Wet Hot American Summer Pics Released (SFW)

[Eldon]

The title is very misleading and hence I added the SFW for anyone unfamiliar with the pathbreaking movie.  This movie is a cult classic and was WAY ahead of its time when it first came out back in 2001.  I only recently found out that Netflix is doing an 8-episode prequel.


Pics released today


















I see Ron is back in the picture (pun intended).  Sigh.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/05/22/wet-hot-american-summer-netflix_n_7421144.html

[🏀]

I will get Netflix to watch this, with a fresh pack of gum.

[Silkk the Shaka]

Wow, they did an amazing job, looks identical to the original.

I'm nervous it won't be able to live up, though! That movie was like catching lightning in a bottle. All those hilarious people when they were relative unknowns, willing to be perfectly absurd, without any expectations to live up to.

[4everwarriors]

Why post SFW pics, hey?

[keefe]

The title is very misleading and hence I added the SFW for anyone unfamiliar with the pathbreaking movie.  This movie is a cult classic and was WAY ahead of its time when it first came out back in 2001.  I only recently found out that Netflix is doing an 8-episode prequel.

Is this genuinely good cinema??

[Eldon]

Is this genuinely good cinema??

Uhhhh....good cinema?  Hmmm.  I'll put it this way.  The movie is entertaining.  IMO, it is worth the roughly 1.5 hours that you will spend watching it.  Plus, there is the added benefit of getting the plethora of inside jokes that people in the cult all like to reference (e.g., PTM's gum reference above).

I will say that some of my buddies who have seen the movie absolutely hate it.  Yet others who have seen it absolutely love it.  The reason that I called the movie pathbreaking is that it shifted the comedy paradigm, as it were.  Or perhaps a better way to say it is that it was the harbinger of what was to come in comedy since Wet Hot was relatively unknown when it first came out.  Funny thing, me and two buddies were just discussing the evolution of comedy the other day and the segmentation along "high-browedness," i.e., Three Stooges (low-brow), Abbott and Costello (middle-brow), and Marx brothers (high-brow).  One of my buddies said that this paradigm was dramatically altered in the 70s with the advent of an increase in vulgarity, embodied perfectly in Animal House and SNL, though the latter to a lesser extent.  

I would say that this Wet Hot American Summer movie is low-brow, but not in the slapstick kind of way that the Three Stooges is.  If I had to make a very rough parallel to an older generation of comedy, it would be the Naked Gun/Airplane/I'm gonna get you sucker (IGGYS) movies.  I would stress "very" in the "very rough" because Naked Gun/Airplane/IGGYS uses more props and the jokes are mostly based on puns (I find neither Airplane nor the Naked Gun series very funny).  I mention Naked Gun/Airplane/IGGYS as the closest parallel because they both have some elements of randomness (e.g., in IGGYS they use a white stunt double for a black guy and none of the characters in the scene seem to notice, but the viewer does, of course).  

What really made Wet Hot so funny freaking hilarious is that it was doing the "random" kind of comedy that is now the hallmark of shows like Family Guy and mainstream commercials on TV today in a time when that type of comedy was completely unheard of.  Family Guy, too, was doing this type of comedy in the very early 2000s, and people didn't like it at first.  This is evidenced by the fact that Fox cancelled it after only a few seasons.

tldr; good cinema?  Not in an artistic way, no.  In an entertaining way, yes.  If you like Family Guy, you will like Wet Hot.  

Guys, I know what you're thinking.  And, to be honest, I really don't have this much time on my hands.

[Silkk the Shaka]

Is this genuinely good cinema??

keefe, it's genius. Tons of subtle jokes & details (really rewards paying close attention), and the insanity builds & builds. Excellent comedic writing, a guy like you would appreciate it. Probably best the second time around when you know what to look for and the lines that didn't seem to have much context the first time around sink in.

[keefe]

keefe, it's genius. Tons of subtle jokes & details (really rewards paying close attention), and the insanity builds & builds. Excellent comedic writing, a guy like you would appreciate it. Probably best the second time around when you know what to look for and the lines that didn't seem to have much context the first time around sink in.

On that rec I shall give it a watch.

[Warrior Code]

tldr; good cinema?  Not in an artistic way, no.  In an entertaining way, yes.  If you like Family Guy, you will like Wet Hot.  

Guys, I know what you're thinking.  And, to be honest, I really don't have this much time on my hands.

For me, this is not a good parallel. I loved WHAS, but I can't stand Family Guy.

[MUEng92]

How does it compare to something like Dumb and Dumber?  I loved the Naked Gun movies but I hated Dumb and Dumber.  I don't know what it was about that movie. There are guys at work who I joke with all the time who have similar senses of humor to me who loved that movie.  I was pissed when I finished it (if I watched it to the end) because I thought it was so stupid.

If it's like D&D I'm not wasting my time.

[warriorchick]

How does it compare to something like Dumb and Dumber?  I loved the Naked Gun movies but I hated Dumb and Dumber.  I don't know what it was about that movie. There are guys at work who I joke with all the time who have similar senses of humor to me who loved that movie.  I was pissed when I finished it (if I watched it to the end) because I thought it was so stupid.

If it's like D&D I'm not wasting my time.

Well, the movie itself is on Netflix right how.  Judge for yourself.

Let me just say it's no "Meatballs".  Or "Caddyshack". Or "Blues Brothers".  Or the first half of "Stripes".

[🏀]

Fondue with cheddar?

Much smarter movie than D&D

[Eldon]

How does it compare to something like Dumb and Dumber?  I loved the Naked Gun movies but I hated Dumb and Dumber.  I don't know what it was about that movie. There are guys at work who I joke with all the time who have similar senses of humor to me who loved that movie.  I was pissed when I finished it (if I watched it to the end) because I thought it was so stupid.

If it's like D&D I'm not wasting my time.

I..I...I'm at a loss for words, as I believe that it is possibly the greatest comedy of all time.

[Chicago_inferiority_complexes]

Wow, they did an amazing job, looks identical to the original.

I'm nervous it won't be able to live up, though! That movie was like catching lightning in a bottle. All those hilarious people when they were relative unknowns, willing to be perfectly absurd, without any expectations to live up to.

I discovered Almost Famous on Netflix a few months ago. Another movie with loads of stars before they became big. (If I'm remembering it correctly.)

D&D was worthless. As an aside.

[ChitownSpaceForRent]

I had to watch it a second time to appreciate it. Thought it was dumb at first but enjoyed it much more the second time around. pretty incredible cast too. The drowning kid and the counselors ending up in the crack house in town get mr every time.

[Eldon]

https://www.youtube.com/v/PLlMTn_Jzok

So amped up for this.  For me, the hype may have surpassed the Arrested Development hype and comes second only to the anticipation of any new Breaking Bad episode a few years ago.

[Chicos' Buzz Scandal Countdown]

I'll throw another vote in the "brilliant and absurd" camp. It's a movie I can watch anytime. Dinner....litereally any time.

On a side note, I didn't realize anyone (other than my mother) disliked Dumb & Dumber. I'm not sure about best comedy ever or similar superlatives, but I can't imagine anyone not finding it absolutely enjoyable.

[🏀]

Started watching some tonight.

Enjoyed some back stories so far, hate some of the others. We'll see what happens by the end.

[ChicosBailBonds]

I..I...I'm at a loss for words, as I believe that it is possibly the greatest comedy of all time.

Dumb and Dumber was pretty damn good with a great soundtrack

[Chicos' Buzz Scandal Countdown]

Started watching some tonight.

Enjoyed some back stories so far, hate some of the others. We'll see what happens by the end.

finshed it day 1 - IMO perfect for what they were doing. Four hours as a sequel to a movie that was less than an hour and a half.

Each storyline pretty much played out to 110%. Definitely wish there was more David Hyde Pierce.

[drewm88]

finshed it day 1 - IMO perfect for what they were doing. Four hours as a sequel to a movie that was less than an hour and a half.

Each storyline pretty much played out to 110%. Definitely wish there was more David Hyde Pierce.

I'm not quite finished yet, but I agree completely with this.