Where to start...Well, the misuse of the mockumentary form should be mentioned. So many of my favorite comedies, from Spinal Tap to Waiting For Guffman have used this form to hilarious effect. What the people who made this film missed, though, is that these films rely on subtlety and a certain kind of naturalism that comes from the use of improvisation (and talented actors, of course.) The comedy here is so over the top and histrionic, the acting so ridiculous, that the documentary style falls apart. It seems like the filmmaker's used this form as an excuse to have the characters speak all of the exposition directly into the camera. They certainly don't seem married to the premise, as they basically act out a standard comedy plot (minus the humor, that is) in front of the supposed documentary camera. The absurdities here include a dance scene where there are at least 7 or 8 camera angles, and plenty of private conversations. By the end, the filmmakers seem to have forgotten that they were even making a mockumentary, as the camera seems to be wherever an important plot point is occurring.
Second point. I'm not particularly offended by tasteless humor, but here they really seemed to have forgotten to actually write any jokes. It's as if it's inherently funny to show a huge retarded man-child or a girl dying from anorexia. In fact, the poor anorexic girl must have really made the director bust a gut, as they drag her out twice without writing a single joke for her.
All of the characters have their supposedly hilarious quirk, which is basically repeated every time they show up on screen ("I'm a slut", "I like sign language", "My brother's gay.")
It all grinds away to a dull and obvious conclusion and then, inexplicably, keep on going, until you fear that this desperately unfunny movie will simply never end. At only an hour and a half, it feels like it takes all day to end, but you will be thankful to see it go.
Second point. I'm not particularly offended by tasteless humor, but here they really seemed to have forgotten to actually write any jokes. It's as if it's inherently funny to show a huge retarded man-child or a girl dying from anorexia. In fact, the poor anorexic girl must have really made the director bust a gut, as they drag her out twice without writing a single joke for her.
All of the characters have their supposedly hilarious quirk, which is basically repeated every time they show up on screen ("I'm a slut", "I like sign language", "My brother's gay.")
It all grinds away to a dull and obvious conclusion and then, inexplicably, keep on going, until you fear that this desperately unfunny movie will simply never end. At only an hour and a half, it feels like it takes all day to end, but you will be thankful to see it go.