1/27/2024 0 Comments Blue mountain stateWhile it seems to be done in good faith and as a satire of the machismo and bravado of state college football culture (whatever that is, to begin with), much of the behavior and language is easily construed as misogynistic. For the characters who do everything in defiance of common sense, the motivations are more muddled. In the end, it turns out that the team cannot save their house, so they blow it up - perhaps the most logical cause and effect sequence in the whole movie. For the writers and the fans, the central motivation is to have a satisfying close to Alex Moran’s (Darin Brooks) college career - the show followed this character from his first day at Blue Mountain State college. A lot of the motivations surrounding the movie are unclear. Throwing this kind of deranged carnival may seem like a strange way to save the football team’s club house, but that is exactly the reasoning behind it. With these images in mind, overlay some color filters to simulate the actual drug trips of the characters and you have a decent idea of what the film looks like. A decent portion of the movie is dedicated to trippy montages of a carnival that can only be described as the hellish combination of the dreams of a six-year-old and an over-sexed young adult - some of the results are absolutely terrifying, while others, like a hot tub full of mojitos, almost sound like good ideas (emphasis on almost). In fact, what little there is of an overarching plot is purely a device on which to hang the numerous antics documented for this film. There are plenty of subplots in “Thadland,” and most of them have nothing to do with the overarching plot of the movie. This movie is an experiment in taking the Thad character to the least (most?) logical extreme possible and reveling in the carnage that ensues. Everything hinges on the hilarious, larger-than-life personality of this living, breathing caricature. The real star, of course, is the man himself, Thad Castle (Alan Ritchson). Sammy (Romanski) is obsessed with being the mascot, Harmon (James Cade) is the druggy of druggies and Larry (Omari Newton) is still a hilarious sidekick. The writers, Eric Falconer, Alan Ritchson and Chris Romano (aka Romanski), did a good job of bringing in just about every supporting character from the series, even those who had left early on, making sure every fan gets a bit of their favorite shenanigans. Many of the supporting characters’ jokes that will have fans rolling on the floor will leave those not in the know scratching their heads or cradling their stomachs. Watching this movie without having first seen the TV series is doable, but inadvisable. While it’s nice that Spike is seeking to widen its narrow unscripted profile, by hewing so closely to its formula, the net has simply made this too-blue “Mountain” into a comedic molehill.Fans of “Blue Mountain State” (2010-2011), Spike TV’s ridiculous satire of football culture at state colleges, rejoice! After departing with the show’s almost-inexplicable cancellation after three seasons, the Mountain Goats are back for a last big hurrah with “Blue Mountain State: The Rise of Thadland” (2016), a feature-length homage that brings back a lot of old faces and classic jokes. One-time college star Ed Marinaro has been cast as the team’s hard-driving coach, but despite the participation of “Varsity Blues” director Brian Robbins, any inspiration casting-wise pretty well ends there - and not incidentally, most of the college underclassmen look about 35. (The uniforms, by the way, bear a strong resemblance to Boise St., a relatively new NCAA power.) They include freshman running back Craig and hazer-in-chief Thad (played by Sam Jones III and Alan Ritchson, respectively, both alums of “Smallville”) readily available coeds sexually adventurous cougars and stunts like a race involving cookies wedged in butt cheeks.įX has enjoyed some recent success with crude comedy, but “Blue Mountain” embraces that aspect of Spike’s mandate over all else - putting the bodily function/semi-nudity cart before the sitcom horse. That would be the character of Alex (Darin Brooks), a backup quarterback who - fearing his dad’s humdrum existence - doesn’t really want to play instead, he’s content to screw coeds and drink with his nerdy roommate Sammy (played by series co-creator Romanski, who goes by one name), sucking all he can out of the college experience before disappearing into anonymous middle age.Īlas, Alex is just a small part of a squad otherwise drawn from an utterly familiar playbook. The surprising part is that there’s actually an interesting crumb hidden within “BMS” that’s sadly overshadowed by its thudding excess.
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