InAPPropriate Comedy is the new "film" from writer-director Vince Offer, a.k.a. Vince Shlomi, a.k.a. the ShamWow Guy, a.k.a. the guy who punched a hooker because he claimed she tried to bite his face off. Every so often he takes the money he's made hawking kitchen junk and makes a movie. He made The Underground Comedy Movie in 1999, memorable from its prominent late night commercials and an appearance from a pre-Green Mile Michael Clarke Duncan as the "Big Black Gay Virgin."
And now comes InAPPropriate Comedy, also a Kentucky Fried Movie knockoff, also desperate to offend. It is the most unpleasant time I've ever had watching a movie. Keep in mind that I have faithfully watched The Lonely Lady, An Alan Smithee Film: Burn Hollywood Burn, Dr. T & the Women, Wired, Cannibal Holocaust, Cruising, Corky Romano, and even The Underground Comedy Movie. If Offer wishes to wear this as a badge of honor, then I wish him well.
The film combines a ravenous desire to offend every race, creed, sex, and sexual orientation on the planet with a profound lack of any kind of comic awareness or timing. "Sketches" drag on without any kind of structure or focus. There appears to have been very little writing, as most segments seem to be improvised desperately.
It's not that the movie is offensive. It's that it tries to offend, but only succeeds by its own badness. While The Underground Comedy Movie chose There's Something About Mary as its model and assaulted the audience with every bodily fluid it could imagine, InAPPropriate Comedy chooses Borat as its template and creates a series of faux-real-life sketches based around racism. Offer finds racial slurs so funny that he bases pretty much all of the sketches around them.
Most of the running time is devoted to "The Amazing Racist," played by comedian Ari Shaffir, who might want to make this movie go away as quickly as he can. He is placed in numerous situations in which he brazenly spouts racial insults at every race he can find: he's a driving instructor who hates Asians, a priest who tries to convince Jewish people to apologize for killing Christ, a vigilante who tries to deport illegals back to Mexico. This might make for an interesting experiment, if the "victims" of his ruse weren't clearly actors who were directed to spout Jewish slurs right back at him. And if Offer didn't allow each segment to drone on forever without a single laugh. But he does, and keeps coming back to the character as if we'd like to see him again.
Another recurring sketch is "Blackass," featuring a team of African-Americans doing Jackass-style stunts centered around their blackness. These sketches reach a Stepin Fetchit level of racial insensitivity. One has a black man who enters an abortion clinic and offers his services with a coat hanger, and that's the joke. In another, a woman introduces her two white friends to her boyfriend, who is a big black man, and that's the joke. I felt sorry for the African-American actors, who are forced to utter unnatural-sounding ebonics as if Offer has plainly instructed them to replace every "is" with "be."
Adrien Brody turns up, as flamboyant cop "Flirty Harry," in what must have been a James Franco-style performance art piece. These segments at least have a rock-bottom charm, as they're made up of nothing but Brody making gay puns. ("Go ahead. Make me gay." Yep.)
The movie is far beneath the reputation of its other celebrity guest stars, who appear perpendicularly to the film, as if Offer wanted to keep at arm's length from the movie's more torturous scenes. Rob Schneider's appearance here is akin to Cary Grant appearing in a Rob Schneider movie. Michelle Rodriguez also appears for no real reason. You know your movie's in trouble when its one (1) real laugh comes from Lindsay Lohan; I chortled at her little bit of paparazzi revenge near the end.
Some comedies are offensive but funny; others are simply offensive. InAPPropriate Comedy is neither; it's simply filthy. It isn't even made with enough skill to be disgusting. It is a gaping black hole of comedy, with sharp white teeth that poke at you with every labored attempt to offend that falls flat. When it's finally over, there is no real escape, for it has reminded you of what a dark, dark place the world is.
Zero stars out of ****
The film combines a ravenous desire to offend every race, creed, sex, and sexual orientation on the planet with a profound lack of any kind of comic awareness or timing. "Sketches" drag on without any kind of structure or focus. There appears to have been very little writing, as most segments seem to be improvised desperately.
It's not that the movie is offensive. It's that it tries to offend, but only succeeds by its own badness. While The Underground Comedy Movie chose There's Something About Mary as its model and assaulted the audience with every bodily fluid it could imagine, InAPPropriate Comedy chooses Borat as its template and creates a series of faux-real-life sketches based around racism. Offer finds racial slurs so funny that he bases pretty much all of the sketches around them.
Most of the running time is devoted to "The Amazing Racist," played by comedian Ari Shaffir, who might want to make this movie go away as quickly as he can. He is placed in numerous situations in which he brazenly spouts racial insults at every race he can find: he's a driving instructor who hates Asians, a priest who tries to convince Jewish people to apologize for killing Christ, a vigilante who tries to deport illegals back to Mexico. This might make for an interesting experiment, if the "victims" of his ruse weren't clearly actors who were directed to spout Jewish slurs right back at him. And if Offer didn't allow each segment to drone on forever without a single laugh. But he does, and keeps coming back to the character as if we'd like to see him again.
Another recurring sketch is "Blackass," featuring a team of African-Americans doing Jackass-style stunts centered around their blackness. These sketches reach a Stepin Fetchit level of racial insensitivity. One has a black man who enters an abortion clinic and offers his services with a coat hanger, and that's the joke. In another, a woman introduces her two white friends to her boyfriend, who is a big black man, and that's the joke. I felt sorry for the African-American actors, who are forced to utter unnatural-sounding ebonics as if Offer has plainly instructed them to replace every "is" with "be."
Adrien Brody turns up, as flamboyant cop "Flirty Harry," in what must have been a James Franco-style performance art piece. These segments at least have a rock-bottom charm, as they're made up of nothing but Brody making gay puns. ("Go ahead. Make me gay." Yep.)
The movie is far beneath the reputation of its other celebrity guest stars, who appear perpendicularly to the film, as if Offer wanted to keep at arm's length from the movie's more torturous scenes. Rob Schneider's appearance here is akin to Cary Grant appearing in a Rob Schneider movie. Michelle Rodriguez also appears for no real reason. You know your movie's in trouble when its one (1) real laugh comes from Lindsay Lohan; I chortled at her little bit of paparazzi revenge near the end.
Some comedies are offensive but funny; others are simply offensive. InAPPropriate Comedy is neither; it's simply filthy. It isn't even made with enough skill to be disgusting. It is a gaping black hole of comedy, with sharp white teeth that poke at you with every labored attempt to offend that falls flat. When it's finally over, there is no real escape, for it has reminded you of what a dark, dark place the world is.
Zero stars out of ****
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