If you would have asked me this time last week, I would have told you I had no doubt The Goods: Live Hard, Sell Hard was going be abysmal. It's partially my own fault--I feel I'm pretty hard on comedies: like horror movies, they rarely deliver on what they promise. I'm also not-so in love with The Goods star Jeremy Piven. Sure, when HBO first suckered me into watching Entourage—a new show about a group of douchebags and their famous friend—it was in no small part thanks to Piven's charm, but after a couple seasons of Piven's one-trick pony take on a hyperactive Hollywood agent, I swore the whole mess off.
Well, after actually watching the movie I swore I'd hate, I'm pleased to say that The Goods is actually funny--not enough to suck me into watching Entourage again--but funny enough to overlook my differences with Piven's career choices and sit through 90 minutes of desperately politically incorrect comedy.
Piven motorboats Flight of the Conchords' groupie Kristen Schall, and Kathryn Hahn tries to seduce a 10-year-old boy after the jump!
Well, after actually watching the movie I swore I'd hate, I'm pleased to say that The Goods is actually funny--not enough to suck me into watching Entourage again--but funny enough to overlook my differences with Piven's career choices and sit through 90 minutes of desperately politically incorrect comedy.
Piven motorboats Flight of the Conchords' groupie Kristen Schall, and Kathryn Hahn tries to seduce a 10-year-old boy after the jump!
If you couldn't tell from the ridiculously long name, The Goods was produced by Will Ferrell and Adam McKay, a continually disappointing duo who has mistakenly assumed that any random dribble that comes out of Ferrell's mouth equals comedy gold. (Seriously, Ferrell's made like, what, two funny movies since leaving SNL?)
What really may have saved The Goods from being downright terrible is the involvement of Chappelle Show co-creator and Half Baked co-writer Neal Brennan. Fans of the deceased show will find plenty to love in Brennan's directorial debut: pop culture references, a joke about Smurf jizz and death by a bag of dildos. These gags, no matter how sophomoric, result in some serious laughs.
The role of Don "The Goods" Ready isn't much of a stretch for Piven. Don is a smart-ass used car salesman who leads an oddball group of merchandise-moving mercenaries, a sales team for hire fueled by strip club breakfasts and karaoke bar benders. Ving Rhames, Kathryn Hahn and David Koechner round out Don's team and are all responsible for a fair share of funny. Kahn can't keep her hands off Peter (Rob Riggle of The Daily Show), a 10-year-old boy trapped in a 30-year-old man's body, Piven flirts with then buries his face in a flight attendant's breasts (Schall), and Koechner tries to avoid the homosexual advances of Ben (James Brolin).
The jokes come in rapid-fire succession, and the hit-to-miss ratio is impressive. It's also nice to see a comedy not resting all it's weight on a huge A-lister, thus allowing the supporting cast to shine. Charles Napier steals the show as salesman Dick Lewiston, a crotchety racist and homophobic war vet who explodes with rants of political incorrectness. Craig Robinson (The Office) continues to stand out as D.J. Request, a strip club D.J. who refuses to take requests. Others making noteworthy appearances include Ed Helms, Upright Citizens Brigade vets Matt Walsh and Ian Roberts and Tony Hale (Arrested Development). And, despite my aforementioned disdain for Ferrell's free pass on funny, when he makes his predictable cameo, it actually delivers.
Overall, there's no denying The Goods is stupid as hell. But, it's also pretty damn funny, and in a summer that's seen a drought of funny movies, a little laughter is really refreshing.
--Eric Pulsifer
What really may have saved The Goods from being downright terrible is the involvement of Chappelle Show co-creator and Half Baked co-writer Neal Brennan. Fans of the deceased show will find plenty to love in Brennan's directorial debut: pop culture references, a joke about Smurf jizz and death by a bag of dildos. These gags, no matter how sophomoric, result in some serious laughs.
The role of Don "The Goods" Ready isn't much of a stretch for Piven. Don is a smart-ass used car salesman who leads an oddball group of merchandise-moving mercenaries, a sales team for hire fueled by strip club breakfasts and karaoke bar benders. Ving Rhames, Kathryn Hahn and David Koechner round out Don's team and are all responsible for a fair share of funny. Kahn can't keep her hands off Peter (Rob Riggle of The Daily Show), a 10-year-old boy trapped in a 30-year-old man's body, Piven flirts with then buries his face in a flight attendant's breasts (Schall), and Koechner tries to avoid the homosexual advances of Ben (James Brolin).
The jokes come in rapid-fire succession, and the hit-to-miss ratio is impressive. It's also nice to see a comedy not resting all it's weight on a huge A-lister, thus allowing the supporting cast to shine. Charles Napier steals the show as salesman Dick Lewiston, a crotchety racist and homophobic war vet who explodes with rants of political incorrectness. Craig Robinson (The Office) continues to stand out as D.J. Request, a strip club D.J. who refuses to take requests. Others making noteworthy appearances include Ed Helms, Upright Citizens Brigade vets Matt Walsh and Ian Roberts and Tony Hale (Arrested Development). And, despite my aforementioned disdain for Ferrell's free pass on funny, when he makes his predictable cameo, it actually delivers.
Overall, there's no denying The Goods is stupid as hell. But, it's also pretty damn funny, and in a summer that's seen a drought of funny movies, a little laughter is really refreshing.
--Eric Pulsifer
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