|
'Delta Farce' movie review |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Written by Colin Covert, McClatchy-Tribune
|
|
Saturday, 12 May 2007 |
|
|
|
|
___
DELTA FARCE
1 ½ stars
Starring: Larry the Cable Guy, D.J. Qualls, Bill Engvall, Keith David
Directed by: C.B. Harding
Rated PG-13 for crude and sexual humor
___
 Redneck stereotypes collide with Mexican, Middle Eastern, gay and Army stereotypes in the low-budget, lowbrow "Delta Farce."
Casualties include the careers of Larry the Cable Guy, whose last movie was Pixar's "Cars," and costar D.J. Qualls, whose last movie before filming this one, "Hustle and Flow," won an Academy Award. Can't win 'em all.
With Blue Collar Comedy Tour regular Bill Engvall in the role of the Third Stooge, they play weekend fantasy soldiers who put on Army surplus camo and shoot guns at an abandoned armory during their get-togethers. They are mistaken for Army Reservists by an overzealous sergeant (Keith David, breathing fire from his nostrils) and hauled off to war.
Establishing itself as the only movie ever to use increased violence in Fallujah as its comic mainspring, the film puts its hapless heroes on a cargo plane flying from Georgia to the combat zone. Over Mexico (if you question the geography here, you're already too smart for this movie), they are jettisoned from the plane's hold in a parachute-equipped Humvee. When they wake in the desert, convinced they're in Iraq, they set out to liberate the nearest village.
Bear Arnold's script is comedy of the most primitive and desultory sort, but it gains a bit of traction as the movie wears on. Opening with cobwebby "don't ask, don't tell" jokes and ugly cracks about "carpet fliers," it gets a bit less abysmal in act two, as if a punch-up screenwriter was brought in to rescue the thing.
The boys find themselves defending the village from a gang of over-the-top desperados led by Danny Trejo (last seen as Machete in "Grindhouse"), the king of campy Latino tough guys. The jokes start to spiral off into absurdity, with non sequitur gags about karaoke night at the villain's hideout, and the not-to-be-forgotten sight of David in a marabou-trimmed nightie. (Qualls also appears in a Mexican peasant dress. The film even steals from itself.)
The performances are regrettable. Qualls, an actor born to play David Spade's anorexic brother, is essentially a visual joke, a pipsqueak with Rambo fantasies. Larry makes Jim Varney look like Ian McKellen. Only David and Trejo emerge as likable clowns.
The liveliest battle in this atrocious service comedy is fighting the urge to leave midway through. | Only registered users can write comments.
Please login or register. |
|
|  | "Humankind cannot gain anything without first giving something in return. To obtain, something of equal value must be lost. That is Alchemy's first law of Equivalent Exchange. In those days, we really believed that to be the world's one, and only truth." | |
|  | We're not that bright, even though in our own little world, we're geniuses. We like 80s hair bands and one-hit wonders, but among us we have respectable tastes, too. Metallica, Iron Maiden, U2. Pursuit of all things trivial is a lifestyle, not just a game. We like some sports, love other sports, and can find something to say about anything. We watch TV and movies and we've read a book or two, even a few classics (Yes, Classic Comics count!)
We call it insight, you call it what you will. | |
|  | Felix Wong is an outdoor enthusiast living in Fort Collins. A mechanical engineer by day, he is especially passionate about bicycling, running, and backpacking. | |
|  | Hola Amigos! I'm Sandra. I like to believe that people are 70 percent good and 30 percent dumb. I'm stickin to that story. Reading this blog might make you want to be good, but probably just dumb. | |
|  | Donovan Henderson is editor of NEXTnc. | |
|  | Here at Nextnc we have some characters. Get a sneak peak behind the curtain and find out what amusing antics our staffers get themselves into on a weekly basis. | |
|  | What is up FoCo?
I am a recent college graduate of Minnesota State University Moorhead. After recieving my B.A. in English and Mass Communications this past August I moved down to Colorado.
I enjoy long walks on the beach, candlelight dinners, and heavy metal. My hobbies include reading and writing, music, movies, and getting drunk. Some of my favorite contemporary authors include Bret Easton Ellis, Chuck Palahniuk, and Kurt Vonnegut. My top movies are anything directed by Kubrick. I enjoy listening to anything that rocks.
Right now I am just trying to get to know Colorado and FoCo better. Mostly in order to find the best drink specials on each day that ends in Y. So if you know where I can get a cheap drunk on, let me know!
--Drew | |
|  | Life's little morsels of inspiration, observation and encouragement seen through the eyes of the Nextnc reporter.
| |
|  | Ms. Giles currently lives in Colorado where she stars in her own private reality show. She writes aphoristic accounts of her life, taken completely out of context, and embellished with characters and situations disguised to resemble something close to interesting. | |
|  | over and out | |
| | My name is Michelle Turley and I'm 28 years old. I live in Severance with my hubbie, Brandon. We have 2 dogs and a cat. We enjoy camping, four-wheeling, and just being in the mountains. I like to cook, clean (go figure), flea market, and play poker. I have so much to say about poker... | |
|
|
