tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7059293386881623259.post163064825096145153..comments2024-03-05T21:05:36.848-05:00Comments on CommentaramaFilms: Film Friday: Tucker and Dale vs. Evil (2011)AndrewPricehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11312364467936820986noreply@blogger.comBlogger18125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7059293386881623259.post-7089134483844077602014-11-30T13:19:46.163-05:002014-11-30T13:19:46.163-05:00PikeBishop, You're welcome! I agree completel...PikeBishop, You're welcome! I agree completely about the last 15 minutes. The last 15 minutes fall apart into cliche and lose the feel of the movie. But up until that point, the film really is clever and fun.<br /><br />I'm glad your wife found it funny too. It's always hard to tell how much gore people will like or if they will see it as funny. In this case, I was laughing so hard I barely noticed that it was gory. I'm glad to hear that you and your wife had a similar experience. :DAndrewPricehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11312364467936820986noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7059293386881623259.post-6542723088379901082014-11-30T12:26:21.210-05:002014-11-30T12:26:21.210-05:00Had a free weekend of Starz and Encore and finally...Had a free weekend of Starz and Encore and finally caught it last night. Everything the review said is true, the grisly deaths and accidents come off as laugh out loud funny, something rare to pull over (Peter Jackson's "Dead Alive" was probably the first to pull this trick off). Even my relatively squeamish wife was laughing out loud. If that was say an episode of The Walking Dead, she would have been hiding her face. I thought everything about the reverseal parody was spot on, especially the characterizations. (Notice in most of the slasher films the college students are A** Holes, but you cheer for them as less evil than the psycho killers). My one complaint is the the last fifteen minutes. After the destruction of the house, it's like the writer had nowhere to go, but to a clichéd situation in a very clichéd place, that doesn't quite effectively fit the reverse parody concept (IMHO) and the pacing sort of flags. It's like they had no idea of how to end it. Other than that. Top notch film that falls just a bit short. Thanks for turning me on to it.PikeBishophttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05761380937971970762noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7059293386881623259.post-31352826796213814952014-10-20T23:29:37.571-04:002014-10-20T23:29:37.571-04:00KRS, Your last point absolutely gets the point acr...KRS, Your last point absolutely gets the point across. There is a lot of gore, but it's so over the top and so, as you put it, hilariously preposterous in how it happens that you spend all your time laughing at it rather than feeling grossed out.AndrewPricehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11312364467936820986noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7059293386881623259.post-40581543408783784542014-10-20T17:00:17.840-04:002014-10-20T17:00:17.840-04:00Andrew - this review is certainly on the mark. I ...Andrew - this review is certainly on the mark. I had high hopes when I read the title (I've always thought crafting a solid title is like writing poetry: looks simple but it ain't) and it didn't disappoint. Tudyk is solid in anything he does - he's almost a chameleon, practically fading inside the character he plays. <br /><br />That said, this is not a movie for the faint of heart because the gore is significant. More than I normally care for really, but it doesn't bother me so much in this case because the movie is such an excellent parody that the blood&guts are essential elements of the jokes.<br /><br />However, I think one reason why this works is that it is so outrageous. We're all laughing at the genre of bad slasher flicks, so, while the gory deaths are plausible in a sort of "It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World" (1964) vein, they're really hilariously preposterous, so it doesn't feel the same as in a slasher/torture porn flick.<br /><br />I'm not sure that last bit gets my point across, but, hey, funny movie.<br />KRSnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7059293386881623259.post-64894206921361760652014-10-20T13:35:07.717-04:002014-10-20T13:35:07.717-04:00Scott, I too have become a fan of Alan Tudyk, and ...Scott, I too have become a fan of Alan Tudyk, and he does not disappoint here. I haven't seen this in over a week and there are still moments that make me laugh periodically... "All these kids started killing themselves all over my property." LOL!AndrewPricehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11312364467936820986noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7059293386881623259.post-29945891704608679152014-10-20T03:00:28.916-04:002014-10-20T03:00:28.916-04:00I'm not a fan of horror at all and don't w...I'm not a fan of horror at all and don't watch any of the slasher or torture porn movies.<br /><br />The only reason I sat down to watch this was because I loved Alan Tudyk in Firefly and I heard it was a comedy. Alan didn't let me down and it was a great comedy and as mentioned the reactions of all involved were believable in relation to the story. <br /><br />I've never met any Hillbillies and only know of them from movie/media stereotypes, so it was good to see those stereotypes thrown on their head in such an original way.<br /><br />Great movie, I would recommend it to any and every adult to enjoy.<br /><br />Scott.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7059293386881623259.post-66718679496313778472014-10-18T14:28:13.163-04:002014-10-18T14:28:13.163-04:005Minutes, That's a great way to put it. This ...5Minutes, That's a great way to put it. This film is gleeful. Everything they do is just meant to be fun and that comes across and makes this a very pleasant, happy, funny film despite the "darkness" of the overall story.AndrewPricehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11312364467936820986noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7059293386881623259.post-69121222210278729962014-10-17T22:23:02.702-04:002014-10-17T22:23:02.702-04:00I am most decidedly not a horror fan, but friends ...I am most decidedly not a horror fan, but friends pushed this one on me and boy am I glad. This takes on every horror trope that's popped up since 1978 and plays with it gleefully. I adored it enough to recommend it to the wife, who's even less of a horror fan, and she absolutely adored it. <br /><br />We considered doing Tucker and Dale as costumes this year, but it's still a little too obscure. 5minutesnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7059293386881623259.post-42635972955127819502014-10-17T10:35:05.439-04:002014-10-17T10:35:05.439-04:00Kit, That is one of the funniest lines in this mov...Kit, That is one of the funniest lines in this movie, especially because he says that there is no way anyone would believe him if he said this and then he ends up saying it to the cop. Also, the concept is so hilarious because this is so obviously impossible and yet that is exactly what is happening... sort of.AndrewPricehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11312364467936820986noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7059293386881623259.post-57716851611548975902014-10-17T00:20:08.822-04:002014-10-17T00:20:08.822-04:00"Oh hidy ho officer, we've had a doozy of..."Oh hidy ho officer, we've had a doozy of a day. There we were minding our own business, just doing chores around the house, when kids started killing themselves all over my property." —TuckerKithttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01453591141757808708noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7059293386881623259.post-65591017084794308082014-10-16T13:23:01.837-04:002014-10-16T13:23:01.837-04:00tryanmax, Well said! I agree completely.
The thin...tryanmax, Well said! I agree completely.<br /><br />The thing I hate most about the comic misunderstanding film is that it is lazy writing. It is premised on the main character being so obnoxious that we're supposed to accept that they reach an insane conclusion and refuse to even ask someone they have regular contact with if that is accurate. Why are we supposed to believe that? Well, because he's so obnoxious! ha ha.<br /><br />I hate that.<br /><br />In any event, that's not the case here.<br /><br />This misunderstanding begins with a cultural misunderstanding which grows out of control because the college students see extraordinary appearing events, like the hillbillies fishing the girl out of the water and then yelling, "We got yer friend!" or being "chased" by a Tucker with the chainsaw.<br /><br />Those aren't the kind of normal situations where you would say, "Gee, I should check and see what they meant," especially once the bodies start piling up. Or take the wood chipper, where it appears to them that Tucker is feeding the body into the chipper as he is really trying to pull it out. Again, that's the sort of observation you act on... not have a sitdown over.<br /><br />In terms of the accidents, what I really appreciated is how unexpected, but believable they are. This isn't someone "accidentally" lying down in front of a running saw. These accidents are believable. They are typically foreshadowed too to make them even more credible. And they are just funny because they do parody the things you normally see in these films.<br /><br />I also appreciate how "real" the characters reactions are. Tucker and Dale, for example, are confused and they piece together the only idea that makes sense from their perspective -- a suicide pact. At the same time, they aren't dumb enough to think they can convince the cops that that is what happened. So you never feel like the film is cheating just to get them to do something. And things like the mention of Stockholm Syndrome are exactly what a college student would reach for to explain away evidence that doesn't fit what they think is happening.<br /><br />This is a truly well written film.AndrewPricehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11312364467936820986noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7059293386881623259.post-32692545658910731462014-10-16T13:05:55.322-04:002014-10-16T13:05:55.322-04:00Thanks Ben! I've known quite a few hillbillie...Thanks Ben! I've known quite a few hillbillies in my time too. They are generally less violent than portrayed by Hollywood, but more criminal in nature. Most of the ones I've met live on welfare for a living and steal to buy drugs.<br /><br />I enjoyed this film primarily because you really do come to like Tucker and Dale. They are both good guys who are just trying to do their thing when all of this weirdness starts happening around them. I found their interactions to be hilarious. The characters are endearing. The setups are solid. And the payoffs are really funny. This was a smart film -- much smarter than almost anything I've seen in the comedy ranks of late.AndrewPricehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11312364467936820986noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7059293386881623259.post-32414147662340322802014-10-16T13:02:45.747-04:002014-10-16T13:02:45.747-04:00Scott, I normally hate that idea too, but it reall...Scott, I normally hate that idea too, but it really works here. This isn't one of those stories with a fake misunderstanding that any reasonable person should be solved by a quick question to the other side. The misunderstanding here is much more significant than that and, based on the interpretation they've got of events, no reasonable person would try to sit down with the other side.<br /><br />As an aside, when they do finally have "the conversation," there's a twist that makes it even harder to settle this.<br /><br />As for the accidental deaths, they are strangely believable and very funny. This doesn't feel like deus ex machina, it feels like it really could happen in these instances.<br /><br />I wouldn't normally recommend a film about hillbilly slashers, a film about misunderstandings that can be settled if everyone just acts reasonably, and where there is a lot of deus ex machina.... but I recommend this film because it doesn't feel like any of those things.AndrewPricehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11312364467936820986noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7059293386881623259.post-88667269587065711452014-10-16T10:52:27.190-04:002014-10-16T10:52:27.190-04:00Scott, don’t write it off yet. I'm with you on...Scott, don’t write it off yet. I'm with you on hating "comic misunderstanding" as it's usually done, which is lazily. <i>Tucker and Dale</i> does it right. This isn’t someone arbitrarily refusing to listen to someone they normally would because, wouldn’t that be funny? Instead, a cultural divide combines with awkwardness and bad advice that totally bungles their one chance at a real conversation. Tucker and Dale inadvertently and repeatedly confirm the preppies' worst preconceived notions about hillbillies which escalate into a dark comedy of errors. (That sounds like the back of a DVD case.) What I’m trying to say is, it's much more organic than 99% of what passes for comic misunderstanding. Yes, it plays heavily off of stereotypes, but plays them differently than we expect. The accidental deaths are clever in their own right because they take the idea that "no way was this an accident" and show you otherwise. tryanmaxhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09881154741574720094noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7059293386881623259.post-69143776223886969222014-10-16T08:59:07.466-04:002014-10-16T08:59:07.466-04:00I hate to be that guy...
... but this film had be...I hate to be <i>that</i> guy...<br /><br />... but this film had been on my to-watch list for a long time and after reading your review, I may have to take it off the list! I absolutely HATE stories based on "comic misunderstandings," where everything can be solved with a conversation.<br /><br />And the idea of killing off characters purely by accident doesn't appeal to me at all. Different strokes for different folks, I guess. (Cue the <i>Stripes</i> line: "Lighten up, Francis!") :-)<br /><br />Having said that, I also enjoy Alan Tudyk and Tyler Labine was on a clever CW show for a few years called <i>Reaper</i>. Katrina Bowden played Tina Fey's sexy assistant on <i>30 Rock</i>.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7059293386881623259.post-3498237107318350022014-10-16T04:20:48.386-04:002014-10-16T04:20:48.386-04:00Excellent review, Andrew!
I too had little expect...Excellent review, Andrew! <br />I too had little expectations when I watched this, so it was refreshingly well done, funny and had endearing characters.<br /><br />I met quite a few hillbillies when I was in the Navy and only one or two were even close to the stereotypical portrayals of hillbillies hollywood usually uses, so it was nice to see this film in that aspect as well.<br /><br />It's clear that the director, writers and producer knew all the parody pitfalls and smartly avoided them while still managing to throw in some surprises.<br />as you say, this is not an easy thing to do so kudos to the entire film crew for taking a chance and doing something different and entertaining.<br />The miscommunication between the students and hillbillies was particularly funny to me.<br /><br />Fortunately, I hadn't seen the trailer before the film. USS Ben USN (Ret)https://www.blogger.com/profile/07492369604790651538noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7059293386881623259.post-19679728603691567932014-10-16T02:09:06.508-04:002014-10-16T02:09:06.508-04:00Shawn, That's too bad. It definitely helps no...Shawn, That's too bad. It definitely helps not to know what will happen next with this one because the surprise is part of what makes this film fun.AndrewPricehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11312364467936820986noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7059293386881623259.post-43839605570061403342014-10-16T01:51:48.800-04:002014-10-16T01:51:48.800-04:00It's a decent flick, my big problem is that I ...It's a decent flick, my big problem is that I saw the trailer for it first, and it gave away most of the really funny stuff, essentially spoiling the surprise. So stay away from the movie trailer before watching the film.shawnnoreply@blogger.com