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

I consider myself a die-hard Tim and Eric Fan. I have been following these guys closely since 2005 in the days of Tom Goes to the Mayor and, aside from the Chrimbus Special and the very end of season 5 of Awesome show, I think that their stuff has only gotten better over time. I am of the opinion that their humor is polarizing and subversive, but this is always secondary to the high quality and side-splitting comedy that they can wring out of situations. I have nothing but the absolute highest degree of respect for these two - I think they are bona fide brilliant, and those who 'get it' know that when they are good, they are REALLY good.

For all these reasons, it really saddens me to report that, not only was I let down by Billion Dollar Movie, I thought it was embarrassing to watch. The guys have taken the caricature of what they became by the end of season 5 of Awesome Show and blown it way out of proportion herein - the movie is all form and no substance, and lacks any kind of innovation or winning uniqueness - the kind of thing that usually makes me fall in love with them in their work. There was no coherent narrative or plot, something that (no matter how much absurdist cred you have) you cannot stray from if you want to engage people in a feature-length work.

While there was certainly a handful of moments that made me chuckle, the greater part of the movie left me sitting there bummed out about what I was watching. Every mildly funny moment was just drawn out from something already done in Awesome Show, and there was very little of the high-quality and originality I have come to expect form this smart, satirical, cutting-edge duo.

It is with a lot of sadness that I report that the film felt way more 'Ricky Bobby' than Tim and Eric. I don't think its necessarily that Awesome Show doesn't work in a long format feature-length film (it doesn't), but I was sure the guys would produce something unique and new. It became pretty clear pretty quickly that the film had no substance and that these guys just do not know how to put together a movie.

Although I still worship the ground they walk on, I cannot lie, and I have to say that this movie was a total and complete bust. Yikes.