Having watched everything that ever had to do with Trailer Park Boys from the indie black and white, to interviews on you-tube, I was fully behind the cast and crew of the Trailer Park Boys saga when this film came out.
With a great and promising lead-in with "Say Goodnight to the Bad Guys" I thought there was no way "Countdown to Liquor Day" could disappoint me. I was wrong.
First and foremost, within the first ten minutes it was clear that everything set in motion in "Goodnight" was complete abandoned, and I can't imagine why. "Goodnight" promised a full blown last stand between the Boys and Lahey, and to bring the Show Case series full circle, it looked like Cyrus would be involved to add to the mayhem and comic carnage. Instead were introduced to something a lot less volatile, and unfortunately, a lot less funny.
Without going into too much detail or spoilers, the most frustrating part about the whole movie are small subplots that on the surface have enormous potential, but then end up being complete abandoned for no reason with no real progression to the story to boot. This boggling story structure could be overlooked it the outcome was some good honest laughs, but that's another place Liquor Day falls short. The laughs are too few and way too far in between. Half way through the second act I found myself forcing laughs because I so wanted this movie to be good. But even mind over matter couldn't save this film for me.
For fans of the saga, the lack of screen-time for supporting characters is as equally frustrating as the story. Admittedly the entire saga revolved round the conflict between the boys and Lahey (and Randy), but the Trailer Park Boys ensemble cast was grown during the entire run of the saga and most of the supporting cast was reduced to under a minute of screen-time.. Brief appearances of Lucy, Sarah, and Trinity go by quickly. A "re-imaged" J-Roc makes the character nearly unlikable. Token background talent shots of Sam, George Green, and Cyrus are insulting to the characters.
Despite what this review may imply, I am a huge Trailer Park Boys fan. Apart from this film, I find the Saga unique, pioneering, and flawless. I guess with hitting so many bull eyes, one piece of the saga was bound to miss. It's just really unfortunate that is was in it's swan song.
With a great and promising lead-in with "Say Goodnight to the Bad Guys" I thought there was no way "Countdown to Liquor Day" could disappoint me. I was wrong.
First and foremost, within the first ten minutes it was clear that everything set in motion in "Goodnight" was complete abandoned, and I can't imagine why. "Goodnight" promised a full blown last stand between the Boys and Lahey, and to bring the Show Case series full circle, it looked like Cyrus would be involved to add to the mayhem and comic carnage. Instead were introduced to something a lot less volatile, and unfortunately, a lot less funny.
Without going into too much detail or spoilers, the most frustrating part about the whole movie are small subplots that on the surface have enormous potential, but then end up being complete abandoned for no reason with no real progression to the story to boot. This boggling story structure could be overlooked it the outcome was some good honest laughs, but that's another place Liquor Day falls short. The laughs are too few and way too far in between. Half way through the second act I found myself forcing laughs because I so wanted this movie to be good. But even mind over matter couldn't save this film for me.
For fans of the saga, the lack of screen-time for supporting characters is as equally frustrating as the story. Admittedly the entire saga revolved round the conflict between the boys and Lahey (and Randy), but the Trailer Park Boys ensemble cast was grown during the entire run of the saga and most of the supporting cast was reduced to under a minute of screen-time.. Brief appearances of Lucy, Sarah, and Trinity go by quickly. A "re-imaged" J-Roc makes the character nearly unlikable. Token background talent shots of Sam, George Green, and Cyrus are insulting to the characters.
Despite what this review may imply, I am a huge Trailer Park Boys fan. Apart from this film, I find the Saga unique, pioneering, and flawless. I guess with hitting so many bull eyes, one piece of the saga was bound to miss. It's just really unfortunate that is was in it's swan song.