Measure of a Man Movie Review

The film ‘Measure of a Man’ is an adaptation of the book ‘One Fat Summer’ by Robert Lipsyte. It’s directed by Jim Loach, whose father Ken Loach has been working in the film business for over fifty years. Seeing this movie makes me certain Jim will have the same kind of staying power. Jim had writer David Scearce write the screenplay and make some changes to it to create a more relatable world for him to work with. Doing this has made his twenty-second directing achievement a triumph. His casting choices also helped. Topping off a fabulous cast of young actors whom you may not know quite yet is Judy Greer, Luke Wilson and the crème de la crème, Donald Sutherland.

‘Measure of a Man’ is set in the 1970’s and is a story about an awkward teenager, Bobby Marks (Cooper), trying to fight bullies and his own lack of confidence to grow up and become a man. Depending on how one interprets that, what he wants to do is be helpful to those around him and be a good person but has so much anxiety, he can barely help himself. He’s overweight, uncomfortable in his own skin and outside of his mother (Greer) and sister Michelle (Liberato), is too nervous to talk to girls, save one, Joanie (Danielle Rose Russell), who he grew up knowing. He knows Joanie because his family gets together every year with hers after upstate travel for summer vacation brings them together for picnics, swimming and county fairs. The chubby kid certain that one day her acceptance of him over summer break will blossom into love.

However, this summer, things are different. A lot has changed. Bobby hasn’t changed but other things have and he’s even more uncomfortable. The people upstate have finally let the vacationers know what they think of their visitors, the locals are harsher and less tolerant of the mess they leave and find an easy target in Bobby to take it out on. Joanie frightens Bobby more than anything a thug could do to him. She has matured and is now taking off for a month and won’t explain to him why. Heartbroken, he gets a summer job helping Dr. Kahn (Sutherland) with his lawn and basic yard maintenance. It’s this relationship that becomes the turning point of the film. Kahn is a rich elite who you think is being severe but you come to realize, through his own experience, he’s guiding him into manhood. Kahn also accidentally stumbles onto a sort of friendship he wasn’t quite expecting.

The characters in the film are well thought out and the acting is convincing. Bobby and Michelle’s relationship as brother and sister is hateful yet compassionate and Cooper and Liberato’s performances are spot on. Loach is largely to thank for pulling performances out of his young cast that keep you both amused and captivated. When feeling for the poor youngster, you’ll also feel inflamed when he’s confronted with more than he can handle. I like the movie and believe you will, too. Jim Loach knows how to handle a story. This movie is potent and effective and one not to miss. Include ‘Measure of a Man’ in YOUR summer vacation films.

Playing in Phoenix Exclusively at *Harkins Camelview

READ MY INTERVIEW WITH JIM LOACH AND LIANA LIBERATO

Life of the Party Movie Review

“Life of the Party” is a new movie that relies on the comedy talents of the star, Melissa McCarthy. There is no problem with that, because McCarthy is a totally likable and engaging comic presence. She has the star power and charisma to pull off being a major player when given the right role. That is the biggest problem. Her abilities far overpower the meager gruel that this movie. She tones down her snappy and sarcastic style to play the neutral beige of her character, and jokes fall like gentle snowfall – when she is best suited for a full-scale blizzard of snark.

 

Deanna Miles (Melissa McCarthy) is dropping her only daughter Maddie (Molly Gordon) off at college for her senior year. Little does Deanna know that her husband Dan (Matt Walsh) is dropping Deanna – he wants a divorce from the bland matronly woman that he married. She is broken apart, and she knows she must propel her life in a new direction. She decides to go back and finish college herself. She had dropped out in her senior year to get married and have Maddie. Now it’s her time to shine. Her best friend Christine (Maya Rudolph) gives her the encouragement to get out on her own.

 

Deanna bring her cheerfulness and Hallmark-card sentimental gooey nature into the college dorms and classrooms and Greek houses. She is a little unusual, and some of the ‘mean girls’ make fun of her gentle and uplifting manners. But she endures, and even Maddie and her friends are brought over her sunny-side-up attitude. She attends the frat parties and becomes the teacher’s pet. She gets something going with a boy toy that is less than half her age. You go girl!

 

But her divorce proceeding threatens to bring the whole house down around Deanna. She gets a little bent out-of-shape and ruins Dan’s wedding reception. She is close to failing her favorite class and dropping out of school.  But her friends that she made in the sorority will help to throw a big bash for cash. And to get everyone to attend and pay the cover charge, they start the rumor that a big celebrity will stop by after her concert. But is all just a lie, or is it? Does her roommate actually have a secret of her own, one that will save the day?

Melissa McCarthy is the main player in this show, but she gets very little in the way of good material to work with. Mostly all the jokes are a variation of ‘Dad jokes’ just told by the Mom. There are a couple of snappy lines here and there, but most of the script seems to have been warmed over like a week-old stew on the low burner. There could have been much more zing in the story line, but Deanna is forced to get by on phrases like “I’m down to clown”. There is hardly any chemistry between the actors and almost no character development.

 

There is basically not much Life in this Party. It seems too toned-down to have any edge, and all that is left is a frumpy bedazzled sweater of a movie. It may look nice on the rack in the clothes store, but is not the right style that would have you wear it home.

Measure of a Man movie poster

Interview with Jim Loach and Liana Liberato from the film ‘Measure of a Man’

Following in his director father’s footsteps, Jim Loach has become an outstanding storyteller. His father is the well-known director, writer, producer Ken Loach, who directed last year’s impressive film ‘I, Daniel Blake’ among countless others. Read more

show-dogs-movie

Show Dogs Advance Movie Screening

Movie Screening Summary

SHOW DOGS stars a delightful cast of talking canine characters, including our hero Max, a rugged lone-wolf Rottweiler police dog. Max and his human police partners are investigating an underground network of illegal animal traders when they get a tip that the crime ring is planning an attack on the prestigious “Eastminster” Dog Show. Macho Max must undergo a makeover – mud baths, ballet lessons, a Brazilian waxing – to go undercover in order to thwart the plot. In the hands of his new human handler Frank, Max gets in touch with his inner show dog, and also learns that trusting the help of others can sometimes be more rewarding than working alone.

Release: May 18, 2018
Studio: Open Road Films
Genre: Animation
Director: Raja Gosnell
Producers: Deepkak Nayar And Philip Von Alvensleben
Executive Producers: Tom Ortenberg, Nik Bower, Max Botkin, Raja Gosnell And Scott Lambert
Writer: Max Botkin And Blaise Hemmingway
Cast: Will Arnett, Chris “Ludacris” Bridges, Natasha Lyonne, Jordin Sparks, Gabriel “Fluffy” Iglesias, Shaquille O’Neal, Alan Cumming, and Stanley Tucci
Rating: PG

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Phoenix, Arizona

Advance Movie Screening Details

Movie Screening Date: Saturday, May 12
Location: Harkins Tempe Marketplace
Movie Screening Time: 10:00 am
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Las Vegas, Nevada

Advance Movie Screening Details

Movie Screening Date: Saturday, May 12
Location: Regal Red Rock
Movie Screening Time: 10:00 am
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Advance Movie Screening Information

To redeem a pass, simply click the Get Passes button. You will taken to our movie screening partner site (where you can sign up for a free account). Once you’ve done so, you’ll be able to print out your pass and bring it with you to your screening or event.

Admittance into a screening or event is not guaranteed with your pass. Events and advance screenings are filled on a ” first come, first served ” basis. To ensure that you stand a good chance of being admitted, we recommend that you show up 30 minutes to one hour early.

The number of admissions that are permissible for each pass are printed clearly on the ticket that you print out. You are allowed to bring as many guests as is indicated on your pass. For example, if your pass is for ” Admit Two, ” you can bring yourself and one guest. If you have an ” Admit One ” pass, you can bring only yourself.

If you have any other questions or comments, please contact us.

Tully Movie Review

Going into ‘Tully’ I didn’t know what to expect. Sometimes when I know ahead of time that I’ll be reviewing a film, I avoid all mention of the said film, so I can go in without any knowledge of the concept and therefore don’t build any preconceived notions. I especially avoid trailers as I believe, this is especially true of the last few years, they give away too much of the plot. I’ll try not to reveal too much here, myself.

What I knew of ‘Tully,’ and all I needed to know to sell me on it, were the stars, the director and the writer. Charlize Theron, Mark Duplass and Ron Livingston in a film directed by Jason Reitman who directed the wonderful ‘Up in the Air’?! Enough said! But then written and produced by Diablo Cody, too?! Cody first came on the scene when she wrote her smash hit film ‘Juno” for which she procured a BAFTA, Writers Guild, Critics Choice and Academy Award® for Best Original Screenplay. Quite the accomplishment. ‘Juno’ was also directed by Reitman. ‘Young Adult,’ which I considered to be rather good, as well, Sees Cody and Reitman together also and stars Charlize Theron. Knowing this, I was chomping at the bit for this new film. Still I refused to learn too much of the story, instead, I went in trusting the team that designed the piece. I had heard all I needed to know to get me in the theatre and should do it for you, too. Reitman and Cody make a good team. ‘Tully’ is very well written, quite charming and whether you think you can relate to the characters or not, very much worth your time.

Theron plays Marlo, a pregnant mother of two, who’s about to have baby number three shortly. One of her children, her son, has difficulties in school, shows all the signs of autism, and makes getting through the day quite a struggle. She has to brush his body to reduce the anxiety of everyday stimulation for him. Her husband Drew, played by Ron Livingston, of ‘Office Space’ fame, works a lot and when home he spends more time playing video games than he does noticing if Marlo has had a good day, is okay or needs his help. He is a good father and they do have a loving relationship, but their communication is more about the kids and problems that arise rather than relaxed and problem free. Then, of course, when she has the baby things get more chaotic for Marlo and, seeing less of him, she begins feeling drained and sleep deprived.

Her concerned and very wealthy brother Craig, played by the charismatic Mark Duplass, offers to pay for Marlo to have a night nanny come over in the evenings and help her. This is so she can get some rest and be more prepared to handle the sunrise. At first, the idea of someone coming into her home and taking care of her child doesn’t thriller Marlo but she eventually finds herself unable to dig herself out from underneath mounds of housework piling up around her. She feels neglectful and, realizing how good it’ll be for her family to have someone help, she accepts the generous gift.

This is when Tully, (Mackenzie Davis from ‘Blade Runner 2049’), a young woman in her twenties, enters her life. Still a little nervous about the situations, when she finally meets Tully she feels genuine warmth come from her. Knowing that all will be well, Marlo puts her head on the pillow, closes her eyes and gets the first good night’s sleep she’s had in years.

As the relationship deepens and the help she’s receiving becomes more about the bond between the two women, their conversations and the film itself gets more engaging. It’s also considerably witty. Whether you’re a woman or have been a parent or not, you’ll enjoy the banter between all the characters in the film. The Reitman/Cody union has always been strong and this time it’s not only good but has matured, as well. A twist they throw at you at the end of the film is not only kept well-hidden but is a testimonial to how Cody has evolved as a writer which makes you giddy for her future work. Whatever she has coming up for us, hopefully, she’ll not stray too far from her formula and from these partnerships that work.

For more information, visit the website and check out the social pages:

Official Website:     http://www.tullyfilm.com/

Facebook:                https://www.facebook.com/tullymovie/

Twitter:                      @TullyMovie

Instagram:                @TullyMovie

#Tully

life-of-the-party-movie-2018

Life Of The Party Advance Movie Screening

Movie Screening Summary

When her husband suddenly dumps her, longtime dedicated housewife Deanna (Melissa McCarthy) turns regret into re-set by going back to college…landing in the same class and school as her daughter, who’s not entirely sold on the idea. Plunging headlong into the campus experience, the increasingly outspoken Deanna—now Dee Rock—embraces freedom, fun and frat boys on her own terms, finding her true self in a senior year no one ever expected.

www.lifeoftheparty-movie.com

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Advance Movie Screening For LIFE OF THE PARTY

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Phoenix, Arizona

Advance Movie Screening Details

Movie Screening Date: Tuesday, May 8
Location: Harkins Scottsdale 101
Movie Screening Time: 7:00pm
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Tucson, Arizona

 

Advance Movie Screening Details

Movie Screening Date: Tuesday, May 8
Location:Century El Con
Movie Screening Time: 7:00pm
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Las Vegas, Nevada

Advance Movie Screening Details

Movie Screening Date: Tuesday, May 8
Location: Regal Red Rock
Movie Screening Time: 7:00pm
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Albuquerque, New Mexico

Advance Movie Screening Details

Movie Screening Date: Tuesday, May 8
Location: Regal Winrock
Movie Screening Time: 7:00pm
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Advance Movie Screening Information

To redeem a pass, simply click the Get Passes button. You will taken to our movie screening partner site (where you can sign up for a free account). Once you’ve done so, you’ll be able to print out your pass and bring it with you to your screening or event.

Admittance into a screening or event is not guaranteed with your pass. Events and advance screenings are filled on a ” first come, first served ” basis. To ensure that you stand a good chance of being admitted, we recommend that you show up 30 minutes to one hour early.

The number of admissions that are permissible for each pass are printed clearly on the ticket that you print out. You are allowed to bring as many guests as is indicated on your pass. For example, if your pass is for ” Admit Two, ” you can bring yourself and one guest. If you have an ” Admit One ” pass, you can bring only yourself.

If you have any other questions or comments, please contact us.

Godard Mon Amour Movie Review

The filmmaker Jean-Luc Godard, who this movie is about, has said of this Michel Hazanavicius film that it’s ‘A stupid, stupid idea.’ This quote is then put on the poster and why not? Hazanavicius knew right there that he got it right. You can’t get a bigger endorsement, in my opinion. Michel Hazanavicius, director of ‘The Artist,’ which won five Academy Awards, including Best Picture and Best Director, now gives us the fairly humorous ‘Godard Mon Amour,’ a subtitled French film originally titled ‘Le Redoutable.’ In ‘The Artist,’ he showed us the world of silent films by introducing us to one of its actors and focusing heavily on that star’s world. In ‘Godard Mon Amour,’ we meet a truly innovative filmmaker from the 1960’s named Jean-Luc Godard (Garrel) when he’s in a state of flux. Already a successful director in the eyes of the public and of the critics with films such as, ‘Breathless,’ ‘Contempt’ and ‘Pierrot le Fou’ he decides he wants to be a revolutionary. He wants more out of life and desires to give more to the world through cinema.

We meet him in 1967 when Godard was regarded as one of the most gifted directors of his generation. He was very avant-garde because about ten years previously, he got involved in the ‘Nouvelle Vague,’ a group of French movie directors who came together to shrink away from the cinema of the day that was being created, to give films a more expressive voice.

While making his new movie, ‘La Chinoise,’ he starts doubting everything he has ever believed in. He feels he’s old (he’s thirty-seven) and out of touch and marrying an actress Anne Wiazemsky (Martin) almost twenty years his junior, doesn’t help much. She falls in love with his passion and his talent but as he gets more distracted with his heavy interest in politics, he pays less and less attention to her, at one point telling her that love can wait for later. He is always speaking as though his life means nothing but the cinema and when he has switched to politics only, his love life falls in order. He tells her he doesn’t have it in him to make a romantic film, saying, ‘Enough with the dictatorship of sentiments… sentiments don’t make revolutions.’ While loving and attentive early on, as the film continues, she’s starting to see what this means for their future. Previous to marrying him, she thought he was fascinating, unpredictable, charming and funny but before long comes to grip with the fact that he’s miserable and therefore incapable of thinking of anyone but himself. To support her husband, the young bride finds herself running from the police during student marches and protests rather than making films with him, even boycotting the Cannes Film Festival during the strikes of the following year.

The cinematography is outstanding and worth watching for that alone. The comedy, when it kicks in, rivals that of early Woody Allen pictures but takes place so far into the film that you may lose interesting getting there. Like the filmmaker Godard himself eventually became, Hazanavicius, is looking for something other than a joke to entertain you. I’d like to go on record as saying that if the film doesn’t please your palate right away, don’t give up on it. It drags on at first but does get better. There’s a lot of ground to cover and the clever way that this profound character is revealed at such a heavy turning point in his life, shouldn’t be missed by anyone who is looking for something meaningful. Hazanavicius is relaying to his audience a time when the filmmaker was trying to stay relevant. He’ll be criticized for creatively yet harshly revealing this time in Godard’s life but it doesn’t mean it should not have been explored.

*Releasing in Phoenix exclusively at Harkins Camelview at Fashion Square.

I Feel Pretty Movie Review

Very few movies make you feel bad for the protagonist of the story and feel horrible about yourself at the same time. ‘I Feel Pretty’ does just that. The beginning of the film especially. Renee Bennett (Schumer) is treated horribly by society. She’s completely shunned. If she walks into a building, she’s treated like a leper. People stare at her as if her fat can instantly leap from her body and infest the entire building… how dare she inhabit their earth! Yes. I can see the point being made. This possibly and most likely is how people who hate themselves, for whatever reason, feel about their body, their face… their selves. It’s heartbreaking. However, this is pushed to the limit where the audience may feel uncomfortable about how the film itself makes them feel as they watch.

It’s as if ‘I Feel Pretty’ is a giant mirror reminding them that they should put the popcorn down and get back to dieting. This being the case, it most likely won’t be entertaining for some. The movie theatre isn’t necessarily the place you need to be reminded of each and every flaw. Again, I see the point, but must it be beaten into the ground? ‘Shallow Hal’ makes this exact storyline work without humiliating and alienating its audience. I was hoping this would be similar to Hal but was quite disappointed in that respect.

But the film redeems itself to an extent when it starts selling the message that it’s not how others perceive you that counts, it’s only how you view you that should ever matter.

Renee is both the protagonist and antagonist in this particular film. What?! Well, she shifts from a kindhearted, fun and friendly person to a lousy, callous pain in the backside in no time flat. What turns her is a journey she takes. While praying that she’ll lose weight, look and feel better, she joins a gym and listens to an instructor who’s a powerful motivational speaker. While listening to her strong words of encouragement, she falls off the exercise bike she’s on (For some reason it can’t hold her weight?!?), hits her head and passes out. When she comes to she sees, not herself, but someone else. She’s healthier, more beautiful but most of all… not fat. She walks around almost the rest of the movie acting like she just won a billion-dollar lottery. She is overly happy with her new lease on life and vows to go get what she wants. And she does just that. Her attitude toward herself also gets her attention, but it isn’t sinking into Renee that she hasn’t changed… she’s still just Renee to everyone else.

Soon, all of her dreams have come true. She has the job she has always wanted, has a boyfriend, even has admirers and her head begins to swell. Not long after, she starts looking at her friends. Suddenly, they’re dragging her down. They’re not dressed well enough and they wear their hair wrong. She wants them to change. Being that the film has been formulaic so far, you can see that a big lesson is coming her way and if she wants to come out of her present situation with only a bruised ego, she needs to realize who she really is.

‘I Feel Pretty’ has sight gags, fat jokes and follows a certain predictable pattern but if you’re a Schumer fan, it’s worth seeing. She hams it up and struts her stuff, clearly, there are no body issues for Schumer as she shows it off a lot. If she ever had issues, she doesn’t now and shouldn’t but this is why the film ultimately doesn’t work. She’s full-figured, yeah, but hardly obese. They’re making fun of how fat she is when she’s, at most, big boned, slightly overweight but is healthy looking. This makes the filmmakers look superficial and tasteless. No. It’s not lost on us that Renee needs to see what everyone else sees but therein lies the rub. They show people, adults mind you, getting both repulsed by the sight of her for her ugly, cellulite ridden, flabby body and yet want you believing that everyone sees this beautiful person within her. The filmmakers can’t have it both ways.

That notwithstanding, Schumer was great, especially when she joins a bikini contest. She holds nothing back. Michelle Williams was very fun to watch as Avery LeClaire, an incredibly hollow human being who ends up being exactly what Renee needs to see that everyone has flaws, no matter how perfect we think they are. All the performances were strong but the movie, outside of a few laughs and a good message, wasn’t as good as it could have been. I feel they were headed in the right direction but got lost along the way. Maybe they should have spent less time writing ways to make fun of fat chicks. That would have been a good start.

My interview with the gang behind the Super Troopers Franchise! ‘Super Troopers 2’ comes out tomorrow!!

Having just watched the screening of Super Troopers 2 the night before, I had a really fun time when a very small group of us press members sat down with most of Broken Lizard, the men behind the hilarious film franchise, the next afternoon for a bull session.

I could have talked to them all day but was, unfortunately, given a time limit. I spoke to Jay Chandrasekhar, the member of the five-man comedy troupe who directs the films, the night before, but only slightly as I hadn’t realized in time that he wasn’t going to be joining in on the interview or I would have brought my recorder to get a quote or two for this piece. Luckily for us, the four who were there, Erik Stolhanske, Steve Lemme, Paul Soter and Kevin Heffernan were chatty enough and quite entertaining, as was their film.

In fact, I was nervous for them as I went into the screening because often times films suffer from the sophomore jinx, but ‘Super Troopers 2’ is not one of them. They were happy to hear that I felt that way about their efforts as they were worried, themselves.

Read on because they also hint of a ‘part three’ which sounds intriguing. I say, ‘Go for it!’ Why stop now? But they made us wait long enough for this film… they need to get moving already, right?!  I digress.

Interestingly enough, the most serious of the bunch was Kevin, known to most as the frustrating but cuddly ‘Farva.’ He had a more contemplative tone and seemed to analyze the questions more before forming his responses, which, here and the night before at the screening, seemed to be direct and to the point rather than trying to fit some mold a person may have expected from him.

Steve (Mac) is the more playful in the group. The class clown, so to speak. They all fit that description, in a way, but he seems to always be on. When not speaking, he’s waiting to speak, however, does give the speaker his ear. He’s genuine and warm and a pleasure to get to know.

Erik (Rabbit) is the quiet one but he’s not shy. He’s very sweet. Respectful. You can tell when talking to him that he was reserved as a youngster. He’s the one who politely waits his turn to speak and sometimes gets skipped. No member is rude toward the other, don’t mistake what I’m about to say, but like brothers often do, they jump on top of one another, metaphorically speaking, in certain situations which can turn into a free-for-all. If it does, someone gets left at the bottom. Erik may sometimes take a place at or near the bottom but seems comfortable there. What I mean is, if you watch him, his wheels are always turning. When it’s his turn to work or speak, he’ll burst from the pile and you better watch out. Don’t get in his way. This is all conjecture, by the way… just an observance.

Paul (Foster) is a little of all these characteristics rolled into one. He’s studious and insightful and he respects the audience, as they all do. They share a mutual appreciation for their fans and are aware they’d be nowhere without them. Knowing this, they’re very approachable and grateful.

Broken Lizard. A brotherhood has been created here and it was fun to witness it come to life. They finish each other’s thoughts and are hip to where the other is going with a point, cognizant of where each one stands on a subject. There’s a comradery, a reverence and admiration between them, that I’d say will never break.

Kevin starts by talking about the film.

Kevin: There was a lot of pressure about whether people were going to like this movie or not. Because there’s so many fans of the first one that they don’t want you to screw it up. Inevitably the concern that they raise to you, even in those groups, you know, it’s like, ‘I was so afraid it was going to suck!’ My wife said the same thing.

Paul: Our fans have never been shy about saying what they feel because you get people every day, like, ‘Yeah! Loved ‘Super Troopers!’ ‘Club Dread’ sucked.’ Or ‘I loved ‘Beerfest’ but ‘The Slammin’ Salmon’ sucked.’ So, we know people. That’s actually good. That’s helpful to see. What’s working and what people like. I think it’s nice; the response. We’ve shown the movie a few of times, especially to the Indigogo backers, people are so positive. I really believe they’re satisfied.

Question: Do you think that’s because they have a stake in your game?

Kevin: Maybe. I think it’s more of a wedding toast kind of situation, like, they want you to succeed. They’re on your side. You’re like family, right? So, you can go up there and, hopefully, not screw it up.

Steve: Kevin’s right. You feel a sense of release. I mean, from us, too. We just didn’t want to suck and thankfully it doesn’t. A lot of people are saying it’s as good as the first one, maybe better, so…

Paul: Yeah and certainly, we spent a lot of time on both scripts, but I think that what I like here is we spent more time thinking about what makes a good story or what makes a good movie so, you look at the first one and we’ll admit that it’s really, sort of, an excuse for set pieces after set pieces but we really wanted this to be something with an interesting story and you wanted to know how it ends and a cool hook about this chunk of Canada and, you know, I think we’ve ‘plus upped’ just the story telling of it.

Erik: Let’s face it. We made a great movie.

They all laugh and talk over each other having a great time, most likely, remembering moments of making this film as they smiled with congratulatory grins. All earned.

Then Paul jumps in with a worried face.

Paul: He just jinxed the shit out of us.

Question: When writing, what type of research did you do, in terms of Canada? I know that Bruce McCulloch (Kids in the Hall) was on set but, myself, I’d watch ‘Strange Brew’ or ‘Kids in the Hall’ or something like that, but did you pull from your past or do research or–

Erik: Yeah. I lived up there for about ten years.

Kevin: We had a lot of interaction. There were times when we’d go up there and, you know, have fun.

Erik: And for Touring and stand-up.

Kevin: There were times when we’d go to Montreal for the Just for Laughs Festival and you’d be in that area and there were… funny elements of it. There’s a lot of French Canadians who don’t want to speak English to you. There were a lot who were kind of gruff when it’s normally the Canadians who you think are nice people but they– so it was kind of a cool area; thought it would be fun to have some fun with it.

Steve: Plus, we’re neighbors and we know nothing about each other, truthfully, you know? We were in Calgary and we met a Canadian person who was saying some untruths about Americans and we’re like, do you know anything about the United States? How many states do we have? And he’s like, ‘I don’t know forty-eight?’ And we’re like, ‘Holy shit! That’s a ridiculous answer.’ And he’s like, ‘Well, how many provinces are in Canada?’ And we’re like, ‘I don’t know.’

Erik: What’s a province?  

Paul: Forty-Eight? Seventy? That, to me, is why we left every joke in the movie is because, at the end, it looks like we’re all friends again and then Linda Carter basically says, ‘No. It’s going to be status quo again.’ And we immediately turn on each other. And that ‘Burn down your White House, again!’ and ‘What the hell are you talking about?!’ ‘The war of 1812. Learn your history.’ That’s my favorite joke because it is like, we didn’t even know our own history.

Kevin: We were in Calgary and someone, one of the Canadians, was telling us this whole story about how they burned down the White House and we were like, ‘What?! We don’t remember it that way!’

Steve: I had never heard that before. We were like, ‘The war of 1812 you burned down the White House? That doesn’t even sound familiar.’ We looked it up on Wikipedia. ‘No, actually, the Brits were renting YOUR land and THEY burnt down the White House in the war of 1812.’ But the Canadians were like, ‘No. We did it.’ We’ll let them have that one. We’ll give it to them. It’s fun.

Erik: Sure.

Steve: We also didn’t realize they didn’t become a real independent nation until 1983.

Paul: The more you dig around, it’s just fun… just funny stuff; the real history.

Steve: But we don’t just take the piss out of them, you know? If you watch the movie, we’re the ones who come over the border and we’re making fun of them. We’re the ugly Americans. And then it gets flipped immediately and we’re kind of the bad guys.

Kevin: We cast Canadians in those lead roles, Will Sasso and Tyler Labine, Emmanuelle Chriqui; they’re all Canadian and we kind of brought that whole thing to the table.

Erik: And they’re all from different parts. Will’s from Vancouver, Tyler’s from Ontario and Emmanuelle’s from Montreal… it’s such a wide range.

Steve: And our philosophy with Broken Lizard, comedy wise, is never to be mean-spirited and never to pick on anybody. We’re joking about how silly Canada is but the point was that we were setting ourselves up intentionally to have these guys smear us all over the place. That’s the thing about Canadians. They don’t take themselves too seriously.

Erik: I showed some clips up in Toronto a couple of weeks ago and they were very excited.

Question: Jay isn’t here right now so this is your chance to tell us about him.

Steve: Our chance to bash him? Terrible director. Terrible actor.

Question: C’mon. Give me something juicy.

They laugh.

Paul: He sleeps with his eyes open and snores really loudly.

Steve: It’s freaky as hell.

Paul: Days where we would share a hotel room and sometimes even share a bed with the guy, like, you’d wake up and he’d be staring at you and he’s snoring.

One of the four makes a snoring sound.

Erik: I wonder if he’s human.

Paul: And he’s deaf in one ear.

Kevin: It was also fun to have him direct this movie because… since the first Super Troopers movie, he’s directed 100 episodes of TV so he does have a different rhythm now than he did then and it was kinda cool to see how he did things a little bit differently. It was more about pacing and having efficient coverage. So, he definitely learned, you know?

Steve: This is my impression of Jay Chandrasekhar, (deepens his voice; speaks slowly) ’Uh… speak faster.’ (They laugh)

Paul: But I feel for him because he has to direct and act, which, I don’t think about how hard it is until I watch him. You can see he’s acting but his wheels are turning as a director and you have to snap him out of it. Brian Cox did that a couple of times, which is the great thing about having someone like Brian Cox on set sometimes. He wants to make sure you have your shit together as a director but as an actor too, so it makes you up your game.

Steve: And Brian Cox, naturally, when the sun starts going down, he starts to get a little crusty. He certainly doesn’t have time for any tomfoolery.

(Laughing, Crosstalk)

Steve: Cuz when the sun goes down, we start to become a bunch of monkey’s.

Erik: In Trooper, we worked him too hard. We worked him overnight.

Paul: He’s awesome. His eyeball exploded ¾’s of the way through the shoot. What happened with him? A blood vessel burst—

Kevin: He burst a blood vessel in his eye so, as a matter of continuity, we had to go in and digitally remove the red from his eye for certain scenes, otherwise, in his closeup you would have seen that his eyes was all—

Erik: Terrifying.

Steve: If you know which scenes the blood vessel burst for, which we do, now I can only focus on the white of his eye and it’s brighter than it normally should be.

Kevin: We won’t give those secrets away. You can see it on the DVD.

Erik: I mean, I’ve seen it. I’ve seen Steve reacting to it.

Eric suddenly looks horrified and alarmed. The room bursts into laughter at the memory.

Erik: That bloody eyeball was right there. Makes you jump.

Steve: A bloody eyeball is a terrifying thing.

Paul: He has a malevolent presence at times. He’s a jovial guy and he loves doing these things with us but when he turns to you with a big bloody eye…it’s the stuff of nightmares.

Question: I enjoyed the hell out of the movie. You guys don’t take yourselves seriously and you’re very passionate about what you do and it comes through in spades but you’re never rude about it like, we know you make fun of the Canadians but you don’t blame the Canadians’ right?

All: Right.

Question: Your passion shows through. So, what influences you, beyond the sequel, what influences you as actors to want to continue these characters?

Kevin and Steve argue over who’s going to answer the question first.

Kevin: A lot of this is based on us being friends. And it’s on… the philosophy is, ‘Hey, we’re gonna create this world and you can come and hang out in our world with us and be happy and be comfortable in this world because we’re having a good time; you’re having a good time.’ And so, I think that influences us to want to do these worlds in this way, you know?

Steve: That’s what I was gonna say. And we have drafts of things where the guys are bickering with each other or arguing, and we look at it, ‘No… no. We don’t want it to be that way.’ These guys are just joking around and having fun with each other and there’s the one asshole that everybody has in their workplace that’s gonna come in and ruin everybody’s good time and that’s this guy (gestures to Kevin) and so any obnoxious line that isn’t pc or not what we want someone to say, we just pop them into his mouth and we can get away with it.

Kevin: But you still like me.

Steve: But we still like you.

Erik: You’re lovable.

Kevin: Thank you.

Paul: The guy you love to hate.

Steve: And now we have a French-Canadian version of Farva, too (Paul Walter Hauser).

Question: From ‘I, Tonya,’ right?

Kevin: From ‘I, Tonya.’ What’s a great story is that I had done a comedy show with him, a live show… I had met him. And so, we’re trying to cast a Canadian Farva and I was like, ‘This guy I met; he’s fantastic. Let’s have him come in.’ So, we sent him to the casting director to go on tape for our movie and so we did our movie and they were casting for ‘I, Tonya’ and it was the same casting director and she was like, ‘I’m gonna call that guy in again cuz he was so great.’ And she called him in for, ‘I Tonya,’ and he got the part because he did ‘Super Troopers,’ which we were so excited for him about. And now the guy’s taking off. He’s in Spike Lee’s new movie (BlacKkKlansman). He’s done a bunch of stuff since.

Paul: It’s like we’re going around launching everybody’s career except our own.

Kevin: It’s good. It’s exciting.

Question: So, ‘Rabbit’ gets a love interest!?

Erik: Yeah! I’m tired of being shaving creamed!

Paul: That’s the last thing I want to do, is do the love stuff. Go and make-out and be mushy and have to do real acting? But, as silly as our movies get, you still have to have that scene. You still have to have that.

Question: Is there a girl out there for Farva?

Kevin: I don’t know. We talked about that. Maybe in ‘Super Troopers 3,’ we talked about maybe Farva finally finds his love. Maybe. But for now, I locked lips with Lemme in the movie, so… yeah… I’ll stay with Mac. Farva and Mac having a moment.

Steve: Pretty romantic stuff.

Kevin: Why not do it with the guy you know.

Paul: There’s no mushiness here.

Steve: That would be a great thing. In ‘Super Troopers 3,’ (gestures to Kevin) if Mac says, ‘I need to talk to you for a second. I can’t stop thinking about you.’

They laugh.

Question: Tell me about the writing process. How do you bring it all together?

Paul: It’s like this. It’s us around a table and there’s sort of these stages of just general ideation. Obviously, the world had already been built so that was good but generally speaking, we ask, ‘Where do we want to go with this?’ You, sort of, refine with each phase of starting, ‘Okay. Let’s go with that… let’s beat it out, how would something like that work?’ And with every phase, you’re almost always just throwing out bits or set pieces or comedy that you keep off to the side and you kind of build the structure of the storytelling. It’s just about populating as much comedy as you can.

Steve: Yeah. ‘Lonnie Laloush,’ the Canadian Farva, is a great example of that cuz that’s something where he just existed as dialogue. Down the road we thought, ‘We should probably see this guy.’ So, we wrote him into one scene but then we loved his audition tape so much we were, like, ‘God. We gotta see this guy a bunch and American Farva and Canadian Farva should meet up with each other at some point so… you just keep rolling it out and with each new draft, you have three, five, ten more jokes. It just makes the script better.

Question: Does anyone ever get their feelings hurt?

Kevin: Yeah. It definitely happens.

Erik: I’d say it happens.

Paul: Not over a joke but…

Kevin: We’re passionate.

Paul: We are passionate but it’s not necessarily a ‘This is funny.’ ‘No, it’s not.’ ‘Yes, it is.’ ‘No it’s not!’ The fights seem to be more, ‘Is it, at all, realistic?’ It tends to be more tonal stuff like, ‘That’s too broad, like a Zucker Brother’s joke. It’s funny but I don’t know if it exists in that world.’ Then the guys tend to roll up their sleeves.

Erik: Sometimes it’s like ‘Survivor’ where you have to form an alliance. Like, if you have a joke you’re trying, you have to get three out of five people on your side to get the joke approved. (Kevin laughs) So, often times, you’re trying to form alliances. Sometimes you even have to act it out. If you catch my joke but someone else isn’t seeing it, you have to get on your feet and sell it.

Paul: But then you can also sabotage a joke by reading it in a shitty voice. (Mocks a bad reading of a joke.) ‘Well, when you read it like that, asshole, of course it’s not funny!’

Erik: Right.

Paul: That’s the best way to sabotage.

Steve: But that’s the problem, too. When you get in these creative disputes, after the first round of, ‘Hey. I don’t know if this’llwork.’ It becomes, you just want to win a fight! And so now you got guys who have their heels dug in and there’re just going toe to toe. And three guys will just sit back and watch it. Like, we’ll smirk at each other while these other two guys are just butting heads.

Paul: And when you’re one of those combatants and you want support from the other guys, you’ll always get shot down because there’s nothing more fun than when you’re one of those guys watching two guys fight. And you don’t want to get involved. You just wanna sit back and eat popcorn and watch it. But it’s also maddening when you’re like, ‘Come on! Help me out here!’ And the other guy’s like, ‘You guys figure it out.’

Erik: You’re doing great. Hang in there.

Question: Kevin, you have a law degree.

Kevin: I do.

Question: You passed the bar in two states.

Kevin: I did. In two states. Yeah.

Question: If you became a lawyer and didn’t do this, looking and watching these guys, how would you feel about them?

Kevin: I’d feel they need a Farva, these guys!

Erik: Everybody needs a Farva.

Question: Any other careers anyone else were considering, instead of doing this? Your passion?

Steve: I don’t know what else I would do.

(Laughter)

Erik: I don’t think we’re qualified for anything else.

Paul: I had a desk job for, like, one month.

Kevin: You guys could come work for me at the law firm if you want. Come make some copies for me. Do some research for me.

Paul: That’s good to know.

I believe he would. I hope you liked this interview. I know you’ll like the movie.