the fans' reviews who enjoyed this film, I'm perplexed as to why some of them go off on that "you aren't a real fan" tangent. I think its safe to say the majority of us here have explicitly stated that were huge fans of Tim and Eric's, but the problem is that this movie just isn't up to par with their best work.
Having thought about it some more since seeing the film, I have to say I'm in agreement with other sentiments echoed here that a really big problem with it is the reliance on gross out humor. I'm not a prude by any means, but the majority of the gross jokes just felt tacked on, and not put in there for any real comedic reason. The kids taking a crap on Eric in the bathtub seemed lazy at best, as if it was their own poor attempt at "Salo"-type shock.
In all, it just felt like the guys made the mistake many other brilliant TV comedians have made when making a feature film, and that's making an R-rated flick with cheap and easy gags, rather than just doing what they do best. If the truth of the matter is Tim and Eric's art works best on the small screen, there's nothing wrong with that. If they do ever get the chance to make another theatrical release, hopefully they'll stick to their guns and not simply try for the easy laughs.