Thursday, May 22, 2008

Strange Wilderness - DVD Review

STRANGE WILDRENESS (*) - Starring Steve Zahn, Jonah Hill, Justin Long, Ashley Scott, Allen Covert, Kevin Heffernan, Ernest Borgnine, Harry Hamlin, Robert Patrick, Joe Don Baker, Peter Dante, Blake Clark and Jeff Garlin.
Written by Peter Gaulke & Fred Wolf.
Directed by Fred Wolf.

I don't know if this movie gives me more or less faith in getting a screenplay sold in Hollywood. On one hand, I know I could crank out a script funnier than this in one day, not thinking beforehand about where I'd want the plot to go or anything. I have more than one friend I know could do the same thing. On the other hand, there are probably several scripts floating out D-team reject piles while this piece of junk got made.

Not only did it get made, it got made with some talented funny people. How can you get guys like Steve Zahn, Jonah Hill, Justin Long, et al, and be so stupid?

First of all, it's a Happy Madison production, so Allen Covert has a part. Who is Covert? Must be one of Adam Sandler's childhood friends because he has a part in everything Sandler stars in or produces, and never in anything he doesn't. (Okay, a quick look-up shows they met in college). Now Happy Madison productions are the ones that are too dumb for Sandler to be in so they'll star Rob Schneider (The Animal) or Allen Covert (Grandma's Boy).

I think the main problem with this is the pot humor. The characters get high a lot and so the humor is probably only funny if you're high too, and why write a movie like that when my understanding is that SpongeBob SqaurePants is just as entertaining in that state and cheaper to make?

I can't believe I've seen only 21 movies so far with copyright 2008 and Uwe Boll's movie isn't in the Bottom Three. That's how bad the release dumpings grounds of January/February can be.

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