Broad strokes comedy in which fat characters are hot dog eating champions and Germans are a beer-chugging cross between Captain von Trapp, Hitler and Heidi
Beerfest (2006)
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:103
Fresh:40
Rotten:63
Average Rating:5/10
Consensus: Beerfest features some laugh-inducing gags, but is too long and the pacing too uneven to form a coherent, functioning comedy.
Runtime: 1 hr 56 mins
Genre: Comedies
US Box Office: $19,037,418
Synopsis: With a title that insures against accusations of false advertising, BEERFEST is a raunchy and genial amalgamation of ANIMAL HOUSE, STRANGE BREW, FIGHT CLUB, and every clichéd sports film ever made.... With a title that insures against accusations of false advertising, BEERFEST is a raunchy and genial amalgamation of ANIMAL HOUSE, STRANGE BREW, FIGHT CLUB, and every clichéd sports film ever made. Written by and starring comedy troupe Broken Lizard (SUPER TROOPERS, CLUB DREAD) and directed by Lizard member Jay Chandrasekhar, the film is unapologetically sophomoric, never missing a chance for a belch, flatulence, bared breasts, or Cloris Leachman doing lewd things with a sausage. After the death of their bar-owning German grandfather (Donald Sutherland), Jan (Paul Soter) and Todd (Erik Stolhanske) Wolfhouse must travel to Munich to scatter his ashes. Fortunately for them, it's Oktoberfest, but the brothers aren't there very long before they embarrass themselves at a public celebration and find themselves at Beerfest, an annual international underground beer-guzzling competition. When they compete, they are disgraced by their German cousins, the Von Wolfhausens--headed by father Jurgen Prochnow--who claim that the Wolfhouses' late grandfather stole a beer recipe from them many years before. Jan and Todd return home to train for next year's competition, incorporating into their team a few old college pals--male prostitute Barry (Chandrasekhar), burly Landfill (Kevin Heffernan), and science nerd Fink (Steve Lemme). For BEERFEST to work, it's imperative that viewers find humor in exaggerated German accents. Cloris Leachman appears to be enjoying throwing all comic caution to the wind, and Prochnow gets to lampoon DAS BOOT in a funny sequence. Big, sloppy, and ridiculous--compliments in this case--all apply to the third Broken Lizard feature, which is sure to burp its way into every fraternity house film library until the world ends. [More]
Starring: Erik Stolhanske, Paul Soter, Will Forte, Ralf Mueller
Starring: Erik Stolhanske, Paul Soter, Will Forte, Ralf Mueller, Eric Christian Olsen, Jürgen Prochnow, Cloris Leachman, Nat Faxon, Gunter Schlierkamp, Donald Sutherland, Willie Nelson, Steve Lemme
Director: Jay Chandrasekhar
Director: Jay Chandrasekhar
Screenwriter: Kevin Heffernan, Erik Stolhanske
Producer: Bill Gerber, Richard Perello
Composer: Nathan Barr
Studio: Warner Bros.
Reviews for Beerfest
The bloated running time (110 minutes!) certainly doesn't do the film any favors...
The Broken Lizard crew amuse each other with enough banal antics (can anything else account for this film running nearly two hours?) that the sober viewer suffers enormous gaps of boredom between good jokes.
Beerfest is a film that appears to have been conceived on the back of a beermat and its trashy direction, nonexistent plot and dismal comic mugging would seem to suggest that preparations progressed no further.
It's not for everyone, but this delivers pretty much everything you could be expecting from a film called Beerfest.
Fans of Broken Lizard’s previous work will enjoy this beer-fuddled effort; for anyone else it has its moments, but is best watched through beer-goggles.
Like a bad batch of homebrew - all the ingredients are there for a fun comedy, but it's just a bit off.
Possibly the most irresponsible movie ever made and also one of the worst.
While we'd probably be exaggerating to claim that Beerfest is the least funny film ever made, it's undoubtedly top ten material.
If belching and beer games make you laugh, Beerfest should be on your A-list. But don't see it sobe
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