Disaster - Der Film

I just had the luck to see this film at the Hamburg Fantasy Film Fest and loved it, why? It is so far out and funny, in all shades, good humour, bad humour and very bad humour. A little like the Team America makers decided to save the budget by using wax puppets and use the saved cash for really bad substances (I know of course that this is not the case, but look at it and you should see what I mean ;-)) The plot follows the Armageddon script and has some very recognizable scenes almost exactly taken from, it well, momentarily to change drastically and create humour this way and it works! If you like your puppet comedies tough, go and see this one. If you mind bad language and/or explicit themes and scenes, maybe reconsider...

At first, I had my reservations about this movie. I wasn't a big fan of Team America:World Police, and I had heard that this was along a similar vein. Fortunately, I decided to see it anyway, and I laughed harder than I have in a long time. Don't get me wrong, this movie is offensive to just-about every demographic imaginable, but it is in a tongue in cheek way, as opposed to a mean-spirited way. If you can't stand foul language, sex, graphic violence, nudity, and racial stereotypes acted-out by clay figures, then this movie is not for you. But, if you have a sense of humor, like Naked Gun-like physical comedy, and witty, biting dialog, then you must see this movie!

As the title suggests it is definitely a disaster of a movie. In the Netherlands I found this title in the 0,50 Euro bin, but it wasn't even worth that amount. The humor is over over over the top, the script would not have been approved even by a 12-year old who loves fart jokes and naked dolls, which is basically 3/4 of the movie. The endless repetition of this type of jokes made for a 90 minute film that felt like it had a running time of 90 hours. I'm afraid to be caught throwing the DVD in the thrash and somebody noticing it. It would reveal I actually watched this movie.

Many many negative stars.

Just don't watch it......

When a movie tells us from the beginning that it is not going to be anywhere near any political correctness, you know what to expect. At least you should and some of the jokes will be more than predictable. A lot of violence, flatulence and nudity ensues. Now does that sound like something you might find funny? Because if not stay clear of this.

And let's make one thing clear: I didn't rate this based on me liking everything I saw, but by the fact that it took the ball and ran with it. It is consistent from start to finish, which is something you can admire about this, no matter what you think of the content. Juvenille and gross this is spoofing distaster movies left and right ... all the way to Armageddon!

"Disaster! The Movie" is a weird mix of the profound and the profane. The profound: a good reflection of our own reflection (ref. Borat's humor). The very fact that the movie's stereotypes and clichés can be funny at times says something about our own values/views of the world. (Guilty...I laughed out-loud at times.) The profane: fart jokes, racism, sexism, homophobia, lackluster plot. Although the plot was soft, the writers have a good eye for those nonsensical sensibilities which seem to SELL and which have been so deadly to quality movies. Also; terrific animation,production values and talented voices. The "Director's Comments" and"Behind-the-Scenes" extras are interesting. If you like "South Park"and "Team America", then give it a try.