[IMDB link] [Netflix link] I kept seeing this listed as being in the same category as other fun movies I watched. So I watched it.
PEOPLE: Brendon Fehr (Final Destination) as main character Ed, a compulsive cameraman who records everything in his life. Chris Klein (American Pie 1 & 2, Just Friends) as Cooper, his older gets-laid-alot brother.
QUIRKS: The main character is someone who recorded most of his life with a camcorder. He had shelves and shelves of archived memories. Reminds me a bit of AE and a bit of myself (except I never picked up a camera compulsively until I was 25).
Lots of trying to pick up women.
Some very gross moments involving sperm and feces (but not at once). Did we really need to see it dripping down that girl’s leg? Wow. They just gave Something About Mary a run.
The “older brother who gets laid more than his uptight younger brother” character has been done over and over and over and over and over again. However, older brother “Cooper” in this movie was a bit refreshing for not being as much of a douchebag as most older brothers — like the one from Sex Drive, for example.
In fact, both characters had more depth than the ones you find in typical movies like this.
VISUALS: Remember HBO’s awesome comedy “Dream On”? This show flashes back to the Ed’s camcorded memories in the same way that Dream On flashed back to old TV shows. Though all of his camcorded memories are actually famous internet videos, so we’d actually seen a lot of them. I wondered if the people who starred in the clips got any royalties for being in the movie (hah).
BAD STUFF: Very predictable. Soooo predictable. But we knew to expect that going in. This movie is more about the journey than the destination. The destination is the same destination of all movies like this: [highlight for spoilers]→ Hot chick falls into uptight guy-who-can’t-get-laid’s lap, his personal crisis is resolved, the older womanizing brother grows as a person, and everyone has a magically happy ending.
CONCLUSION: VERY generic. 3/5 stars on Netflix, 6/10 on IMDB. I’d possibly rate this 5.5/10 on IMDB if I could. It entertained, but was VERY generic. At least the “Dream On”-inspired style kept things visually interesting. It was a contrived way to force more laughs out of us — but as internet junkies, throwing random internet clips onscreen that relate what just happened is really speaking to us in our language.
RECOMMENDATION: If you like movies about savvy PUAs (pick-up artists) teaching their uptight younger brothers how to get laid … You’ll probably like this. It’s a fun movie, with some raunchy jokes, some funny cutaway scenes, and a nice happy ending. It’s fluff for entertainment’s sake. It definitely works. We had fun watching it. But it’s not something that really needs to be watched twice. Still — if you like comedies, you might want to pick this up for a dull night. It makes for good Sunday night viewing — when the party’s over, you’re hungover, and you want the weekend to go on a bit longer. It’s rated 5.1 on IMDB, for what it’s worth.
SIMILAR MOVIES: American Pie: The Naked Mile is a bit similar, what with the trying to get laid over the weekend theme, and the general level of quality.
COINCIDENCES: (real life, The Long Weekend) While taking a mid-movie break to do a shot, Clint was performing the Carmina Burana Oh Fortuna song… Which was then featured in the movie [though it was the 2nd half/2nd song of it].
Mood: full and reminiscing
Music: Church Of The SubGenius – Hour Of Slack #1198
January 7, 2010 at 3:11 PM
“If you like movies about savvy PUAs (pick-up artists) teaching their uptight younger brothers how to get laid … You’ll probably like this.”
Watch Roger Dodger
January 7, 2010 at 4:57 PM
Thanks, I’ll check that out :)
January 7, 2010 at 5:07 PM
There’s an episode of The Penguins Of Madagascar [not that I watch that] called Roger Dodger. Wonder if it’s related to the movie…
October 18, 2010 at 8:29 AM
You’re right, Ian. I just saw it this week: Roger Doger is like this movie, only “really good” instead of “barely passable”. Good call :)
January 21, 2010 at 11:53 AM
[…] Girls Of Valley High (2000) – Monica Keene from Undeclared! •Disaster Movie (2008) •Long Weekend, The (2005) – I’ll try Ian’s suggestion of Roger Doger •Without A Paddle 2: […]
January 14, 2011 at 7:07 AM
[…] [IMDB link] [Netflix link] Ian B recommended we watch this after I posted my review of The Long Weekend back in January, 2010. So we […]
November 13, 2011 at 7:03 AM
[…] Roger Dodger (2002) – better version of The Long Weekend […]