Characterz

Is this a low budget film? Yes. But it made me smile more than anything else i've seen recently, especially from the big studios. And it was clean enough that i can show my parents. (not really for kids as they won't get most of it.)

Okay, this isn't a comedy classic. It is, however, an enjoyable film that, surprisingly, trades in sex jokes, gratuitous nudity, and crudity for situational humor and some surprisingly compassionate lessons about serving others and making their lives better. Don't let that scare you off: it isn't the sanctimonious slog it sounds like. Never heard of Mitchel Musso, but he apparently appeared in some Disney kids' series, including HANNAH MONTANA. This movie doesn't fall too far from a modern Disney channel ethos. His Tucker is a likeable schlub who listens to the Moody Blues (!) and dreams of becoming an animator/theme park creator. To finance his way to a California animation school, he takes a job at a local theme park as a costumed mascot. As he learns the ropes of the park's hierarchy and makes friends with the three other mascots (or "characterz"), he falls in love with Samantha, another mascot who also works in a local nursing home. With the help of his friends, he makes a special theme park experience for the residents of the home.

Director/writer Jon Binkowski capably offers up a funny, sometimes outlandish comedy while still giving us realistic characters. It would have been easy to portray Tucker as a lecherous loser, Samantha as a hot-to-trot bimbo, and the other characters as one-dimensional cliches while offering up one toilet joke set up after another, but Binkowski shows us a funny, compassionate young man who goes out of his way to create a great experience for a group of people his girlfriend (and also he) cares for. A modern comedy that offers up a wholesome life lesson--what a concept!

I can't even say this movie is mid because it's on such opposite spectrums of being good and bad. I can see it has heart and talent, and there were moments I enjoyed and felt conflicted in my opinion. But in the end, i felt like everything in the movie was pointless and boring. I was just annoyed that i wasted time watching it. The actual conflict of the movie lasts 10 minutes and is a half-baked idea, making the villain look like an idiot. The movie is just characters doing things, and none of it matters and is very cliche.

I actually liked the idea of an indie film focused on young adults who work at an amusement park, there were quite a few storylines and plots they could have expanded upon, or even take an entirely different route with the movie, but instead they did nothing. It's like they got an idea and forgot to write a script.

...as one of the theme park slogans says - yep, "Watch it Have Fun" isn't an empty promise, you will - if you like good laughs, aimed at a grown audience with brain (many movies don't require the latter) You won't get bored and you'll like the Character(z...+ the actors - and some epic ones icons of cinema are in it too!)

So I clearly liked this sweet film (and not only because I had the questionable pleasure to earn less than minimum wage as a furry oversized bear in a supermarket a loong loooong time ago) A little message for life is also included - you'll know when you've watched it. Write it in your review :)

...one question still remains for me: why has this little gem from 6y ago only one(1) review in here? (Before I wrote this there was just one) No clue. Hope this helps so some more people watch it and have a good time.