“I can look past its flaws and see the beauty that lies beneath them; and that beauty mainly consists of dick jokes.”

Writing movie reviews has proven to be a very inconsistent hobby. Some days I will watch a movie and thoughts will be spewing out of my head at a rate that is almost incomprehensible, but other days I struggle to muster more than a “it was good”. I don’t know exactly what causes these fluctuations, whether it is the movies themselves or my brain, but either way today is going to be one of those days. Strange Wilderness is a film about Peter, the son of a once-famous (and now deceased) wildlife television presenter, and the heir to his father’s TV show. There’s only one problem: he’s incompetent. In a last-ditch effort to save his failing television show, Peter and his crew decide to go on the hunt for Bigfoot.

So what can I say about Strange Wilderness? One thing that surprised me when Googling this film is just how much people hate it. I understand that Strange Wilderness is no Citizen Kane, hell it’s not even a very good movie, but I don’t understand the hate that it gets. I agree that the story of the movie is pretty helter-skelter; everything that happens only does so to serve a joke. I understand that the performances are ridiculous as well. Strange Wilderness deals with comedy in excess in terms of the performances; all of these actors are playing these super exaggerated stereotypes that in themselves make you laugh. That being said I do legitimately love Jonah Hill and Justin Long in this movie; I think both of them do fantastic jobs. And I also understand that, while really good, the soundtrack of Strange Wilderness makes the film seem even more disjointed. Sure the music is great, but you don’t need a montage with a song every ten minutes. But Strange Wilderness is a comedy, so the main question is: does it make me laugh? The answer is a resounding ‘yes’. The jokes in Strange Wilderness, while stupid and juvenile, make me laugh hysterically. Some of the jokes made me laugh because of how stupid they were, but some jokes were legitimately well-crafted. You can’t watch the shark scene without laughing; that’s a fucking guarantee. And another mark of a great comedy (in my opinion) is the quotability of the film; and let me tell you, my friends and I have quoted this thing to death. And maybe that’s a reason why I love this movie so much; the sense of community I get from it. At least one of my friends and I have been quoting this movie and laughing at it since its release in 2008. It’s a big part (along with other comedies) of our friendship, and in-turn it’s a big part of my life. I can look past its flaws and see the beauty that lies beneath them; and that beauty mainly consists of dick jokes.

Overall Strange Wilderness is movie that has a hell of a lot of flaws. I would even go so far as to say that it’s not a good movie, but if you’re looking for something to put on and laugh at it’s a pretty safe bet. And even though it’s not what I would call a good movie, I love it all the same.

I give Strange Wilderness a B