7 Days in Hell

Ridiculous but funny.

A "documentary" on the rivalry between and American tennis player, Aaron Williams (played by Andy Samberg), and an English tennis player, Charles Poole (Kit Harrington, of Game of Thrones fame). Focuses largely on the match where their rivalry reached a climax - Wimbledon 2001, 1st round - a match that took seven days...

Just from that you'll know this is not going to be a conventional, even realistic, comedy. It is incredibly over-the-top, to good effect. Some of the scenarios are so out there you can't believe anyone ever thought of putting it into a movie. However, this is HBO...

Not brilliant though. It often does rely on shock value for its laughs, and the writing does feel a bit sloppy at times.

Can't fault the cast though. Samberg and Harrington are great in the lead roles. Solid support from a host of big names: Michael Sheen, Mary Steenburgen, Lena Dunham, Fred Armisen, Howie Mandel plus several stars as themselves: John McEnroe, Chris Evert, Serena Williams, David Copperfield.

Outrageous fun.

As long as you understand that it is intentionally dumb, then you will laugh through the whole thing. It's not trying to be like Blades of Glory or any other sports parody like that, it's just a dumb comedy that really is hilarious.

There are some scenes that go on too long, and moments of sex and general nudity that probably didn't need to be there. In other words, it's fitting for the HBO crowd but not for a whole family to sit down and watch.

Kit Harrington definitely stole the show, every second he was on screen was completely hilarious. I might just be too big of a Jon Snow fan, but I thought his character and his performance alone makes this worth watching.

I must assume that this started as an idea for a skit, but they kept adding on jokes until they realized that they couldn't go any further. At a bit over 40 minutes, this skit is just about as long as it could be. And they cram those 40 minutes full of gags. And all the people involved seems like they are having a great time.

I laughed at many parts of this, as crazy/over-the-top comedy often can be quite funny, especially delivered in a dead pan way. I wish they would have gone further in getting the actor's to play it straight. Kit Harington does a great job, not acknowledging (with his acting) that he is playing in a comedy. Many of the other people appearing in the movie are almost winking at the camera.

The scenes in Swedish are quite fun, as the Swedish actor actually says his lines in Swedish, while Samberg channels the Swedish chef from the muppets show.

Not at all what I expected when I saw the trailer. They pushed the envelope as far as possible when making this movie and it paid off. How unexpected some of the things are in this movie is what makes it so funny. Andy Samberg and Kit Harrington play their roles perfectly Definitely do not watch this movie with any children or your parents depending on your situation. The unexpected cameos in this movie are incredible. They got the most random people possible to be in this movie. Do not go into this movie with high hopes, accept it as it is. You will not be disappointed. So many things about this movie are incredible. 7 Days in Hell is 100% worth the watch.

"They could theoretically play forever, which is scary for somebody like me who doesn't much like watching tennis."

Jake Szymanski's 7 Days in Hell is a spoof of sport documentary films similar in style to the 30 For 30 ESPN series. This hilarious 40 minute short written by Murray Miller, stars Andy Samberg and Kit Harington as two famous tennis players who made history when their Wimbledon match lasted seven days. Since the film is made in documentary style format we get fun interviews from the likes of Serena Williams, David Copperfield, and John McEnroe among others. Samberg plays Aaron Williams, a wild athlete who was raised by the Williams' family (A racial reversal of The Blind Side as Serena jokingly claims). Despite his wild behavior and crazy hair he quickly climbed the tennis ranks. However when he was about to reach the pinnacle of his career, a crazy incident during a final match forced him to abandon tennis and retrieve to Sweden. During his absence, a new star arose: Charles Poole (Kit Harrington), a well mannered mama's boy British player who is not too bright. During an interview he claimed to be the best tennis player of all time and that is what sparked Williams to want to return. Upon his comeback, the two face off in court during the first round of Wimbledon and what ensues is simply hilarious.

Sport fans everywhere will have a great time with this short spoof documentary full of silly and witty humor. It is absurd and overly raunchy so the humor might not work for everyone. We all know what Samberg is capable of, so Harrington is the one who truly surprises here with his comedy. Williams reminded me of a young Agassi and of course they went over the top with this character. The side-stories that at times seem to be getting off track work to the film's advantage. They include animated scenes in Swedish prisons and a short bio of a famous jury cartoonist. The producers knew exactly how far they could go with this premise and at 40 minutes they seemed to reach the perfect running time before the joke ran out of steam. It would've been a mistake to make this a full length feature film.

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