Animais Corporativos

Nobody's finest hour.

It has some humourous moments but ultimately lacks a tight script and direction to make it work.

The actors are good performers in this. I just didn't like the storyline. Pace was slow, and situation was uncomfortable, but I get that is what the filmmakers were going for. They succeeded. I just felt uncomfortable watching all these adults behave like spoiled brats among each other. Just not my cup of tea. Didn't find it entertaining.

I really enjoyed it.

Thought this would be a crap raunchy comedy. I was wrong. It's a sharp shooting dark comedy.

Hilarious in the most subtle of ways.

"Not my arm! It's where I keep my watch" Great cast. And it had a good ending which is rare.

Greetings again from the darkness. Filmmaker Patrick Brice is building a career on films that leave us with an unsettled, even conflicted feeling on whether we should "like" them or not. He certainly has little time for 'normal' characters, and heroic behavior rarely enters a scene. His latest is written by Sam Bain (PEEP SHOW, and son of Emmy winning director Bill Bain), and it fits perfectly into the offbeat comedy realm of Mr. Brice's previous two CREEP films (with Mark Duplass) and THE OVERNIGHT (2015).

The film kicks off was an advertisement (in the pre-production stage) for Incredible Edibles, a bio-friendly company that produces edible cutlery (a comical visual). Featured in the ad is the company's ruthless CEO Lucy, played by Demi Moore. Lucy has arranged a Team Building outing for her employees in the mountains of New Mexico. The expedition is led by Brandon (Ed Helms, THE HANGOVER), a Bear Gryllis type who easily evaluates the team's incongruent pieces. After advising against Lucy's demand for the "Advanced" trail, Brandon gives in since 'the check has cleared'. He proceeds to lead the team on a repelling adventure down into a stunning cavern.

Just when it looks like the "advanced" trail was the right call, a cave-in occurs, trapping the team with no escape route, and little food or water. It's at this point when we realize that most of Lucy's management style seems to have originated in a 'get tough' management book from the 1960's. She has no real instinct on how to treat people, and mostly just bullies and tricks them. Ms. Moore's character and performance could easily be viewed as a spoof of her DISCLOSURE role with some uncomfortable laughs. We even get a Harvey Weinstein punchline.

Noticeable right away is the terrific comedic cast. Lucy's team consists of Jess (Jessica Williams, BOOKSMART), Freddie (Karan Soni, DEADPOOL), Derek (Isiah Whitlock Jr, CEDAR RAPIDS), Gloria (Martha Kelly, "Baskets"), Billy (Dan Bakkedahl, SWORD OF TRUST), May (Jennifer Kim, "The Blacklist"), Suzy (Nasim Padrad, ALADDIN), and intern Aidan (Calum Worthy, "American Vandal"). This is an exceptionally talented group of funny people who know how to deliver a line. Some of the funniest moments are the 'throwaway' lines being uttered in between the main dialogue. That's where the real comedy gold is buried, so listen closely.

Although the film is a comedy, it also boasts some elements of horror and suspense. Lucy's twisted idealism is the basis for some of this, as is the team's situation as things become more dire (think ALIVE blended with any workplace comedy). We learn the company is teetering on financial failure, and as one might expect in a confined area, workplace resentments and true feelings begin to rear up. The script never quite takes on business satire, focusing instead on personal reactions to a bleak situation. Even Gary Sinise and Britney Spears are included in the comic elements, and while some will find this to be a fitting midnight movie, others will once again be left wondering what to make of Patrick Brice's films. And maybe that's the point.

I was very interested in seeing what Patrick Brice does next (Creep & Creep 2 are, in my opinion, awesome genre movies) and I'm not happy to say that "Corporate Animals" feels like a flop in each and every way.

Many reviews state the very same flaws and I can't find any better words, because they're right - it feels like a stretched out character sketch with a very shallow plot, uninventive sitatuations, most of the humor is based on archaic social stereotypes & all the social commentary in the script is old and tiring already, which is also the case regarding the characters. You've seen all this or close variations of all this somewhere before. Nevertheless, the actors seemed to do their best with the script they've been given & there are a few crank-out-a-smile moments. The plot never really takes off, never builds up to anything, eventually feeling repeatitive. In other words, there are some pacing issues. In the light of all the negative aspects it's hard to compliment anything else, what we've still left is the visual side of the movie, and, well, it's simply alright. There are a few tiny, cool surprises, one in a form of an animated dream.

"Corporate Animals" is a painfully average 90 minute comedy sketch & the kind of a horror comedy that You can pass on while not missing anything. I recommend it for those who like the cast, comedy on the corporate themes or to those who want to see how Patrick Brice underwhelms You after the Creep duology. My rating: 5/10