Welcome to Coconut
Pete's Pleasure Island,
a tropical, tequila-soaked vacation resort where high-spirited fun
soon takes a deadly turn, leaving the island's hilariously inept
staff to battle a machete-wielding maniac as they fight to survive
another day in paradise.
Three innocent
guests die, and after two staff members are killed in nasty ways
(although not like Sir Robin), the surviving staffers realize the
killer is out to kill them one by one, and it might be one of
them.
CRITIQUE
For a comedy,
Broken Lizard's Club Dread is surprisingly devoid of
consistent laughs. In fact, I only (really) laughed about six
times during the entire 104 minutes. Besides that, I may have
formed a few smiles, but that's about all that seemed funny in the
film. It also doesn't help that the film's trailer gave away
almost all of the film's noteworthy jokes, including, "I guess
some girls are tighter than others," and "I like your name,
Pe-ne-lope." I remember liking Super Troopers for the first
hour, but the second half dropped the comedy ball. Broken Lizard's
second feature film doesn't exactly make the same kind of mistake,
it only mistakes itself for trying to be funny and telling an
amusing slasher story.
Well, Club Dread
mainly wants to spoof the killer/slasher genre much like Scary
Movie did, only without spoofs of memorable scenes. The film
is not a spoof per se as the script is relatively original, though
I'm not saying it's inspired in any way, shape, or form.
Everything takes place on an island, but most of what we get are
scenes scattered around the place. The script is rather loose in
the way it's structured. Several plot twists are thrown about that
later turn out to be false, which only makes the identity of the
killer less interesting to want to find out. However, I kind of
liked the scene where the staff members listen to some of Coconut
Pete's albums in order to figure out who might get killed next.
Several other scenes make the film noteworthy only for its
moments. I also like the film's fun-for-all attitude.
There are some
twelve main characters to watch out for, and anyone could be the
killer. However, after only a little while into the film, half of
them aren't suspects no longer. A few characters stand out among
the rest and they each have unique characteristics, but most
characters are too cardboard and second-hand. Steve Lemme's Juan
is probably the funniest as he talks in a funny accent, while
Kevin Heffernan's Lars and Brittany Daniel's Jenny make for a good
team. These three characters are the best in the film, and the
actors do a pretty good job portraying them.
The acting is
more fun than serious, as it very well should be,
yet Bill Paxton isn't really all that great as Coconut Pete, but
he lends some presence to the film.
Jay Chandrasekhar
portrays the resident Oxford-accented tennis instructor (Putnam)
with decent results. His direction is fine. Director of
Photography Lawrence Sher shoots the film in decent light and way, but Nathan
Barr's score is one we've heard before.
Club Dread
suffers not only from being mostly unfunny, but also for being a
little too long. The premise is not complex enough to
warrant a 104-minute running time in my opinion. Instead, the film
probably would've played better at 85-90 minutes. Also, the ending
seems to go on forever. The killer, who's revealed himself, chases
down the survivors even though he should already be dead. You'll
see what I mean should you decide to watch the film. The last shot
is amusing, but the film's overall impression is disappointing.
THE VIDEO
Fox presents Club Dread in 2.35:1 anamorphic widescreen
on side B (flipside). Side A features the dreadful
fullscreen version. Some slight edge enhancement is visible, but
no compression artifacts appear. Image quality looks good with
only a little bit of dirt. The print is in good condition as
well, but grain shows up in a few scenes. Black levels and dark
tones look good, though. Overall, a presentation that offers
what is required: a nice variety of colors and video quality
without major flaws.
Optional subtitles
include English and Spanish.
THE AUDIO
Fox presents Club Dread in English 5.1 Dolby
Digital Surround Sound. Nothing impressive to report here
really. Dialogue sounds just fine, the front speakers emit sound
with clarity. Surround usage is limited. The film doesn't call
for a great presentation, and so what's here is just fine.
Spanish and French
Dolby Surround dubs are also available.
THE EXTRAS
Fortunately,
extras are only available on side B, the widescreen version.
Unfortunately, there are almost zero extras except for two audio
commentaries. The first commentary by director
Jay Chandrasekhar
and Eric Stolhanske
is okay at best, nothing is really learned except for on-set
stories, but a little better
and slightly more interesting is the second commentary by
stars Kevin Heffernan, Steve Lemme, and Paul Soter. Other
than this, there is nothing else. Okay, a soundtrack spot
is included. Boo-hoo!
The
104-minute feature is organized into thirty-two chapters.
The disc come in an Amaray keepcase with a paper insert.
FINAL THOUGHTS
Club Dread is not
particularly funny, which disappoints, yet the film possesses some
noteworthy moments and a few amusing characters. Video/audio is just
fine, but the extras are not very interesting.
