Rating of
3/4
Trunk'd and Disorderly
Chris Kavan - wrote on 03/08/14
One thing no one wants to wake up to after their bachelor party is a dead hooker. Nothing good can come of it. But should you wind up with a dead hooker in your bed after your bachelor party - you better hope you have good friends... or else you could very well wind up like our groom-to-be in Trunk'd.
Jake Hull has assembled a group of stand-up comedians (both veterans and relative newcomers) and crafted a road trip comedy that, while it brings to mind such films as Very Bad Things and The Hangover (and, in one memorable scene, Texas Chainsaw Massacre) - but manages to stand on its own. Hull is a native Nebraskan - and though the face of Nebraska filmmaking is firmly rooted in Alexander Payne - he is not the be all end all of Nebraska directors. Trunk'd operates on a limited budget, but I think it works because of how good the flow was between the actors. I have to admit, I also got a kick out of seeing some locations (and people) I could actually recognize.
I think casting from a pool of stand-up comedians helped the film - a lot of the names may not be readily familiar, but many of main actors have been on the circuit. Take Eddie Pepitone, who plays the acerbic, alcoholic mayor of a "half-a-lake" Nebraska town. He may not have the largest part in the movie, but he makes the part his own. Shang Forbes plays the pimp who must figure out what to do about his dead hooker. He seemed way too nice at the beginning - I knew he was up to something - and his end game was actually quite astute for a man who deals in women.
But I have to say out of all the main players, my absolute favorite was Dan Cummins, who plays Paul - a man who converted to Judaism only to have his girlfriend dump him (for someone who was more Jewish) and now, refusing to give up his new religion - has to deal with the frustration (not to mention the constant jokes at his expense) of being Jewish... in Nebraska. He straight-up nails the character - dead-pan delivery, and just his demeanor - I so wanted Paul to be happy, but I have a feeling that just might not be in the cards for the poor guy.
Trunk'd taught me some very valuable lessons - one, if you get a hooker - make sure she's not diabetic. Two - don't steal from the blind. Three - you can't trust pimps. Four - when in doubt, make yourself throw up. But the biggest lesson of all is that enjoyable films don't have to be big Hollywood blockbusters and that you can find great movies closer to home and it's going to be worth it to seek them out.
