Its saving grace is the saving grace of any documentary: it gives you a glimpse into something you want to know more about. I don't watch documentaries for kicks. Most of the time, documentaries aren't something I buy to watch over and over.
It's an amateurly made film, sure. Amateurly directed and edited. There wasn't really much else to do, since it was all completely improvised based upon a concept, and the people who directed and edited it had (according to this site) no prior professional experience in their fields.
Hell, it was practically part home movie.
Let's say you and your friends, dozens of them, have an inside joke. An inside joke that each of you put your own unique spin on, and all of you love it so much you decide to take a MiniDV camera and record each individual interpretation of it.
Not many other people will get your brand of humor, but that's why it's a bit of an in-joke. Of course, you know that those that aren't in the group yet DO get it are the kinds of people that you share that sense of humor with.
It was definitely disappointing, I'll give you that much. I expected more complete renditions of the jokes, but given the number of comedians they were trying to include, they tried to make good with what they could. I'm hoping to get the DVD soon so I can see all of the extra footage.
You seem to think that the film was a waste because you didn't find it funny. I think that it's fascinating, even the parts that I didn't find that funny (which is a lot after you get used to most of the more generic interpretations of the joke).
Putting all brands of humor and tastelessness aside, this is a glimpse into the thought processes of dozens upon dozens of superstars that have become famous for exactly that: their thought processes.
These people are famous for their ingenuity.
It baffles me how many people are completely missing how much of an insight this film offers the viewers, and I'm not giving credit to the filmmakers here, I'm giving credit to the comedians. Every comedian does the joke in their own distinctive style, improvised on the spot. Every time you hear the joke from a different comedian, it has their own personal stamp on it (if they've done it properly).
That's what makes this film significant. Not only do they show you this joke that they've kept amongst themselves for decades, but by showing it to you from so many different comedians, you learn to gain insight from the way each one presents that one joke into the entirity of their career.
As for responsibility...
It was released in a VERY limited run in theaters. It goes out of its way to make sure people know that the film is stunningly obscene. It has the big ol' "R" symbol on it that lets everyone know that the movie isn't intended for anyone under the age of seventeen.
In what way is it being irresponsible?
If they were trying to manufacture it as your average comedy compilation film, then maybe that argument would have some merit, but what you're leaning towards is just plain censorship.
I love shock humor. It's not for just anybody, but I'm part of the "not just anybody" crowd when it comes to this kind of humor.
I didn't find most of the film funny at all, but I still found it very interesting.
Trash? Maybe, but it's definitely not being irresponsible.
What do you prefer, McDonalds or Burger King? The O.C. or Friends? Take your pick. Either way, you're choosing trash, but everyone likes their own kind of trash. Not everyone can be on the calibur of Kubrick or Kurosawa or Scorsese or whatever other industry-alteringly phenomenal director you want to point out.
Here, they produced something they liked, something they thought other people would like, and guess what?
There were other people that liked it. There were even people that appreciated it, appreciated that they didn't get paid for this project, that they just flew around for a while and asked all of their friends to talk into a camera, that they put time and effort and their own money into this project to share their little mental exercise with the rest of us.
It may not be well-made, it may be in extremely poor taste, and it may not be picked up by the Criterion Collection, but it's something that I enjoyed.
Insult it and everything about it, sure, but when you bring censorship into the picture, you're crossing a line.
By suggesting that something shouldn't be publicly distributed/sold just because you don't think it's good enough, you're taking the stance of the self-righteous idiot who thinks that all of society's problems can be solved by getting the "trash" out of the media.
You think this shouldn't ever be made? How about Grand Theft Auto? How about pornography? How about the Friday the 13th film series?
Don't tell me what I should and shouldn't be allowed to watch. I don't think any of the three things I mentioned are that fantastic (and I don't care for the Jason films in the least), but they're something that I should have the right to be able to purchase and watch if I so please.
"A responsibility that needs to be addressed" when it comes to "a medium that is distributed to pop culture?" Who the hell do you think you are to say what their responsibilities are?
I don't find the responsibility to be in their hands, I find it to be in mine. It's MY decision to purchase something like this. It's MY decision to watch it. It's MY responsibility to get some information on it before I proceed with the above actions.
If I had kids, it would be MY responsibility to make sure they didn't see this until I considered them to be old enough.
And what bothers me the most...
"Lets stop condoning the production of irresponsible trash that perpetuates triviality of abuse."
This sentence completely exposes how pretentious you are. Firstly, you seem to have only a loose understanding what the words you're using actually mean.
You use "condone" in a fashion that implies that you know what's best for everyone and that they should know better than to act as they do.
You once again call this film "irresponsible trash." Obscenity is not irresponsible. It may be trashy, but it's not irresponsible. How it's handled and whom it's exposed to is where the responsibility lies.
And the part that got to me the most, out of this entire sentence that bothered me the most?
"Perpetuates triviality of abuse."
So you're saying that:
1. This movie is abuse.
2. This movie trivializes abuse, as though we should all be concerned about getting desensitized to a dirty joke.
3. We're perpetuating the "triviality of abuse," as though we're all horrible villains who are going to be the downfall of society because of our sick senses of humor.
I find that sentence to be more offensive than you probably found the entire movie to be, or at you more offensive than the notion of people liking this film is to you.
You're saying that my sense of humor, which I put limits on according to the company I'm keeping at any given moment, is something amazingly important and that by enjoying sick jokes, I'm being irresponsible as a human being?
I'm sick and twisted when it comes to my entertainment. I love gory horror movies, I love disturbing films, and I love demented and obscene humor, but I'll be DAMNED if I'm not a good person!
With all of the people I've known and helped in my life so far, with all of the time and money and willpower and effort I've put into helping people without expecting any reciprocation beyond a "thank you," I find it EXTREMELY insulting that you're being so condescending and arrogant as to suggest that we should all just stop watching things like this because you don't think it's good enough, and that you go as far as calling us irresponsible.
I'm up for a good debate any day of the week, but when I'm told to "C'mon! Get real dude!" about a movie that I like by someone I don't even know who then proceeds to insult everyone who likes the movie like they're idiots, I get a little pissed off. But that's the thing, isn't it? You can come on here, insult us, and then move on like nothing happened. If we get mad, you don't have to deal with it.
Now we can deal with people like you and be COMPLETELY powerless to do anything about it. Hell, if you can't think of something to counter this tirade, no worries! You don't even have to stand up for yourself properly anymore and defend your opinions, you can just run away from whoever you've pissed off enough to prove you wrong and put them on ignore.
Isn't the internet a beautiful thing?
Swapping opinions on these boards is one thing, but thinking you're better than everyone else is another entirely.
Check that at the door next time.
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