BrendanW 
In August of 2015 there was a little movie trailer I saw for a film starring Zach Galifianakis, Kristen Wiig, Owen Wilson and Jason Sudeikis. Based on that cast and the fact that it was directed by Jared Hess (who I consider underrated; I truly enjoy every film he’s made) I was pretty excited to see it. Much to my dismay, Relativity Studios (who produced the film) declared Chapter 11 Bankruptcy and as a result, all of their upcoming releases were indefinitely shelved. For a while, I thought this movie might not ever actually get a release date and feared that it may become one of those Hollywood stories (“there was a film with big actors that was never released and it’s lost forever”) but thankfully the studio recovered this year and finally released the film. So… was it worth the wait?
The film is loosely based on a true story involving one of the biggest cash robberies in the United States (North Carolina to be precise) as David Ghantt (Zach Galifianakis), a kindly Loomis Fargo employee is lured into committing a robbery by his former female co-worker and unrequited love interest, Kelly (Kristen Wiig) and her accomplice, Steve Chambers (Owen Wilson). Unbeknownst to David, they quickly turn on him (well, it’s mostly Steve who does) and attempt to get rid of him while clearing their own names. The story eventually involves a scary hitman (Jason Sudeikis), an FBI agent (Leslie Jones) hot on the trail and David also has to deal with his oddball fiance (Kate McKinnon).
It might be too early to say this but I can totally see this becoming a cult classic in the near future (at least in my book). You get exactly what you would expect from Jared Hess and his team of writers but even then I was taken aback by how many times I was cackling at all the hilarious lines and sight gags. This movie is more about those moments than entire set pieces and that felt refreshing and a little outside the box. In fact a lot of the humour also comes from character moments and even the toilet humour works because of the way it’s underplayed. Some of the humour is completely random as well but it only adds to the movie’s charm.
What is especially nice about the cast and their performances was that mostly everyone gets an ample amount of screen time and a lot of funny material to go along with it. Galifianakis is the lead and fans of his comedy routine will probably notice that he’s doing a character that’s pretty close to his fictional brother character, Seth. He still exudes a sweetness though despite being completely off-the-wall at times. Kristen Wiig might not get a ton of jokey lines but her delivery is very good and makes almost anything she says funny just by that very delivery. Owen Wilson makes for a good antagonist and I enjoyed his back-and-forth with Galifianakis as well as his transition from poor hick to a guy that lives in a ridiculous mansion (but still drinks giant slurpees). Jason Sudeikis is one of my favourite people in the movie. His hitman character is so incredibly violent but most of it is off-screen or implied. He has one particular moment with a detached ear that had me rolling. Sudeikis does so much and makes it seem effortless. I would say Kate McKinnon’s role is closer to that of a cameo but she was worth mentioning here because she is hilarious with her weird, dry delivery and awkward stares into space. In fact, she delivers most of the laughs in the first twenty minutes of the film.
Another thing I appreciated was the unpredictable nature of the movie. Sure, it follows a general line from point A to point B but there are lots of interesting detours throughout the movie, particularly with Sudeikis’ character as he goes in a COMPLETELY different direction than I was expecting but it results in some terrifically funny moments.
I don’t wanna ruin too much. Go and see it if you’re a fan of Hess and the cast. I loved it.
****
Rating System:
* (Brutal; the worst rating)
** (Some elements keep it from being awful but still not very good)
*** (Completely watchable; a rental as old-timers might say)
**** (Great film with a few things here and there keeping it from being perfect)
***** (Flawless; a true achievement)
