Haggard

When I first heard of this movie, I was mildly interested. The plot seemed like an opportunity for hilarity and Bam Margera as an actor and director seemed like something that might be good. When I found out the movie starred Ryan Dunn, I was even further interested (I was a fan of Homewrecker when it was on... Yeah, I'm that lame). However, I didn't have much faith in it being to good. When I sat down to watch it, I was afraid I was wasting my time.

But even just five minutes it it became apparent that I'd been wrong.

I thought that the comedy of this film was delightfully idiotic, and definitely not suited for all kinds of people. The acting was rather good, much better than my expectations. I thought that it was rather easy to relate to Ryan's character, which gave the movie a center that was believable. This is key in a movie as outrageous as this (and is probably why I was not a fan of Borat).

The movie is not suitable at all for younger people, DUH, and will definitely create more than it's fair share of awkward turtles if watched with parents. But it's a good one for you and your buddies on a movie night.

In honor of the late Ryan Dunn, I felt I needed to watch Haggard: The Movie. I watched the sequel to the film made six years after this, Minghags, and really enjoyed it. Seeing this one, it clears up a lot of the confusion I had with Minghags. I wasn't aware this was the predecessor to the film, but seeing it now, really makes me take a liking to Bam Margera's independent style of filmmaking.

Before Jackass, Bam Margera took part in a series of videos he called CKY (named after the band). He wound up making several volumes of him and his friends, like Raab Himself, Ryan Dunn, Rake Yohn, etc, goofing around and being themselves. Then he went on to be a member of Jackass and do his own MTV shows like Bam's Unholy Union and Viva La Bam. Haggard: The Movie was the middle of the road coming out in 2003. A year after the first Jackass movie.

It's supposedly a true story remade with the characters in the movie are played by Bam's friends. Ry (Dunn) is upset when he finds out his girlfriend Glauren (Rivell) wants time apart. He then realizes that she is hanging out with a heavy-metal punk nicknamed Hellboy (Yohn). To help their friend out, Valo (Margera), Falcone (DiCamillo), and Raab Himself (Raab) all try to vandalize Glauren's house. But Ry is still sinking deeper and deeper into a mental depression.

The humor is totally up my alley with lots of rough housing, name calling, and well acted, natural conversations. The movie is not too long or too short. It is perfectly managed. The only downside is it has one montage too many. Many of the montages in the movie are set to skateboarders with rock music by CKY, Gnarkill, and H.I.M. in the background. I have no problem with any of the music played, but there are at least four montages in the film that go on for way too long.

Other than that, the film is pretty close to perfect. I was under the assumption that since most of these guys are used to doing dangerous stunts they couldn't really do justice acting in a full length movie. I was way off. They pulled if off perfectly. In no way was I expected Bam and Dunn could both act as well as they did.

Between the soundtrack, the filming style, the humor, the acting, and the story, Haggard: The Movie wins in every category. Except the fact that the number of montages can be tedious, and the subplot of an invention doesn't really take off as much, but we see it done with more in the sequel. Haggard: The Movie is not only a great film, but a great way to remember an amazing actor and daredevil.

Starring: Ryan Dunn, Jenn Rivell, Bam Margera, Brandon DiCamillo, Chris Raab, Rake Yohn, and Vincent Margera.

If you are looking for a movie that doesn't take itself seriously... than Haggard is for you. I must say before i write anything more, that if you have not seen any of the CKY (Camp Kill Yourself) videos than the movie most likely won't be AS funny. My advice is to watch a few clips of those videos that Bam and his friends made. Haggard does not take itself seriously AT all, and that was never the purpose. Throughout the movie you will have random moments that have nothing to do with the plot, which may get annoying but its nothing that is out of control. Even through all that the plot does stay focused and the story of Ryan Dunn's character does unfold quite nicely. This plot i have been told is based off a true story (for the most part)of Ryan Dunn's ex-girlfriend. Brandon Dicamillo is by far the best character in the movie. He has a lot of talent and knows how to make people laugh. He stole the movie if you ask me. Overall I love this movie for its simplicity and straight up weirdness. Its a Bam movie people, its not going to be normal. Haggard is filled with hilarious quotes that my friends and I constantly used since the first time we saw it. I've seen the movie 6-7 times and still find new things every time. The soundtrack is just as good. Everything from Gnar Kill to New Order and some techno. Just don't go into the movie with high expectations, let it all unfold and then judge it for what it is.

If you've seen the skits that Bam and crew do on CKY, this is basically a cross between that and a funny but generic comedy. I enjoyed it but I wasn't expecting a "real" movie.

Ryan Dunn, who apparently the plot is based on, is really the only one who seems to act decently and isn't so cartoonish that he's unbelievable. Bam does a passable job acting -basically just playing himself. Chris Raab stays in his retarded Marlon Brando character and Don Vito is basically himself dressed as Julius Caeser and you can go with that since people do have crazy relatives in real life. Brandon Dicamillo just does the over the top characters he does on the CKY videos which is fine in CKY but it takes you out of the suspension of disbelief a little too much. Between his silly skit characters (one of them has a "beard" that looks like a bag of cotton balls glued together) and the film breaking into random music video-esquire skate montages, it doesn't seem like a narrative movie anymore.

There is potential -the cinematography, directing and editing are all pretty good, though at times self-indulgent, and fans of CKY should enjoy it but I wish it would either try to be a "real" and believable movie or just be over the top ridiculous and funny. It seems to try to be both at once... and that is where it fails. Again, I enjoyed it despite the flaws but I think it would be more interesting to see Bam try to make a real film and not A CKY video with a plot.

When I first saw this movie I didn't know what to think of it. I thought it could have been better. Later that same day I was at work and the movie was all I thought about. There's so many things going on in the movie that have never really been introduced or haven't been introduced in that shape or form yet in a movie. So after thinking about it I thought it was good, then I watched it for a second time and I liked it better that time then the first time I saw it. The second time you see it you already know about all the ideas floating around in the movie and you can easily enjoy it more the second time. There are some things I dont understand like Bam skating in between some scenes, and Hannah laughing hysterically from the window which some other people may find funny I just didnt get the humor behind it. I give this film 3 out of 5. I think Chris Raab's character really made the movie funny. I'd like to see what Bam's next film would be like if he plans to make another. I would like to see him grow as a director.