I Hope They Serve Beer in Hell

This is not a terrible movie, but it's not very good either.

I have not read the book but I have read and enjoyed the stories from Tucker's website in the past.

That said I was expecting more from this movie. There are some very funny moments but for the most part it was just boring. Pacing was the biggest problem with this movie, parts of it just plod along without anything happening that moves the story along. I honestly think this could have been made better but cutting about 15-20 minutes out of the film - of course by then the whole thing would have been about 45 minutes long.

There are some funny scenes but the rest just seems to be filler material. For instance, the first bar that Tucker and his pals visit and then walk out of - what was the point of that whole scene? It did not develop the story at all and should have wound up on the cutting room floor.

The movie, as a whole, seems to lack polish. As I said, cut about 15-20 minutes out of it and things would have been improved greatly but it would not have been long enough for a feature film.

I was compelled to make an account on this site to write a review after reading the three most recent reviews for I Hope They Serve Beer in Hell. Those three reviews were far more amusing than the movie itself. If they were fake (as I suspect)...nice. If they were genuine reviews...what is wrong with you? I'm not going to write an extensive, piece-by-piece review of this movie, because this is all you need to know: It really isn't funny. When I saw the movie, there were perhaps ten people in the theater. I do not recall hearing a single laugh from anyone. I was sincerely amused only once; I mostly just forced chuckles at things that I recognized from Tucker's book and web site--things that were infinitely more funny to read about than to see on screen. For whatever reason, Tucker's stories just do not translate well to film (or he did a very poor job of translating them to film). My one friend who came with me to the movie said, "It wasn't as good as I thought it was going to be." I would be embarrassed recommending this film to anyone. I still think Tucker's web site and book are pretty funny, but if you want to be entertained, don't bother with the movie version of I Hope They Serve Beer in Hell.

I think I chuckled once so that explains the two stars. Other than that, it's a movie about a total douche-bag who's told he's a douche-bag, realizes he's a douche-bag, thinks about not being a douche-bag but, in response, only amps up his douchiness.

Mind you, my critique of this movie isn't a critique of Tucker Max- I hadn't heard of King Douche until shortly before viewing this movie. The movie is poorly written, poorly paced and, generally, poorly acted. It hints at redemption but instead sees the opportunity as a chance for another half-wit joke.

On the plus side, a movie like this can serve as a useful metric for people you know and/or have just met- If they like this movie, or Tucker Max, then you'll know said person is a douche-bag.

The lead characters of this movie are smart - this much is readily apparent early on. I get it.

What I don't think anyone involved in this movie gets is that "smart" and "not funny" are not mutually exclusive.

The characters in the movie are smarter than the people they encounter - great. How do they wield it? By lording it over them; it's like shooting fish in a barrel. Only someone extremely insecure would take pleasure in this. Descriptions of the Tucker Max character as being a sociopath are not an exaggeration. The problem is that - unlike No Country for Old Men or The Shining (also featuring sociopaths)- this is supposed to be a comedy.

In addition, for all the talk of the realism of the dialog, it just sounds fake. All the clever diatribes and snipes one after another just seem like things you wish you'd said after the fact.

Movies are supposed to be about escape and I just couldn't relax into a world where this guy gets away with so much crap and basically walks away unscathed, having learned nothing.

Overall, I enjoyed this movie. I have read the book and have been a fan for quite a while now, and when I heard there would be a film I was very excited. That being said, I'm going to do the ultimate evil of comparing the movie to the book. I thought Dan's character was spot on and well drawn, while Drew's attitude may have been a little extreme, and Tucker just seemed slightly "off" somehow but overall a good representation. Some of their antics were quite hilarious, but the main problem I had with this movie was that so many lines were quoted directly from the book (and sometimes out of context), so I already knew exactly what the guys were going to say. I think if they hadn't tried so hard to stick to the exact wording some of the dialog could have been improved or expanded upon. It was a fun ride though, and Tucker even ended up learning a thing or two, which I'm not sure I can say for his book counterpart! If I was the director I would have spent more time telling other stories from the book to help establish the characters, and then move into a condensed version of the film as it is for the second half. If that had been the case, I probably would have given it 9 out of 10. People who haven't read the book probably feel thrust in the middle of something they don't quite understand, and may not want to understand. I feel that it was a good movie, and very funny, but with a slightly different approach it could have been an awesome movie.