emeriin
Since: Jan, 2001
07/03/2011 00:00:00
While it was quite whiplashy, I disagree that neither the comedy or drama worked. I laughed a lot, and I cried like a four year old at Ma-Ti's death. And the foreshadowing was good too.
Infinix
Since: Jan, 2001
07/03/2011 00:00:00
They're just making good use of an anniversary to have fun. I don't think this movie even needs a review, much less a serious one.
TerminusEst13
Since: Jan, 2001
07/04/2011 00:00:00
A lot of works are based upon having fun, but they're still works. Just because it wasn't made to be SUPER SERIOUS doesn't mean it's immune to reviewing.
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A solid movie with a few very definite flaws.
If I could sum this movie up in five words, it would be these: "There just wasn't enough room."
The biggest issue is balance. Doug Walker is an incredibly funny man, and when you get to know the man himself, away from all his jokes and behind all the characters, he can actually be really insightful, too. The problem is that he can't seem to handle both at once. I love that he went for a more serious plot, and there really ARE a lot of rip-roaring good laughs in there, but...well...there just wasn't enough room. With roughly thirty major characters and only seven episodes, neither side had the space to thrive. The story and the humor find themselves at odds. So, in the end, the jokes never really expand beyond the predictable, with way too many unfunny running gags, and the story is gravely hurt by unsubtle foreshadowing and really shoddy pacing. Either element would have made for a great movie, but they were just so crammed together that neither one could breathe. Now, if the movie were funnier, I could forgive the storytelling, and if it were better as a narrative, I could forgive the clumsiness of the comedy, but as it is, it just falls into a vague and nebulous middle ground.
Focus would have been the key. If Channel Awesome had made a serious movie with occasional humor, that would have been fantastic. Or, if they had made a completely humorous movie full of jokes and callbacks and ridiculous nonsense with only a little bit of seriousness, that would have been hilarious. But there was just not enough room in this one for both at once. If they had cut down on the running gags, cut out the plot lines that never went anywhere, slimmed down the exposition, and really made use of the time they had, then maybe. But as it is...there just wasn't enough room.
Overall, it's still a marvelous thing, I had a blast watching it, and any fan of the site should really get a kick out of it. But it's just not what it could have been. Maybe next year, and I say that with all sincerity.