On Friday I finally caught the big-screen version of "Aqua Teen Hunger Force" and... count me as disappointed. Sure, there were plenty of laughs, and the opening sequence (parodying talking-candy ads) was quite inspired. But the movie seemed like it was more interested in being randomly surreal than in being funny, which I'm sure the stoner audience appreciated greatly, though not so much the rest of us (I've seen every episode of the show, but barely understood anything in the movie.) Unlike the "South Park" movie, a total home run which took the show's brilliance to the big screen and at the same time to a new level, the "Aqua Teen" creators couldn't similarly step up.
But I did see one brilliant comedy last week: "Knocked Up," the follow-up to "40-Year-Old Virgin" by director Judd Apatow, which is coming out around June 1. Beating out "Blades of Glory" as the year's funniest movie so far, "Knocked Up" is really two movies: the one where schlub Seth Rogen gets goddess Katherine Heigl pregnant, and the one where Rogen hangs out with his stoner layabout friends (played entirely by "Freaks and Geeks"/"Undeclared" alumni.) Movie 1 gets a B+, while Movie B gets an A+, as the boys trade insults and movie quotes, sounding exactly like my friends. After all, I'm the guy whose bachelor party the other weekend was filled with about 10 hours of "Simpsons," "South Park," "Family Guy," and various movie quotes.
The best moment of the movie? Definitely Rogen's speech about how Spielberg's "Munich" was a great film because it's about the Jews kicking everyone's ass, as opposed to the other way around. Imagine if Tony Kushner saw this movie and heard that line...
Posted by Stephen Silver at April 23, 2007 05:07 PM