After watching, what may arguably become, one of my favorite films of the year, my second screening here at the Tribeca Film Festival bought me to an R-rated animated comedy called Nerdland.
From the studio that brought us Adult Swim favorites like the Venture Bros. and Metalocalypse, Titmouse’s first animated feature is, well something. It features a stellar voice cast comprised of Paul Rudd, Patton Oswalt, Hannibal Buress, Mike Judge, and Kate Micucci couple with an animation style that, for some, may be considered an acquired taste. It reminded me a bit of some of the close-up styles from Ren and Stimpy, odd coloring/shading choices and a grungy aesthetic.
Directed by Chris Prynoski, Nerdland follows two best friends, John (Rudd) and Elliot (Oswalt) living in LA who dream of working in Hollywood…or being noticed in some capacity. As they both approach their 30th birthdays, they decide, in a desperate attempt, to do anything to get noticed immediately while also trying to land their dream girls. After a few failed attempts, the two get their opportunity to shine but will this opportunity prove to be beneficial or will realize that fame isn’t all that it’s cracked up to be?
Considering the talent behind this film, which became clear to me during the opening credits, I was pretty disappointed when I left the theater wondering if I had wasted my time. From a visual and even partly satirical perspective, the film is interesting. The environment is incredibly over the top, pointing out LA’s (and probably America) obsession with consumerism, which is always fun as a backdrop. The characters have distinct looks as well, though I can’t understand the odd color shading on the noses of the leads. What gets me is that I think I was more intrigued by the visuals overall than anything else.
As far as the story goes, it had a lot of promise for the animated category to get crazy and, on occasion, it does. But here’s the issue: firstly, I’ve seen this story before in a live-action setting. David Cross’ directorial debut HITS was all about someone desperate for fame in the YouTube generation. I felt like there was a bunch of overlap with that film and I can live with similar ideas since the medium is different, but what bothered me more than anything was how hard this film was trying to be funny. It’s ridiculous at times, because it can be, but by the end of the film I realized I may have laughed three or four times over the course of the entire film! I’m super easy to entertain and since this is a film that’s driven by serious comedic talent, I can’t imagine how it was possible that I laughed so few times. I laugh more times in a 21 minute episode of South Park or Archer than I did for this entire film. If it wasn’t for some great voice casting, I’m not sure if Andrew Kevin Walker’s script really would have been funny at all.
Overall, I didn’t hate Nerdland but it’s definitely a big disappointment for anyone whose expectations grow after seeing the opening credits. The film is visually compelling but the story isn’t anything special and the humor that’s supposed to drive it falls flat more often than not. This is the kind of film I would pass on seeing until it gets placed on Netflix by a studio planning to skip any sort of theatrical release.
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