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Haggard (Unrated Version)
Ventura // Unrated // September 23, 2003
List Price: $24.99 [Buy now and save at Amazon]
The Movie
The current climate of reality shows which rules entertainment in America has created a new kind of celebrity -- people who are known for being themselves, and often little else. As an example, the guys from the now defunct MTV bizarro stunt show "Jackass" seem to be everywhere these days, as they parlay the success from that series into new ventures. Skateboarding virtuoso Bam Margera made a name for himself through his association with "Jackass", his skating, and his brother's band, CKY. Now, Bam has a new show on MTV, "Viva La Bam", and has just released a movie, Haggard to DVD, which may be the oddest vanity project ever produced.
Haggard stars Ryan Dunn as himself, and is based on a true story from Dunn's own life. Ryan is depressed, as his girlfriend, Glauren (Jennifer Rivell), has left him and is seeing a guy named, Hellboy (Rake Yohn). Ryan's friends Valo (Bam Margera) and Falcone (Brandon Dicamillo) attempt to make him feel better by vandalizing Glauren's house and spying on her. Ryan slips further into depression as he gets stabbed in the eye, is arrested, and is constantly abused by his uncle, Don Vito (Don Vito), but he can't get Glauren out of his mind. Will his attempts to win her back succeed? And, will Falcone win the "Invention of the Future" contest with his reverse microwave?
Part comedy, part music video, part skateboarding exhibition, Haggard is a true oddity. The film was directed, edited, and co-written by Bam Margera, and he has put together an odd piece of work with this one. If Adam Sandler's films are vanity pieces, then Haggard is an insanity-vanity piece, as the cast is made up almost entirely of Bam's friends and relatives. The movie features skateboarding set-pieces featuring Bam and his colleagues, as well as an acting cameo by skating legend Tony Hawk. The film also features music from Bam's friends Him and CKY. All of this makes Haggard seem like little more than an elaborate home video.
Yet, when the film can stick to the main story, which is for only about half of the movie's 90-minute running time, Haggard is actually quite entertaining. Ryan Dunn was always the sad sack on "Jackass" and he plays that role to the hilt here. His performance is believable and takes the movie up a notch. Margera and Dicamillo seem to basically be playing themselves, although Dicamillo throws in an odd accent, and they are off at times, but their realism works well with Dunn's depression. The film is full of odd moments, including the reverse microwave and the fact that Don Vito is dressed in a toga and demands that people feed him grapes. Chris Raab, who will be familiar to "Jackass" viewers, plays a seemingly retarded character who enjoys seeing 80's songs in the shower. The movie contains some very funny moments (with the rhino tattoo being my favorite) and like "Jackass", the viewer finds themselves laughing in spite of themselves. The film also features some nice "Jackass"-like stunts, including a bike wreck which left me giggling. Like a Kevin Smith film on steroids, Haggard is an independently made film which actually does something a little different, and is all the more noticeable for this.
Video
On this DVD release, Haggard has been letterboxed at 1.78:1 and the transfer is enhanced for 16 x 9 TVs. The image is surprisingly sharp and clear, as the image only shows an overt amount of grain in select shots, most of these being time-lapse images. There are a handful of defects from the source print, but not enough to be distracting. The colors are particularly good, as the reds, greens, and blues look quite natural. There is some slight artifacting at times, and a few moments of video noise. Otherwise, this transfer looks fine.
Audio
The DVD features a digital stereo audio track which provides clear dialogue and fine music reproduction. The track is adequate, but unremarkable. The audio is well-balanced and the dynamic range is always steady, which is admirable for this film, as a dialogue scene will often shift into a moment with loud music.
Extras
The main special feature on the Haggard DVD is a 40-minute "making of" featurette. Like the film, this segment is a true oddity, as it contains some behind-the-scenes footage, but is made up mostly of comments from the cast, crew, and Bam's friends as they talk about the film. There is a great deal of footage shot in Bam's car with a camera mounted on the dash, as he and Dicamillo cruise the streets. There are some interesting moments here, especially when Ryan Dunn relates the real-life components of the movie. The last few minutes of this featurette get very serious, as they examine the alcoholism of Chris Raab and the drug problems of Brandon Novak (who appears in the film as a drug dealer). The next feature is a segment entitled, "Body Bag at Dump (Too Gnarly for "Jackass"), (although on the DVD menu, it's called "To (sic) Gnarly"). This 3-minute segment shows the guys wrapping Ryan's body in plastic and throwing him in a dumpster, and then standing back to watch onlookers call the police. A trailer for Haggard, letterboxed at 1.85:1 is offered here, and there is a still gallery with 13 images. The extras are rounded out by three music videos featuring CKY performing "Attached at the Hip", Him doing "Heartache Every Moment", and Dicamillo rapping in "Bran's Chinese Freestyle #2". It should be noted that the DVD proclaims "Bam's Cut: UNRATED! UNCENSORED!", but there are at least three scenes in the film where nudity has been optically fogged, so there is some censoring after all.
Haggard is one of those films which has no right to be good and is better than one would ever expect. The film is definitely amateurish, both in its production and execution, but it also contains a great deal of energy and is quite funny at times. If Margera could have cut back on the skating and musical montage scenes, and focused more on the comedy, this could have been the next Clerks. As it is now, it's merely a curiosity which does offer some appeal outside of the typical "Jackass" nonsense.
The current climate of reality shows which rules entertainment in America has created a new kind of celebrity -- people who are known for being themselves, and often little else. As an example, the guys from the now defunct MTV bizarro stunt show "Jackass" seem to be everywhere these days, as they parlay the success from that series into new ventures. Skateboarding virtuoso Bam Margera made a name for himself through his association with "Jackass", his skating, and his brother's band, CKY. Now, Bam has a new show on MTV, "Viva La Bam", and has just released a movie, Haggard to DVD, which may be the oddest vanity project ever produced.
Haggard stars Ryan Dunn as himself, and is based on a true story from Dunn's own life. Ryan is depressed, as his girlfriend, Glauren (Jennifer Rivell), has left him and is seeing a guy named, Hellboy (Rake Yohn). Ryan's friends Valo (Bam Margera) and Falcone (Brandon Dicamillo) attempt to make him feel better by vandalizing Glauren's house and spying on her. Ryan slips further into depression as he gets stabbed in the eye, is arrested, and is constantly abused by his uncle, Don Vito (Don Vito), but he can't get Glauren out of his mind. Will his attempts to win her back succeed? And, will Falcone win the "Invention of the Future" contest with his reverse microwave?
Part comedy, part music video, part skateboarding exhibition, Haggard is a true oddity. The film was directed, edited, and co-written by Bam Margera, and he has put together an odd piece of work with this one. If Adam Sandler's films are vanity pieces, then Haggard is an insanity-vanity piece, as the cast is made up almost entirely of Bam's friends and relatives. The movie features skateboarding set-pieces featuring Bam and his colleagues, as well as an acting cameo by skating legend Tony Hawk. The film also features music from Bam's friends Him and CKY. All of this makes Haggard seem like little more than an elaborate home video.
Yet, when the film can stick to the main story, which is for only about half of the movie's 90-minute running time, Haggard is actually quite entertaining. Ryan Dunn was always the sad sack on "Jackass" and he plays that role to the hilt here. His performance is believable and takes the movie up a notch. Margera and Dicamillo seem to basically be playing themselves, although Dicamillo throws in an odd accent, and they are off at times, but their realism works well with Dunn's depression. The film is full of odd moments, including the reverse microwave and the fact that Don Vito is dressed in a toga and demands that people feed him grapes. Chris Raab, who will be familiar to "Jackass" viewers, plays a seemingly retarded character who enjoys seeing 80's songs in the shower. The movie contains some very funny moments (with the rhino tattoo being my favorite) and like "Jackass", the viewer finds themselves laughing in spite of themselves. The film also features some nice "Jackass"-like stunts, including a bike wreck which left me giggling. Like a Kevin Smith film on steroids, Haggard is an independently made film which actually does something a little different, and is all the more noticeable for this.
Video
On this DVD release, Haggard has been letterboxed at 1.78:1 and the transfer is enhanced for 16 x 9 TVs. The image is surprisingly sharp and clear, as the image only shows an overt amount of grain in select shots, most of these being time-lapse images. There are a handful of defects from the source print, but not enough to be distracting. The colors are particularly good, as the reds, greens, and blues look quite natural. There is some slight artifacting at times, and a few moments of video noise. Otherwise, this transfer looks fine.
Audio
The DVD features a digital stereo audio track which provides clear dialogue and fine music reproduction. The track is adequate, but unremarkable. The audio is well-balanced and the dynamic range is always steady, which is admirable for this film, as a dialogue scene will often shift into a moment with loud music.
Extras
The main special feature on the Haggard DVD is a 40-minute "making of" featurette. Like the film, this segment is a true oddity, as it contains some behind-the-scenes footage, but is made up mostly of comments from the cast, crew, and Bam's friends as they talk about the film. There is a great deal of footage shot in Bam's car with a camera mounted on the dash, as he and Dicamillo cruise the streets. There are some interesting moments here, especially when Ryan Dunn relates the real-life components of the movie. The last few minutes of this featurette get very serious, as they examine the alcoholism of Chris Raab and the drug problems of Brandon Novak (who appears in the film as a drug dealer). The next feature is a segment entitled, "Body Bag at Dump (Too Gnarly for "Jackass"), (although on the DVD menu, it's called "To (sic) Gnarly"). This 3-minute segment shows the guys wrapping Ryan's body in plastic and throwing him in a dumpster, and then standing back to watch onlookers call the police. A trailer for Haggard, letterboxed at 1.85:1 is offered here, and there is a still gallery with 13 images. The extras are rounded out by three music videos featuring CKY performing "Attached at the Hip", Him doing "Heartache Every Moment", and Dicamillo rapping in "Bran's Chinese Freestyle #2". It should be noted that the DVD proclaims "Bam's Cut: UNRATED! UNCENSORED!", but there are at least three scenes in the film where nudity has been optically fogged, so there is some censoring after all.
Haggard is one of those films which has no right to be good and is better than one would ever expect. The film is definitely amateurish, both in its production and execution, but it also contains a great deal of energy and is quite funny at times. If Margera could have cut back on the skating and musical montage scenes, and focused more on the comedy, this could have been the next Clerks. As it is now, it's merely a curiosity which does offer some appeal outside of the typical "Jackass" nonsense.
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