Review:
"Tim & Eric's Billion Dollar Movie"
Release Date: March 2, 2012
Rating: R Running Time: 92 minutes You either get Tim Heidecker and Eric Wareheim’s brand of surreal humor, or you don’t. I don’t, and so I struggled to find so much as one or two laughs in Tim & Eric’s Billion Dollar Movie, their childish satire on small-business entrepreneurism, suburban mall culture and bizarre new age thearapies. They take delight in being absurd for the sake of being absurd, not for the sake of being funny. They also fail to make any salient points about their intended targets, or at least any that make coherent sense. Oh, and if you’re expecting Heidecker and Wareheim to take on Hollywood, forget about it. The joke that informs the first five minutes of this alleged comedy is that they have squandered $1 billion on a romance short that stars a Johnny Depp look-alike. When their investors want their money back, Heidecker and Wareheim conveniently land a $1 billion contract to turnaround a dilapidated mall that’s filled with stores no one in their right mind would frequent and is home to a vagrant and a hungry wolf. The story doesn’t matter to Heidecker and Wareheim—it’s just an opportunity for them to engage in series of squirm-inducing misadventures that only generate intense hatred for their dimwitted duo. Not even supporting turns or cameo appearances by Will Ferrell, John C. Reilly, Zack Galifianakis, and Jeff Goldblum—all guests on Heidecker and Wareheim’s now-defunct TV show Tim & Eric Awesome Show, Great Job!—can inject some much-needed hilarity into the dire proceedings. It’s also impossible not to feel sorry for Ray Wise, who somehow maintains his dignity during a moment that finds Heidecker and Wareheim at their most scatological. Heidecker and Wareheim seem to possess a superiority complex, one that compels them to test the patience of anyone new to their comedy. There’s nothing wrong with pushing boundaries—sadly, in Billion Dollar Movie, Heidecker and Wareheim are content to do this to amuse themselves and the precious few. So spare yourself from giving your money to Heidecker and Wareheim just so they can laugh in your face. Robert Sims Aired: March 1, 2012 Web site: http://www.magnetreleasing.com/timandericmovie/ |
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