| Reviews & Columns |
|
Reviews DVD TV on DVD Blu-ray 4K UHD International DVDs In Theaters Reviews by Studio Video Games Features Collector Series DVDs Easter Egg Database Interviews DVD Talk Radio Feature Articles Columns Anime Talk DVD Savant Horror DVDs The M.O.D. Squad Art House HD Talk Silent DVD
|
 DVD Talk Forum |
|
|
| Resources |
|
DVD Price Search Customer Service #'s RCE Info Links |
|
Columns
  
 
|
|
|
Extreme Movie: Unrated
Genius Products // Unrated // February 24, 2009
List Price: $24.99 [Buy now and save at Amazon]
Review:
I'd be surprised if "Extreme Movie" didn't set a record for an extreme amount of credited writers: no less than TEN writers (including "SNL" writers Andy Samberg, Akiva Schaffer and Jorma Taccone, Will Forte and John Solomon) are credited with the script. While it's a bit more entertaining (although that's not saying all that much) than the "Movie" parodies by Jason Friedberg and Aaron Seltzer ("Date Movie", "Disaster Movie", "Epic Movie") one wonders if this picture was ignored because people thought it was another in a line of those sorts of parodies.
In fact, I was one of those people, and thought "Extreme Movie" was just another movie parody when it's a different creature entirely. The picture plays out like an "SNL" episode - rather than a cohesive film, it's actually a bizarre series of sketches - some of which get a chuckle and quite a few of which just fail entirely (largely because they revolve around stale sex jokes.) Some of them are funny just because they're awful.
The picture focuses on Mike (Ryan Pinkston, formerly of "Punk'd") trying to get Stacy (Cherilyn Wilson) to notice him. However, throughout the movie various obstacles get in the way. Between various scenes of Mike trying to figure out a way to talk to Stacy, we get a series of raunchy skits with other teens, including a couple of guys who try to create a woman using their computer and don't exactly get the results they wanted, a puppet who takes advantage when a guy leaves his girlfriend to go to the bathroom, one where a girl takes "comfortable" farting to a new level and a few other odds and ends (including actor Matthew Lillard doing PSA's.)
Before it's all over, we even get one of the worst comedic song-and-dance numbers I've seen in ages. There's also the matter of the budget: while "Date Movie" and "Epic Movie" were terrible, at least they could afford sets. "Extreme Movie" literally looks like it was thrown together over the course of a weekend for a few bucks (the budget was reportedly a million bucks, and I'm curious where that million bucks all went.) The two directors (who actually wrote to Dustin Hoffman and Gene Wilder about taking a role in the movie) were inspired by Woody Allen's "Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Sex But Were Afraid to Ask", and I can't imagine what Woody Allen would think about the results - while having a bunch of reasonably well-regarded writers all work together on a sketch comedy movie doesn't sound like a bad idea, the results are mostly a mess.
The performances don't help matters, unfortunately: Michael Cera and Frankie Muniz look uncomfortable in their scenes, and Pinkston appears almost bored. The only one who really throws themselves into the bit is Andy Milonakis, who plays a character who'd rather be in love with a fake girl than one of the popular girls at school.
There's something to the idea of a bunch of comedians working together on a sketch comedy movie, but the results here are subpar - while there are a few laughs to be found, I was hoping for more than stale bathroom humor.
The DVD
VIDEO: "Extreme Movie" is offered by Weinstein Home Entertainment in 1.85:1 anamorphic widescreen. The picture quality is fine, offering the low-budget comedy with acceptable sharpness and detail; while the picture was never crystal clear, only a few scenes looked noticeably softer than the rest. Some slight grain is noticed on the print, but no print flaws are spotted. Colors looked natural and appeared accurately presented. Overall, this was a satisfactory presentation of a very basic-looking film.
SOUND: The film is presented in Dolby Digital 5.1, but given the material, a TV-like stereo soundtrack would have been just fine. There's just about no surround use, nor does the dialogue-driven film really need to open up beyond the front speakers. Audio quality was fine, with clear dialogue and music.
EXTRAS: Commentary from co-directors Adam Jay Epstein and Andrew Jacobson and a "making of" featurettes.
Final Thoughts: "Extreme Movie" isn't particularly extreme - it's a batch of sketches that - with a couple of exceptions - offer cliche lowbrow jokes. Given the history of some of the writers, I'm a little surprised that they couldn't come up with more. The DVD offers fine audio/video quality, as well as a couple minor extras.
I'd be surprised if "Extreme Movie" didn't set a record for an extreme amount of credited writers: no less than TEN writers (including "SNL" writers Andy Samberg, Akiva Schaffer and Jorma Taccone, Will Forte and John Solomon) are credited with the script. While it's a bit more entertaining (although that's not saying all that much) than the "Movie" parodies by Jason Friedberg and Aaron Seltzer ("Date Movie", "Disaster Movie", "Epic Movie") one wonders if this picture was ignored because people thought it was another in a line of those sorts of parodies.
In fact, I was one of those people, and thought "Extreme Movie" was just another movie parody when it's a different creature entirely. The picture plays out like an "SNL" episode - rather than a cohesive film, it's actually a bizarre series of sketches - some of which get a chuckle and quite a few of which just fail entirely (largely because they revolve around stale sex jokes.) Some of them are funny just because they're awful.
The picture focuses on Mike (Ryan Pinkston, formerly of "Punk'd") trying to get Stacy (Cherilyn Wilson) to notice him. However, throughout the movie various obstacles get in the way. Between various scenes of Mike trying to figure out a way to talk to Stacy, we get a series of raunchy skits with other teens, including a couple of guys who try to create a woman using their computer and don't exactly get the results they wanted, a puppet who takes advantage when a guy leaves his girlfriend to go to the bathroom, one where a girl takes "comfortable" farting to a new level and a few other odds and ends (including actor Matthew Lillard doing PSA's.)
Before it's all over, we even get one of the worst comedic song-and-dance numbers I've seen in ages. There's also the matter of the budget: while "Date Movie" and "Epic Movie" were terrible, at least they could afford sets. "Extreme Movie" literally looks like it was thrown together over the course of a weekend for a few bucks (the budget was reportedly a million bucks, and I'm curious where that million bucks all went.) The two directors (who actually wrote to Dustin Hoffman and Gene Wilder about taking a role in the movie) were inspired by Woody Allen's "Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Sex But Were Afraid to Ask", and I can't imagine what Woody Allen would think about the results - while having a bunch of reasonably well-regarded writers all work together on a sketch comedy movie doesn't sound like a bad idea, the results are mostly a mess.
The performances don't help matters, unfortunately: Michael Cera and Frankie Muniz look uncomfortable in their scenes, and Pinkston appears almost bored. The only one who really throws themselves into the bit is Andy Milonakis, who plays a character who'd rather be in love with a fake girl than one of the popular girls at school.
There's something to the idea of a bunch of comedians working together on a sketch comedy movie, but the results here are subpar - while there are a few laughs to be found, I was hoping for more than stale bathroom humor.
The DVD
VIDEO: "Extreme Movie" is offered by Weinstein Home Entertainment in 1.85:1 anamorphic widescreen. The picture quality is fine, offering the low-budget comedy with acceptable sharpness and detail; while the picture was never crystal clear, only a few scenes looked noticeably softer than the rest. Some slight grain is noticed on the print, but no print flaws are spotted. Colors looked natural and appeared accurately presented. Overall, this was a satisfactory presentation of a very basic-looking film.
SOUND: The film is presented in Dolby Digital 5.1, but given the material, a TV-like stereo soundtrack would have been just fine. There's just about no surround use, nor does the dialogue-driven film really need to open up beyond the front speakers. Audio quality was fine, with clear dialogue and music.
EXTRAS: Commentary from co-directors Adam Jay Epstein and Andrew Jacobson and a "making of" featurettes.
Final Thoughts: "Extreme Movie" isn't particularly extreme - it's a batch of sketches that - with a couple of exceptions - offer cliche lowbrow jokes. Given the history of some of the writers, I'm a little surprised that they couldn't come up with more. The DVD offers fine audio/video quality, as well as a couple minor extras.
|
| Popular Reviews |
| Sponsored Links |
|
|
| Sponsored Links |
|
|
| Release List | Reviews | Shop | Newsletter | Forum | DVD Giveaways | Blu-Ray | Advertise |
|
Copyright 2024 DVDTalk.com All Rights Reserved. Legal Info, Privacy Policy, Terms of Use,
Manage Preferences,
Your Privacy Choices 
| |||||||