'Beerfest' goes on and on and on
By Bruce R. Miller Journal staff writer | Posted: Friday, September 01, 2006
"Beerfest" is proof no idea is too stupid for the movies.
Part Olympics, part "Fight Club," it's an underground drinking competition for beer lovers around the world.
Games like Quarters, Pong, Bat Spin and Long Pour separate the sippers from the chuggers. The big finale? "Das Boot," a race to see who can empty a boot glass without spilling a drop.
The Americans are at a distinct disadvantage. Despite years of frat house parties, they don't quite have the hollow legs of the Germans. Raised on the stuff, they can drain kegs without breaking a sweat. The Americans, though, are determined to win. Two of the team are offspring of a German brewer, disowned by his father and sent packing. If they succeed, they can restore the family honor, brew the best beer and, well, live to yodel another day.
They hops to it by assembling the best team of their friends -- a male prostitute, a guy they call "Landfill" and a scientist.
The going is slow until they get some much-needed information from their Gam-Gam (Cloris Leachman), who details their grandfather's background and his desire to set the record straight.
The Germans, meanwhile, want the secret recipe that somehow disappeared when the grandfather left for America. His brother (played by "Das Boot" star Juergen Prochnow) is determined to prove his dominance. He stops at nothing to get the formula, then delights in watching the Americans fumble.
Still, they have several reasons to compete at their peak.
Director Jay Chandrasekhar (who also stars as Barry, the hustler) has plenty of good ideas to bounce into his cinematic glass but, at several points, they become too much. What seems like a "Saturday Night Live" skits winds up as "Long Day's Journey into Night."
A good editor could have condensed the recipe and made "Beerfest" more fun, less fundamental.
While Leachman has a great time going over the top (think: "Young Frankenstein" chased with "Malcolm in the Middle"), she's hardly the film's only over-actor. Will Forte, Eric Christian Olsen (as two of the Germans), Mo'Nique (as a spy) and Donald Sutherland (as the grandfather) let 'er rip with plenty of gusto.
The film, as a result, is an uneven brew -- funny upon first taste but ultimately pretty bitter.
The two leads (Paul Soter and Erik Stolhanske) are so bland they barely measure 3.2 on a performance meter.
Easily, "Beerfest" is an acquired taste. If you're not into this kind of comedy, you won't find the film intoxicating. If you are, drink up. There's plenty for everyone.
Rated R, "Beerfest" features profanity, nudity, violence.
On a scale of four stars, "Beerfest" gets:
1 1/2 stars
Part Olympics, part "Fight Club," it's an underground drinking competition for beer lovers around the world.
Games like Quarters, Pong, Bat Spin and Long Pour separate the sippers from the chuggers. The big finale? "Das Boot," a race to see who can empty a boot glass without spilling a drop.
The Americans are at a distinct disadvantage. Despite years of frat house parties, they don't quite have the hollow legs of the Germans. Raised on the stuff, they can drain kegs without breaking a sweat. The Americans, though, are determined to win. Two of the team are offspring of a German brewer, disowned by his father and sent packing. If they succeed, they can restore the family honor, brew the best beer and, well, live to yodel another day.
They hops to it by assembling the best team of their friends -- a male prostitute, a guy they call "Landfill" and a scientist.
The going is slow until they get some much-needed information from their Gam-Gam (Cloris Leachman), who details their grandfather's background and his desire to set the record straight.
The Germans, meanwhile, want the secret recipe that somehow disappeared when the grandfather left for America. His brother (played by "Das Boot" star Juergen Prochnow) is determined to prove his dominance. He stops at nothing to get the formula, then delights in watching the Americans fumble.
Still, they have several reasons to compete at their peak.
Director Jay Chandrasekhar (who also stars as Barry, the hustler) has plenty of good ideas to bounce into his cinematic glass but, at several points, they become too much. What seems like a "Saturday Night Live" skits winds up as "Long Day's Journey into Night."
A good editor could have condensed the recipe and made "Beerfest" more fun, less fundamental.
While Leachman has a great time going over the top (think: "Young Frankenstein" chased with "Malcolm in the Middle"), she's hardly the film's only over-actor. Will Forte, Eric Christian Olsen (as two of the Germans), Mo'Nique (as a spy) and Donald Sutherland (as the grandfather) let 'er rip with plenty of gusto.
The film, as a result, is an uneven brew -- funny upon first taste but ultimately pretty bitter.
The two leads (Paul Soter and Erik Stolhanske) are so bland they barely measure 3.2 on a performance meter.
Easily, "Beerfest" is an acquired taste. If you're not into this kind of comedy, you won't find the film intoxicating. If you are, drink up. There's plenty for everyone.
Rated R, "Beerfest" features profanity, nudity, violence.
On a scale of four stars, "Beerfest" gets:
1 1/2 stars
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