Review of Tim and Eric's Billion Dollar Movie (2012) by Delon V — 27 Jan 2012

NOTE: Premiered at the 2012 Sundance Film Festival, but was watched via Video on Demand.

Let me say first that although I totally am a fan of their tone in humor, I am not a hardcore Tim and Eric fan. I've seen a couple of episodes, mostly clips of skits in between episodes, but other than that, I am not exactly part of its cult following that I totally understand why it exists. That being said, I was still very excited to see this, considering its ridiculous trailer. I really was hoping for a bizarre, extremely offbeat comedy with absolutely no limits or intimidation of film criticism. It didn't seem like it would be hard for a duo like Tim and Eric to not live up to those expectations. Well, unfortunately, that is the case here. Tim and Eric's Billion Dollar Movie has big laughs here and there, but ultimately it is a disappointment of what could have been a hysterical film version of their Adult Swim TV series.

After about ten minutes into the movie, we realize that this hardly has to do anything with the TV show. This is a story of Tim Heidecker and Eric Wareheim, playing as themselves working in the acting business, who waste their billion dollar budget for their latest film on purely nothing, and now they must gain back the funding by managing a rundown mall. It seems like a good story that these two could play with, but my main problem with the movie is that it is extremely held back. An episode of Awesome Show, Great Job! can get insane at times, leaving yourself forgetting what you were watching in the first place, but Billion Dollar Movie has its oddball moments after every twenty to thirty minutes, which is definitely not something you want out of this. I'm not exactly sure what Tim and Eric wanted out of this movie when they were writing it, but it doesn't feel like we got the result they wanted. There are still lots of hilarious scenes, but in between those, the movie drags on jokes dependent on awkward pauses. The jokes are not even strange, they're just incredibly deadpan. Sure, Tim and Eric can be subtle, but under that subtlety is total absurdity. Even at some points, the jokes are so immature that you would think even Tim and Eric know better.

I don't want to make the movie sound frustratingly made, but it just doesn't live up to its promises. Even the cameos don't even make up for it, and in fact sort of made it worse. I hated Will Ferrell in this. Though this isn't exactly less than average or anything, or even average. This is still a Tim and Eric movie. I still think they are masters of their own comedic craft, and it shows here...every once in a while. I do think this is also probably a movie that may get better after many repeat viewings, and their fans will stand by them no matter what. I am imagining the response to this movie to be similar to Derrick Comedy's Mystery Team, where it is a real split between its fans and movie enthusiasts. I still want to give this movie some recommendation, though. If you are very interested in seeing it, give it a shot. It's probably a good movie to watch in a dorm room with all your friends at two o'clock in the morning. Though for now, it's strictly for their biggest fans.

I know my review sounds like it's leading more towards a 5 or something, but I really like Tim and Eric and I do predict that this will probably get better in time.