It's a Disaster - Bist du bereit?

It's a Disaster (2012)

You might not click with this movie right away, or at all, if you don't like the very ordinary style and very ordinary people this group of eight is meant to portray. I recognized too many of my friends, or friends of friends, in these clichéd types of people, and thought the acting and the situation very realistic.

Realistic within the bounds of a really funny somewhat absurdist comedy.

At first you have a gossipy parody of a weekend "couples brunch" where four couples converge, and have been regularly converging, to catch up and have fun. Except that secretly many of them really dread it, and there is some posing and whispering. As a viewer you enjoy the repartee, which is often pretty funny in a laugh out loud way, and you also try to figure out who is who, and whose is whose (the couples include at least one case of infidelity between them which complicates that part).

And I admit I might not have lasted an hour and half of this interplay, no matter how well performed. (To be emphasized, all eight are vivid and convincing in their own ways. It's the core of the movie that these are believable types.)

But you won't need patience once the huge (huge) twist comes along. It's a classic "ship of fools" scenario, and it's compressed into a very short space: a bunch of distinctive types of people find themselves trapped together in a crisis. That's just the interesting starting point, because it's how, exactly, those kind of people respond to crisis that makes it fascinating.

It works. We get to know the four or five most important people really quickly and when things shift and reactions mount--and the jokes keep flowing--you'll be right along for the ride. Some might call this a dark comedy since the backdrop becomes exceedingly dire, but the reality of that darkness is never salient. The humor, right to the very last three seconds, is cutting and bright.

Why, quite, this isn't a masterpiece is one of those amorphous mysteries of the movies. It lacks, I suppose, some sense of air, or of knowing-ness, or of a style that suffuses whether you quite realize it or not. Something about the very ordinariness of it all makes it wriggle in a sufficiency that keeps it from rising up, or getting really gritty. I don't think it's a flaw. It might even wear well over the years. But it makes some of the weaker characters and weaker lines glare just slightly.

See this? Yes! If you just hate the characters after ten minutes, you might give up. Even after the big twist about twenty minutes in the movie is very character driven. But if you sort of like their company and their humor, dive in and hang on. It's a hoot.

"It's a Disaster" turned out to be anything but a disaster. This movie really took me by surprise, and turned out to be a really great movie. Especially because of the colorful and interesting characters that were portrayed in the movie.

The story is about a couples brunch that goes totally awry when a disaster strikes downtown, putting the couples patience, trust and friendship to the test.

There is a good amount of laughs in the movie, and they work out well because the scenes are nicely choreographed and planned. But what really makes this movie work is the characters in the movie, and the actors/actresses that were on the cast list to portray these characters. In my opinion, then America Ferrera and David Cross stood out from the others, and did a marvelous job. That being said, I am not saying that the rest of the cast didn't do a great job, far from it. The best character in the movie, however, was Hal Lousteau (played by Todd Berger). It was just a shame that he wasn't in the movie all that long.

The type of comedy found in "It's a Disaster" is the type of comedy that you'll either enjoy tremendously or not at all. Personally, I found it very enjoyable, and the movie really entertained me.

If you enjoy comedies and want something that is not overly Hollywood-mainstream, then give "It's a Disaster" a go - it might just be the thing you have been looking for.

I saw this today as part of the New Orleans Film Festival. It is so funny, yet I think still pretty realistic (to an extent). I believe they said it would have a limited theater release in February (the director hopes on Valentines Day because that would be so funny considering the context of the film), and he said it should release on iTunes the same day, so you can see it anywhere. I definitely cannot wait until then so I can see it again. I'd say it's not a movie for everybody because some of the humor is a bit out there, but it's totally my taste, and it's not often I like comedies. The story was well written, and the characters change throughout the film, and it's really interesting how each character handles the disaster differently, and you can really relate to at least one of them. There are even some great surprises throughout the film. I was fortunate enough to hear the director speak about his film afterwards, and he really tuned us in to some of the foreshadowing elements present, and that's one of the reasons I want to see it again. This movie is perfect for anyone who has ever been in any sort of relationship and who doesn't have your conventional sense of humor.

The comedy group The Vacationeers has written a different take on end-of-the-world genre. Four couples meet up for a brunch, only to have it disrupted by a massive attack.

Julia Stiles and David Cross are the newly dating couple only on their third date. They're the big names on this film. Erinn Hayes and Blaise Miller are having trouble with their marriage. Rachel Boston and Kevin M. Brennan are the brash sexual couple. Jeff Grace and America Ferrera are unable to get marry even though they are long engaged.

It takes a while to get the lay of the land with all these couple. Once the incident happens, there is a burst of energy and lots of hilarity ensues. Then the story gets uneven with some slow spots and some funny bits.

The one glaring problem is the guys in the group. The members of The Vacationeers are just not up to the caliber of David Cross. Very few people are, and none of those people are in this movie. They don't have the same screen presence. In contrast, all the girls in this movie are top rate. They all bring a little something different to the table.

This movie certainly had its moments. The energy does dissipate somewhat after the chaos of the attack. So it ends up as a good film that could have been great.

I quite enjoyed this movie. Usually a end-of-the-world-movie involves lots of explosions but this movie took a whole different view on it.

The plot was genius: put a bunch of friends together, add a new person and make the world end. Taking place in a single house was a real nice idea, the mystery of not knowing what was going on outside really helped the plot.

The interactions the characters had in this film where funny, crazy and believable. Though its not a comedy where you are laughing all the time I found myself laughing more than in most big comedies.

Top notch acting really added to the experience. You normally don't expect such a cast in a low budget movie.