One major advantage of being late to to
any bit of pop culture is not having to endure the endless wait
between new material. To think that some people had to wait years in
the hopes that Countdown to Liqueur Day could be washed from their
minds. Hell; waiting a month was tough enough. Question is, does this
actually redeem this aging franchise or simply drive it further into
the dirt?
Worry hit me right from scene one as
we open with a set of circumstance that seem right in line with the
last flick. There's a funeral, Lahey is hobbled up after suffering a
stroke, and Bubbles is living under a porch. Plus there was the usual
continuity issues such as J-roc no longer being successful
(thankfully he got his personality back) oh and the three babies from
the last season are still MIA, maybe a moose ate em. All told I was
seriously dreading another ninety minutes of misery. Then a funny
thing happened. This one ended up being something good.
Really this is more like a two-for-one
special. The first half is spent catching up with everyone, and I do
mean everyone since they're almost all here except for Corey, Trevor,
and the aforementioned babies who'd all be like 7 by now. Oh and
Barb....no idea what happened to her.
The second half trims the fat known as
supporting cast and becomes a straight-up road movie focusing on the
five main dudes. That's where all the best parts come from as the
whole thing began to remind me of the better SNL flicks from back in
the day. Plenty of funny lines. Serious but not overly sappy moments.
Just a nice balance overall.
From the get go, the theme is that of
everyone worrying about their future and the potential of losing the
people that matter to them. It's subject matter that hits pretty
close to home these days and thankfully the movie doesn't let itself
get overwhelmed with those issues so much as present how easily they
can be dealt with thanks to good friends, fun times, and the proper
mixture of booze & weed.
In direct contrast to that is Mr.
Lahey. He still keeps people at bay and knows of no other way to deal
with his sorrows than straight up drowning them. John Dunsworth has
done more than a fine job over the years doing the crazy drunk bit,
and he gets to have a little more fun this time thanks to a new drug.
This really is the proper distillation
of the whole series. A few idiots make it through life by watching
out for each other while a cranked out old bastard tries to stop them
out his own inability to just lay back and enjoy life. Perhaps I'm
digging up meaning that isn't there but by god if this doesn't feel
like a proper ending to the franchise, right down to a fight between
Bubbles and Lahey. Of course there's gonna be new episodes out in
like a month sooooooo yeah, don't screw this up boys.
Oh and can I note just how ugly the
movie is? I mean Canada in winter. Christ! It's like watching a dog
shit in your front yard in January.
Until then I've got more shows, books,
games, work, and study to get through. Ugh, and morning office shifts
are coming my way soon. That alone is a dreadful notion that's made
all the worse by August allergies. Dunno what it is exactly but it
makes it nearly impossible to get out of bed which isn't kosher when
you're due in at 8Am. First world problems...like a warm blanket.
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