During a sushi dinner yesterday, at which I was an impromptu +1, we got into a conversation of the wild and crazy. The movie “Movie 43” was mentioned and those who hadn’t seen it were encouraged to do so. So, after dinner, I headed back to my BFF’s home where we settled in with drinks (her = cafe mocha, me = margarita) and found it on Netflix.

Movie premise (via IMDb.com): “A series of interconnected short films follows a washed-up producer as he pitches insane story lines featuring some of the biggest stars in Hollywood.”

It’s a serious ensemble cast of some of Hollywood’s funniest and even some you thought would never be caught dead in a comedy…especially this type of comedy!

Here there be spoilers…ish.

Mere words will not convey the level of oddness and strangeness of these short films. Or crudity.

When the movie starts, you immediately feel like you missed 10 minutes of it. Dennis Quaid & Greg Kinnear are already in the middle of a conversation. I honestly wanted to restart the movie to see if we had somehow fast forwarded. But, we hadn’t…it really starts that way.

It then jumps into a series of shorts, the first starring Kate Winslet & Hugh Jackman in “The Catch”. Mr. Jackman has a very unusual physical disfiguration which Ms. Winslet cannot see past to enjoy the blind date. Cringe-worthy yet hysterical. At one point I was talking to the movie: “Please…not the baby. No no no…EWWW”.

Then a spot on homeschooling, “Homeschooled”, where the parents give their son the full public school experience. At one point my BFF was hiding behind her hand and shaking her head. And somehow the movie was able to make Liev Schreiber look unattractive.

Next is a spot too disgusting for me write about called “The Proposition”. Yet I was dying with laughter and simultaneously wanting to vomit. Anna Faris did her role well and I may never see her in a movie again without picturing this.

Back to Quaid & Kinnear. Their conversation gets more intense. “He fought me every step of the way” was one of my favorite lines in the movie.

“Veronica” is a well-done segment featuring Emma Stone and the gloriousness of teenage angst and love. Sick and wrong, but oddly touching.

Then we cut to an “in-movie commercial” of the iBabe. This little gizmo comes into play later as well.

“Super Hero Speed Dating” is slightly less intense featuring Justin Long, Jason Sudeikis, Uma Thurman, Kristen Bell, and Leslie Bibb as some of your favorite DC Comic Super Heroes. It doesn’t have the huge “ick” factor of some of the others but it’s still funny. It also includes the line that will become a normal part of my stock phrases, “I woke up this morning with a little case of the fuckarounds.” (and my BFF already sent me a text this morning with it…)

Cut to another ad – one to protect children in a very specific work environment. So. Very. Wrong.

Back to Kinnear & Quaid. I’m not sure what they did to make Quaid look unattractive but he scares me in this movie. Kinnear on the other hand – he’s looking good!

Return of the iBabe, starring Richard Gere as a clueless exec with a problematic product – the iBabe. Favorite exchange, “Teenage boys are physically attracted to naked women.” “Our research doesn’t support that.” Also, “Please don’t fuck these potato chips.” is proof of Gere’s acting ability in that he could deliver that line with a straight face.

And the hits keep coming with a preteen girl stuck in a personal situation with a bunch of stupid men in “Middleschool Date”. Young Chloë Grace Moretz plays her part exceptionally well and any female can relate to the situation.

This is followed by a very appropriate “in movie” commercial. We couldn’t stop laughing here, even when they played it again a little later.

Cut back to the “main story” and now we add in Seth MacFarlane. Unfortunately one of the funniest men included in the ensemble cast has one of the least funny parts. He actually plays a very boring part. Yawn. However, this segment includes the line “We’re going to make your movie this century’s ‘Howard the Duck’.” That seems to be an appropriate description of THIS movie!

To carry on the comedy gold, we slide into “Happy Birthday”. First words out of my BFFs mouth – “STIFLER!!” and indeed it does feature Seann William Scott, along with Johnny Knoxville & Gerard Butler. I had NO IDEA it was Gerard Butler but love it! Especially the fairy…

Then we have a game of “Truth or Dare” featuring Halle Berry & Stephen Merchant. Hands down, one of the best segments. And I totally want to play a game of Truth or Dare now…but maybe not to their extent!

Back to the main story. Awesome twist!

Final short…”Victory’s Glory”. Thoroughly offensive. Yet damn funny.

Oh…wait. There’s a stinger. Don’t forget to watch “Beezel” the cat. Elizabeth Banks is the perfect cat-disliking girlfriend and I shall never ever look at Josh Duhamel the same. Which is a shame, because he’s fun to look at. 😉

Conclusion:

My BFF’s take on it: “Uh, OMG. One of the weirdest, yet funniest flicks I have ever seen. Can’t remember the last time I laughed that hard for close to an hour straight. Not for the faint of heart.”

From the gal who recommended it: “Told you so, tasteless but one of the funniest movies ever!”

Me: “So much wrong yet so damn funny. Truly warped individuals will love it.”

All in all, I give this a 2 thumbs up. Even though it was distasteful, rude and crude, it was just damn funny. Not suitable for children or prudes. But adults with a sense of humor and in need of a good hard laugh, watch it. Now.

XO – T.

PS – I was hesitant about writing this review since this movie is so far outside my norm. At the urging of my BFF I’m making it live. Don’t judge me…this really isn’t my normal. 🙂