Jesus, Bro! (Ryan Mitchelle)

[TGM]

JESUS, BRO!

Director: Ryan Mitchelle

imdb

[TGM]

Yeah, this one really wasn't good at all. I mean, from a production standpoint, it's disappointing that even after all their campaigning to get their $50,000+ budget to address a number of their lower budget issues from past films, that they regardless still struggle with a lot of the same issues with sound quality and inconsistent picture quality anyways. Sure, it's not nearly as bad as some of their other productions (and I can at least see some of the budget on screen here, unlike in Linkara's film from about a year ago), but still, they've got a long ways to go, and I guess I just woulda figured they would have these sorts of issues all figured out by now, so it's a shame to see that they haven't.

That aside though, the thing about this movie is just that it's plain not good. Mostly, due to the fact that it's a comedy that isn't the least bit funny. They're going for more of a spoof comedy sorta film, except that they do a pretty bad job at handling this aspect throughout. A lot of this I think has to do with the sorts of performances they were getting out of their actors. For instance, the only mildly humorous bits came from Brad or the guy playing Dave's best friend, and it totally came down to their delivery. But the main star is Dave, and he just doesn't have the chops to carry a film on his own. His character is too angry and one-dimensional throughout, which is fine for a 3-5 minute rant video, but wears thin for the duration of a feature length film. And there's little in the way of variation with him, so even though his character goes through such radical changes throughout, in terms of personality, he remains precisely the same from start to finish.

Also, as it regards the "spoof" aspect, I can't help but feel this aspect was half-assed here. There's more to spoof than just writing. A lot of the jokes come from reaction shots, or things happening in the background, that sorta thing. But there's barely anything of the sort like that here. They're depending almost entirely on dialogue to tell all of their jokes, and the fact that the writing really isn't all that good, and the delivery largely does nothing to elevate it, makes for just a really bad attempt at the genre. Mel Brooks or Naked Gun, this is not (though to be fair, it's also not (Vague Genre) Movie bad, either).

And then just a lot of the jokes just fell flat. I dunno, it's sorta weird, but this is an issue I've found with a lot of these internet guys whenever they try to make the transition into film, or other more scripted mediums. I have the same problems with Brad's series "Lloyd", where it's just not at all a funny show, and I think it's because the jokes just don't work that well. They're funny in a more casual, just tossin' it out there format, like you get in their unscripted vlog shows and such, but they don't work in this format for some reason. There's something wooden about them, something that's getting lost in translation. I dunno, it's hard to explain why they don't work, but it just doesn't, and that's the case all throughout this movie. The jokes just don't land.

But meanwhile, they don't usually have this problem in their other shows, such as The Cinema Snob, despite the fact that that, too, is scripted. I dunno, maybe it comes down to delivery, or just the format of the show allows for a more natural flow of the humor, but their style of humor just is not translating into these other mediums.

Their other two movies that I've seen worked mostly despite any comedic beats (Paranoia had almost no comedy, and The Cinema Snob Movie worked due to the murder mystery angle, whereas the comedy there also didn't quite land). But seeing as this one was anchored entirely from its comedic standpoint, it ultimately sinks because none of it actually works. It's bizarre, and I'm not even really all that sure what these guys are doing so wrong in these other mediums that's making their comedy not translate this badly, because these guys ARE funny. But I dunno, it just didn't come together here, and I hate to say it, but this movie ultimately just really wasn't that good in any capacity. :\

[Ivan Drago]

Fuuuuuuuck, that's disappointing to hear. The faith-based genre is just begging to be spoofed, so I was hoping for good things from Brad and company especially because they've seen all of them. Not to mention they're based an hour away from my hometown, so I root for them in all their endeavors.