Movie Review: “I Hope They Serve Beer in Hell”
Franck Tabouring
Seen on: September 19, 2009
The players: Director: Bob Gosse, Writers: Tucker Max, Nils Parker, Cast: Matt Czuchry, Jesse Bradford, Geoff Stults, Keri Lynn Pratt
Facts of interest: Based on Tucker Max's best seller.
The plot: The film follows Tucker Max as he and his buddies visit a strip club to launch a friend's bachelor party.
Our thoughts: Up until now, I have never seen a film in which the protagonist realizes he’s an asshole after uncontrollably shitting his pants in the middle of a hotel lobby. That’s exactly what happens in Bob Gosse’s “I Hope They Serve Beer in Hell,” which is based on Tucker Max’s hilarious, yet downright vulgar best seller.
So, is this big-screen adaptation as funny as the book? Not so much. In fact, the film version mostly lacks what made the book such an entertaining read, and I can’t say I’m surprised. “Beer in Hell” is certainly not the worst comedy I’ve seen this year, but it surely failed to impress me. It’s a shame, really, because I really enjoyed the book.
Speaking of the book, it’s been on the New York Times Best Seller list for 103 weeks now, which is quite an accomplishment given the nature of its content. Essentially, it contains several short stories describing self-proclaimed narcissist Tucker Max’s excessive lifestyle, which consists of getting drunk, mocking people, and sleep with pretty much every woman he bumps into.
Max first gained popularity by sharing his escapades online on a blog, and even though most of his stories are embarrassingly ridiculous and tasteless, he’s definitely honest about what he’s doing. The opening lines on his site read “My name is Tucker Max, and I am an asshole,” and that’s the kind of honesty you’ll find in the book.
Max chose not to go with the Hollywood studio system so he could have complete freedom during the development of the film, and although he said it was impossible to bring more of his stories into this screen adaptation, I believe the film could’ve been funnier and more entertaining if it carried more tales from the book.
The reason Max and co. decided to pick just a few is obvious: they want to leave enough room for some character development. Sadly, they failed at this, and the film doesn’t boast the witty style of the book. The story takes forever to get at least a bit interesting, and none of Max’s adventures onscreen is in any way hilarious.
I do have to say this though: unlike most crappy Hollywood comedies, “I Hope They Serve Beer in Hell” carries a different kind of gross humor. It still didn’t work for me, but the humor and toilet jokes do indeed differ a bit from what we’re usually used to in this genre. And as shocking as this sounds, the scene in which Tucker craps his pants is probably the funniest in the whole film.
Other than that, “Beer” is forgettable. The story line follows Tucker as he takes his pals Drew (Jesse Bradford) and Dan (Geoff Stults) to a strip club to give Dan an awesome bachelor party. Things quickly spin out of control though, and next thing the guys know, they find themselves in all kinds of awkward, nasty situations.
The movie is lifeless from a cinematic point of view, and even the cast failed to convince me. Matt Czuchry does a decent job playing Tucker, but given most of the film looks and feels very amateurish, I kind of wish Max played himself. The whole thing would’ve probably been funnier that way. Then again, it doesn’t really matter; the script is a mess anyway.
This is clearly a film for Tucker Max fans. If you don’t follow his blog or you haven’t read to book, don’t go see this, unless you adore all the cheap, vulgar comedies that have done major damage to the world of filmmaking. Max was attendance during my screening and said he would do sequels as long as this one performs well, but my guess is it won’t.
Freaky quote: "Fat girls aren't real people." – Matt Czuchry
The final word: As ridiculously nasty as the book is, I really enjoyed reading it. As far as the movie version is concerned, it definitely is a waste of time. I appreciate Max put all this effort into developing the project, but the result is a clumsy mess. My final thought: I hope they don’t serve up any sequel to this.
Article by Franck Tabouring
Reader Comments (2)
I'm sure this horrible and troubling film will do well enough with the frat boy types it has been engineered to appeal to, and date-rape culture will continue to thrive on college campuses.
Johny you are a tard.