Review of Rapture-Palooza (2013) by Panta O — 06 Nov 2013

Rapture-Palooza (also known as Ecstasy) is a fantasy-comedy which is only for a specific type of audience! Others will probably hate it - that is simple truth and warning for everyone who cannot find movies like Shaun of the Dead, The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy or similar to be hilarious! Written by Chris Matheson and directed by Paul Middleditch it combines goofiness, gags and sarcasm into an unusual comedy which succeeded to make me laugh until the end. The film stars Anna Kendrick and John Francis Daley as a young couple who battle their way through a religious apocalypse on a mission to defeat the Antichrist. The sarcastic part was perfect for Anna Kedrick's lacks of experience in this type of comedy where things do not go as predicted. The film also stars Craig Robinson, Ken Jeong, Rob Corddry, Thomas Lennon, Tyler Labine, Paul Scheer, Calum Worthy and Ana Gasteyer. Some of them were shiny others could do much better... we could blame here the focus of the director on raunchy R-rated jokes which sometimes could make you plead for more satire instead - it was a perfect opportunity for those actors who did not fit well, and it was missed. However, some of the crazy stuff in the screenplay (like killing Christ on the white horse with a laser while coming to save the Earth to kill the Anti-Christ) was unique and will make you laugh and remember those scenes.

Some material did not work, other did - that is the main reason why I gave such a low but positive rating. But, maybe you will be in a group of fans who will count this film as a classic from suburban Seattle while talking locusts, blood rain showers, and pot-smoking zombies live under the rule of a sex-obsessed Anti-Christ who cannot be killed... and will rate this much, much higher!?