"What's a town with no ducks, JTRO?"
"'Dance Dance Revolution,' but make it deadly?" Sure, why not, it's a concept just ridiculous enough to catch my attention. Thankfully, it's made clear right from the very start that the idea is played entirely for laughs - played very straight, mind you, but so absolutely, outrageously over the top that one will either be having a fantastic time within minutes, or turning off the movie just as quickly. Sibling filmmakers Brandon and Jason Trost have whipped up a fabulously farcical flight of fancy that comes right out of the gate with sheer bombast, indifferent to the slightest notion of restraint. The costume design,the hair and makeup work, the characters and dialogue, the scene writing, the narrative: from top to bottom 'The FP' is a pure lark, down to the overcooked acting of a cast that fully embraces the tomfoolery. From top to bottom it's a pure lark that plainly imitates and reshapes more sincere sports films, or stories about archetypal "old dogs" who are called back into action, or other preexisting material. Whether you love it or hate it, I don't think there's any disputing that everyone involved just wholly, unreservedly threw themselves into this nonsense, and it's hard not to appreciate that gusto.
The Trosts' direction and screenplay are both just as cheekily overdone, and cast and crew alike let their imaginations run wild to bring to life every most ludicrous inclusion. There's very little here that isn't a trope, twisted and exaggerated into the weirdest of shapes - including, yes, the obligatory training sequence. From the looks of the characters, to the production design and art direction cobbling together the locales they inhabit, to the music that's filled with videogame-ready tunes, this is a kaleidoscope of color and chicanery. Yet for as absurd as it is across the board, none of it is sloppy, or accidental. No contribution is given less than utmost care. The worst I think I could say is that sometimes the end result is too blustery for its own good; Lee Valmassy, for example, is so exuberant in his deliberately outlandish portrayal of L Dubba E that I'm not sure whether the aggravation I feel is owing to the character being set up as the antagonist, or the consciously far-fetched acting being overbearing. Yet Sarah Trost's costume design is nothing if not imaginative; George Holdcroft's soundtrack is wonderfully flavorful. Far-out as the writing is, there are no specific faults in the screenplay, and the Trosts' direction is solid. Brandon Trost's cinematography is actually kind of... beautiful? Abe Levy's editing is deft. And to accentuate: all actors on hand unremittingly give of themselves, whatever the ballyhoo requires at any given time.
Tremendous hard work went into 'The FP' in every last regard, and no matter how garish, it really does look and sound great. Of course, I could do without the absolutely unnecessary casual use of homophobic slurs, without the underhanded transphobia, and with more diversity in the cast - under no circumstances could this be called perfect. Yet by and large the chief question is how much one can get on board with the intentionally extreme, ham-handed, heavy-handed, pompous swagger of the feature. This is a comedy that's much more wryly satirical than outright funny, a romp for those who love B-movies, hate sports movies, and are fully receptive to all the wide, wacky, whimsical possibilities that cinema has to offer. The nice thing about this picture is that within only the first minutes we can immediately glean an understanding of whether it's something that will entertain, or irritate, on a case by case basis, and the premise alone speaks volumes. For those open to what 'The FP' represents - just sit back, relax, and enjoy the cheesy baloney.
