Blue Mountain State: The Rise of Thadland

Blue Mountain State was a series that was absolutely hilarious, celebrating the college campus drinking culture of many US establishments of higher education, bro culture, near complete disregard of women beyond their physical attributes and despite purportedly being about a football team a single game was seen across 3 complete series. Backed up by a cast of 1 dimensional characters the TV show BMS was a hedonistic feast for male 13-20 something viewers everywhere.

The Rise of Thadland however did not capture this same magic in any respect. Although featuring that same cast of characters they seem slightly out of place in this new feature, hollow renditions of previously well loved caricatures. The plot of the film is simple enough and totally predictable in as many aspects of a traditional BMS episode. However where the TV show's plot lines were funny the film's felt as though a single BMS episode had been stretched to the 90 minute mark. Unfortunately such stretching left the film mostly mirthless and in many respects just plain sad as there weren't enough jokes to go around despite some brief moments of hilarity.

Overall I give credit to the showrunners in trying to milk what was a very entertaining golden calf. However they ended up merely flogging a dead horse.

.... in that it gives closure on an awesome TV show in a more entertaining than expected fashion. Fans will love it!

Granted it's not all exactly the same. Different Goathouse, not all the cast is there (but more than I expected really) and it's just not the same without Rev Theory, but other than that....

DUDE! This is what fans have been waiting for!!! Thad was only a supporting character on the show at first and like Urkel on steroids (or rabies) he immediately became the star of the show and thus the center of the movie. But really Thad is BMS! And his story is our story. Only with more sloots.

The trailer only covers like the first half hour of the movie so there is much more to see I promise. We do see what has become of the other characters... Larry for instance. Radon and even Craig Shilo make an appearance. Coach has an interesting little plot line that is pulled from the headlines. Donnie has an arc of sorts... Sammy and Mary Jo are there and I dare say even Alex gets a sort of closure. But remember... This all takes place before the start of the season so there is plenty of room to add future BMS adventures!

It's not perfect but it's better than we could've hoped for, waaaaay more graphic than Spike would allow (language, full frontal sloots) and drug use galore!!! If you get past the party scenes the story picks up a bit more and there are even a couple of their trademark film spoofs. Alan Ritchson has made a name for himself doing a variety of film roles but will always be known as Thad Castle. He's a producer on this piece and hat's off to him and the whole team who kept the dream alive and made this awesome film. Watching the behind the scenes stuff on YouTube really makes one realize how limited they were filming; I'm glad they pulled it off. Kudos.

THADLAND is a must see for any true BMS fan and gives the characters and this world the over-the-top; egotistical; insane yet cathartic send off that the show never could. God Bless America and God Bless Blue Mountain State!

First of all, I've seen the series about 10 times, I'm a huge fan of BMS. Therefore I was very excited about the movie.

First of all, I'm not saying that the movie is not funny. It IS funny but there are some scenes that makes me want to thank Spike TV that they didn't let all the weird ideas of Romanski & Eric Falconer appear on the TV screen (Sammy & the Goat).

My problem is, that we didn't get what we were promised in the kickstarter video. We didn't see Thad graduate and go into the NFL. We didn't see Alex graduate and "fulfill his destiny on and off the field" Radon's and Shilo's "comeback" was like the most disappointing thing in the movie Plus, they've said that they would shoot the film on the same locations, where they had the series. I understand why they had to make a new goat house, but it just doesn't feel the same.

As they've said, if the movie will be a success, the series might come back. I hope if they do a season 4, they will do a different story, or just make some twist to make this movie forgotten (maybe that it all was just Thad's dream)

The intro of the movie is great and starts really strong, but as soon as it's over the 'new' BMS is shown. Different goat house and different uniforms for both the football players and cheerleaders. Something that is definitely going to disappoint the fans and hardcore viewers, right in the beginning.

The first forty minutes of the movie will feel different but will stay true to the series. At this point is arguably the 'peak' of the movie, the conversation between Donnie and Mary Jo. This is truly the only part something new comes up and the only one with little taste of character development, for the whole movie (One of the biggest issues).

Then, there's a hilarious scene with Alex Moran and Mary Jo, but afterwards is mostly comedy for the sake of comedy. Characters go off character and the movie stop feeling like the series and it becomes almost boring, but it's still enjoyable.

The movie certainty doesn't live to series expectations, the jokes aren't as funny and the movie fails to capture the immersion of the series. The movie is not bad, if you enjoyed the series this is a must watch, but don't expect any closure or story follow up from the series (Thad's NFL story line is just too flat, little is shown and it doesn't work well).

This movie is pretty much just a reunion with a big party, and that is very well delivered. If you watch BMS for the parties, boobies and drugs, this movie will be perfect for you.

A Little Out There, A Lot of Chaos, But Still Got That BMS Heart

Let's not pretend it lived up to the show - because it didn't. Rise of Thadland is what happens when you let the party run a little too long and the keg's been tapped one too many times. It's over-the-top, self-aware, and completely unhinged - which is BMS, to be fair. But the difference here? It starts to feel like a parody of itself instead of the cult classic that earned its name.

What Worked Thad Castle (Alan Ritchson) is still an unstoppable force of absurdity. He is the movie, and without him, this whole thing would collapse like a beer pong table under a linebacker.

Moments of nostalgia hit right - especially if you were ride-or-die for the show. The characters still have chemistry, and when the jokes land, they really land.

The party scenes were turned up to 1000 - wild, ridiculous, and basically a fever dream with glitter and steroids.

What Fell Flat The plot? Barely there. It's a vibe more than a story.

Too many gags pushed the envelope without a real payoff. It was chaos without the clever.

Missed that balance the show had - where the insanity still had some kind of anchor. This one drifted a bit too far off the rails.

Bottom Line

It's not terrible. It's just not Blue Mountain State at its best. Think of it like that one last round at the bar you probably didn't need - fun in the moment, but not something you'd call a classic the next day.

Still good. Still got laughs.

But the original series? That was legendary.