I was debating whether or not to do a follow up to my review of The Underground Comedy Movie, especially since I alluded to the following a couple of times there. While I had to hope for a YouTube upload, InAPPropriate Comedy can currently be streamed on Tubi, but since movies tend to be pulled from rotation there for whatever reason, may as well play my hand before I lose the opportunity.
As for the film I already know a lot of the film's humor is both outdated yet of its time, I'm not gonna try and call too much attention to the bits, what's there is there, it happened, this is just a who's who of jokes that only bottom barrel comedians would ever consider funny, the kind of jokes that I wouldn't laugh at even if Ari Shaffer slipped acid into my drink.
For a Little Context
Last time I watched Vince Offer's The Underground Comedy Movie, dubbed one of the worst movies of all time and rightly so, and essentially gave live reactions along with a general review. It was a movie that was hard to find... for free. When it comes to bad movies I prefer to watch one if an option presented itself, that way I won't feel like I got ripped off and I could judge the experience based on the content alone. So someone finally posted it on YouTube and I figured I'd check it out while I had the chance. Now look I don't want to rule out edgy comedy entirely, I like Eight Crazy Nights more than I'm willing to admit, I like South Park for the most part, Mad TV is goated, but Underground was just painfully unfunny, and given it came out when edgy humor was at a reasonable high, if you fumble the bag so early you're fucked. But to some benefit at least Underground came out at the right time thus it could've conceivably been buried.
It had a 33% on Rotten Tomatoes, but that's only because it's one positive review out of a few other negative ones, it's adjustment based on the available data, just wanted to make that clear for no apparent reason. I held off on covering Offer's other film InAPPropriate Comedy, though that's only because I had caught a review of it previously... which I can't find right now, what I recall is that the title mentioned Adrien Brody. But as said before, I suddenly got the opportunity.
For a Little Background
InAPPropriate Comedy went into production around 2010, it was intended to be a remake of The Underground Comedy Movie and traces of it show in the skits that ultimately made it to the final product. Compared to Underground where the production was backed based on whatever funds Offer could drum up, this time he managed to get some extra producers and writers on board, and like the last film anyone that'd seem untraceable can be. Firstly Robert B. Shapiro, a businessman seemingly off his nut, but no, that was just a pseudonym for Bob Shapiro. I know Robert and Bob are interchangeable, but to include the B. something tells me he or Offer had an ax to grind. Whatever the case Bobert mainly worked as a production manager and accountant, mostly on films I never heard of. Only ones I can single out are After We Collided and After Ever Happy, films in a series based on book initially written on Wattpad, holy Fifty Shades Batman.
The writing is credited to Offer, Ari Shaffer when we get to him and Ken Pringle. This was the only movie Pringle wrote for, and you may think this killed his potential career, but it didn't. He gets around more as an actor in bit roles, more notably providing the voice of Hank Pym in Marvel's Long Story Short, basically abridged tellings of comic book stories. I haven't heard him there myself but something tells me he'd be a lot more enjoyable than Nolan North, IYKY.
For some company bullshit, the film was financed by Vince's marketing management company Square One, and it appears he rebranded his old BOP Productions, that's Best Offer Productions, to Satura Films. I only suggest this based on the cold open to Underground. I'm guessing S.O. Productions relates to Bobert Shapiro because Vince is already producing a film with two companies. The film was distributed by Freestyle Releasing, and that's significant because they were the kind of company that would release just about anything as long as people put up the funds to do so. Because of that we got such nuggets as Sarah Landon and the Paranormal Hour, Left Behind the Remake, that Anastasia movie nobody gives a shit about, the lowest grossing animated film of all time or of its time Delgo (even if the film itself is not even the worst I've seen), among others.
As for the reception let's just cut to the chase, it got a fat zero. It came out the same time as Movie 43 with some declaring InAPPropriate Comedy to be worse than it. It's ironic because Movie 43 was spearheaded by the Farrelly brothers who Offer tried suing over the similarities between one of his skits and There's Something About Mary. I got an hour and 23 minutes on this, five minutes less than Underground was credits included. Let's see how far I can go, as I tell you everything I see.
Let's Watch
After the Freestyle splash we get one for Square One Entertainment. Given Offer's only true success comes from marketing it's not a good idea to produce films under your marketing label, that's just a headache waiting to happen.
The film starts with a 127 Hours parody. I'd expect Vince to mock the events the film was based on, which after seeing so many edgy comedies assume the obvious. But instead it's just Vince walking past the Aron Ralster stand in and not offering any help. Maybe it's a statement on how people refuse to stop and help others? But if nothing else at least it's brief. It would then lead to a re-do of the opening of Underground Comedy movie, complete with the mice and stepping in a puddle of water, compared to it at least feeling spontaneous in Underground, it looked like Vince missed the puddle and had to double back just for the sake of familiarity.
Lindsay Lohan appears as a Marilyn Monroe stand in, and I gotta say, while neither Lindsay looks nothing like Marylin, I'll admit she does look like Gena Lee Nolin in Underground Comedy Movie. By the way since it has been pointed out and is impossible not to see, Lindsay is wearing an ankle monitor, this was when she was still on the decline, felt like pointing it out. At the very least attention is called to it in the film, and since it's an alcohol detecting bracelet I'm gonna assume Vince was sloshed during filming.
The schtick here is that Vince uses a tablet, one that has apps that act as segways to the film's sketches. It's also how he gets the opening joke from Underground going, I came close to missing it. But one thing I didn't miss in Underground was a closer view of the underskirt, which would segue into the opening, same as Underground complete with the exact same motorcycle Vince used in Underground, but replacing the opening logo with circa-2010 CG. The opening cuts between clips from Underground's intro and a tacky cast crawl, or wall of shame depending what you prefer here. I single out the clip variation because of one big continuity error, Vince's hair was long in Underground, and it's short in InAPPropriate Comedy. If you can afford actors for your production you can afford some burly guys with motorcycles and a ride through LA.
All else I have to say about the intro is that I swear Bobby Lee was in there somewhere, only because he was in Underground, they once again switched from motorcycles to bicycles, even if the transition was more seamless I question what they were going for, and the opening song is good, but for the sake of sparing the artist the shame of reference on this movie I won't tell you what.
So, intro over the tablet's screen is shown and we get an idea to what skits we're in for. Oh look an app with a Klansman mask I wonder if thats Ari Schaffer. Also wanna point out the NNN app, not just because it's an obvious CNN reference but because NNN was the name of a news channel that appeared in Ozzy and Drix (and possibly Osmosis Jones but I haven't seen that movie in years.) that being a show based on a movie by the Farrelly Brothers, aka those Vince tried suing. I mean their use of NNN came before Vince's, they'd have a case. Eh nevermind, just thought I'd bring it up.
The first skit on the chopping block is a remake of Flirty Harry, with Adrien Brody. Oh look, he's only visible from the waist up, I wonder what he could be wearing down below. If you guessed a dress... you'd be wrong. I know shocking. The most they went for was a pair of pink sweatpants. As someone who otherwise knows all the tricks with edgy humor, I'll admit he caught me off guard. But then we get to innuendo so obvious and constant, waiting 90 years to see a short film about a cognac feels less painful. One advantage this has over Underground is that, whether or not it's because established actors are in this, the performances are actually decent... for now.
And yes random guy, you're the only one who got an erection. Even if I had an insatiable libido I'd still say that. But it's over with. Up next is Jackass with African Americans, starting with an overlong intro and given the subject matter, assume Vince to do the worst. They're dumpster driving and wind up in a sewage plant, which is another way of saying an empty warehouse with a few vats. Then again for all the places I've been I was never inside of a sewage plant to know. I can tell you that the splashes resemble that of clear water, while the poo water is pure black, you know it ain't real. Based on the trailer, as well as Underground as a whole, I expect Vince to revisit these sketches as the movie goes on.
But in the meantime, Ari Schaffer, expect the worst, oh look the worst. While making humor about racism is already a double edged sword, the problem here is that any satire or wit is so paper thin that it takes less prevalence than the actual racism. He starts at the US border and goes on a tangent used by people to justify their, well, hatred of those on the other side. It's not funny, whether the irony is lost since many dolts take it at face value, especially in the Donald Trump era, or the whole thing for now is just a long lecture delivered plainly. The whole thing feels awkward, such as trying to showcase alleged border hoppers, or actors intended to sell the scene. Basically imagine every talking point used when talking shit about Mexicans, immigration and taking THER YABS, and that's the entire sketch, a little of each repeated.
The problem with Ari here is that it feels like he plays this persona much too straight. If you wanna sell a farce, sprinkle in some over the top beliefs intent on showing just how stupid the thing your making fun of is. Either that or let people question what you talk about. It's essentially like Andy Kauffman reading the Great Gatsby, but that's unconventional behavior vs what amounts to reading a collection of things that can be considered racist. Also doesn't help that the reactions are so basic that I'd beg for scripted responses just to bring some life into the performance. This is InAPPropriate Comedy, not Awkward at best Conversations.
This is only the third sketch, and it feels like it's dragging on for an eternity. Ari leads one guy to a very obvious decoy building, and as you'd expect, there's a cage behind it, and he takes him to the border patrol. I just wanna point out most people in the Ari sketches were real life people, those who were brought back to film additional scenes to essentially tie everything together. The cage bit feels a bit off the cuff at least. I'd say you can cut out most of the fluff and just have him at the gas station, demonstrate his racism and then he turns out to be a border patrol cop, commentating on how racist attitudes are toward immigration, that's a nice piece of satire right there.
I guess to be fair the border agents don't accept Ari's offering and proceed to restrain him. They just threw that in to act like the past few minutes didn't mean anything, can I call it gaslighting? I will say it's depressing seeing this compared to where we're at now. If Ari did this in real life this year he'd be appointed by Donald Trump himself as a border czar.
Also just wanna take the time to bring up one advantage Underground has over InAPPropriate Comedy. In underground scenes had interruptions, which helped to make them a bit easier to get through. But since Vince isn't watching TV and is instead looking at apps, the sketches would run uninterrupted, and that really shows how much most of these would drag. Not to mention if these are apps, going on continuing sketches, my suspension of disbelief can only go so low. Once more if it's on a TV I can accept these shows airing in real time.
The sketch ends, and it goes back to Blackass just as the guys do a joust with some of the fakest looking dildos I've ever seen. I can't help but bring that up because they take an eternity to get going. I didn't really pay attention to what they said, but I'd assume the worst, and ebonics. And it's over.
Right now I just wanna point out the number of sketches. At this point four played and that's including the opening sequence. There's about three left and we're getting to the next right about now. But just because the number is low that doesn't mean it won't take long to get there. I'm 17 minutes in, and believe me I'm gonna feel the next hour and six minutes slip away from me.
Next is another remake of an Underground sketch. The Porno Review, and this is where Rob Schneider comes in. Whereas Underground's take was some guys waxing... or maybe jizzing praise over porn, this time it's a man and his wife, with the aggregator behind them. Underground's version was more off-the-cuff, whereas this is scripted. On one hand this means things would be less awkward, on the oiher hand this means the writing quality would show more.
Anyway Sushi Mama, that was brought back from Underground too, complete with a white guy dubbing Asian action. You don't have to be offended to find this unfunny, its been done so many times and with very little variation, I'm more bored than offended. Somehow I managed to erase the original Sushi Mama from my mind so I can't really compare either version, well, of the porn at least, not so much the review.
In Underground the porn was played in its entirety, in InAPPropriate Comedy there're cuts to the viewers and additional commentary. The aggregator is more awake than the last one, but something tells me by the end I'll be less like Jonathan Spencer and more like Joe Shapiro... er, those who played the aggregator in both movies.
Back to the porno, in Underground they got right to the action, here it takes a little longer. Vince thought it would be cute to make a plug for ShamWow, during a sweatshop scene, I felt nothing. And seeing this commentary, you'd think it'd make things funny, but no, I like my bad movies to be uninterrupted, which means I don't like RiffTrax. Ooh edgy!
Ah shit I share the same opinion on this porn as Rob Schneider, but to be fair we hated it for different reasons. Seeing the introspective commentary on the movie, is this making fun of people looking deep into everything? Hope not, because that's dumb as hell. I mean I'm all for video essays and actually showing commitment to what you talk about, rather than some shallow brain rot, and I don't mean Chowder.
Blackass again, guy gets trampled by a rhino, I could swear it looks fake, not even nearing the 23 minute mark yet, Flirty Harry, more innuendo and hence more repetition. Right now I just wanna point something out. I called Underground Comedy Movie boring, but somehow it was more varied compared to this. Even the same scenarios had some differences, either that or it hasn't dawned on me as soon as this. Point is it took longer for me to grow tired of Underground than this movie, and for this, as I'm watching I only have one hour left.
I will say this, the sign for a strip club, bar, whatever, somehow looks more convincing than what went down in Verotika. Going into it I was in for a shock, one I should've seen coming. The next portion of Flirty Harry uses footage from the Underground Comedy Movie, it's the exact same scenes save for those with Adrien Brody. I mean for the most part it's seamless, and at least Vince cut it off before a scene that would require both actors on screen. I can expect more stuff like this, but at the very least in smaller doses based on the sketches reused.
Good news, I no longer have an hour left on this movie. Bad news, it's another Amazing Racist sketch, this time focusing on the stereotype Asians can't drive. Bro cites Wikipedia, 'Oh but, you see though, the joke is that this guy is basing his views on very minimum research'. I mean you could make that argument, but you can't make one against Ari just going through a list of random Asian driving jokes. Though I made it clear last time, Ari is honestly the most boring part of this movie, at least with Vince's other bits shit happens.
But even when it comes to "hidden camera" situations they can be done so much better. If you want an example, check out The Jamie Kennedy Experiment, at the very least it's more than just reactions. Everyone reacts differently, not everyone's gonna just fly off the handle at the smallest provocation. At most these sketches feel like it's poking fun at how unfunny racist humor is. Then again I consider North to be a commentary on racial stereotypes and how they aren't funny, but even North's a more interesting experience.
Getting deeper into it, I mentioned before that the people featured in this were on camera but brought back to build on certain scenes. I think I found a tell for it. The man in the first bit and the female Asian driver both refer to Ari as a jew. I know it doesn't seem like much but it's no coincidence it happened twice. Just saying it's a bit obvious what was filmed first and what was filmed afterwards. I'm so numb to this I can't even appreciate Ari getting the snot slapped out of him.
One thing I noticed is how often Vince plays the same skits, that or things are incredibly unorganized. Between the varying length and tone of the sketches nothing is consistent. It's exhausting, least the random channel changes kept the momentum.
It’s so bad, it made me do something I didn’t do with Underground Comedy Movie… it actually made me want to stop watching. I dropped out at the 35 minute mark, meaning I had about 48 minutes left, not even close to over the hump. Not even the offensiveness was enough to keep my interest. That's the draw, if you set out to offend people chances are you won't be able to, especially in 2010 when everything had been done at least once. I guarantee if I ever come back to this movie I'm gonna drop off yet again.
So as you may figure, yes, I think this is much worse than The Underground Comedy Movie. Sure that movie had scenes that dragged out, but somehow the sketches felt more varied, even more earnest when helmed by a bunch of nobodies. Plus that film came out in 1999, back when offensive comedy was still at a reasonable high, so I can imagine somebody might've like it. Plus the film was made for dirt cheap, suddenly now I respect that more than a film with a bigger cast and higher production values.
In other words I found Epic Movie to be more enjoyable than this. Let that thought linger.
