It's a Disaster

I quite enjoyed this movie. Usually a end-of-the-world-movie involves lots of explosions but this movie took a whole different view on it.

The plot was genius: put a bunch of friends together, add a new person and make the world end. Taking place in a single house was a real nice idea, the mystery of not knowing what was going on outside really helped the plot.

The interactions the characters had in this film where funny, crazy and believable. Though its not a comedy where you are laughing all the time I found myself laughing more than in most big comedies.

Top notch acting really added to the experience. You normally don't expect such a cast in a low budget movie.

I came to watch this movie because I'm a David Cross fan and it's the type of premise that appealed to me. I thought it did a great job of depicting the disaster w/out spending a lot of money. Special effects budget was probably somewhere around 200 bucks. It's structured similar to that Jodie Foster/John C. Reilly movie that came out recently, i.e. a couples get-together. Very funny but a lot of it might go over peoples heads if they're into more obvious comedies. It's starts easy, paced well throughout and had a great ending. A really good ending. I really want to mention my favorite parts but I wouldn't want to give any kind of spoiler. David Cross is a good barometer for whether or not you'd enjoy this. If you've heard his stand-up anyways. Watch it, and if you didn't like it, sorry. Just go watch Big Momma's House again and bask in your impeccable taste for comedy and superior intellect. Ciao homies.

"Johnny-crazy-balls over here is going to save us all from Armageddon." Every now and then a group of four couples get together for brunch at someone's house. Today is that day and Tracy (Stiles) is bringing her new boyfriend Glen (Cross) over to meet them for the first time. The conversation begins to unravel quickly and secrets come out that threaten to ruin the brunch, then they find out that the world may be coming to an end. This is another movie I didn't watch any of the previews for so I wasn't sure what to expect. I have to say that this is one of the funnies indi-comedies that I have seen and I laughed out loud just about the whole way through. The writing is so good and each character had his or her own little quirks which made it really fun to watch. This is the kind of movie where each joke builds on the next one and there is so much going on that you can't turn away nor do you want to. This is one of the funniest movies I have seen in awhile and I highly recommend seeing this. I loved it. Overall, another example of how the low budget under-the-radar movies are better then the big Hollywood blockbusters. I give it an A-.

The comedy group The Vacationeers has written a different take on end-of-the-world genre. Four couples meet up for a brunch, only to have it disrupted by a massive attack.

Julia Stiles and David Cross are the newly dating couple only on their third date. They're the big names on this film. Erinn Hayes and Blaise Miller are having trouble with their marriage. Rachel Boston and Kevin M. Brennan are the brash sexual couple. Jeff Grace and America Ferrera are unable to get marry even though they are long engaged.

It takes a while to get the lay of the land with all these couple. Once the incident happens, there is a burst of energy and lots of hilarity ensues. Then the story gets uneven with some slow spots and some funny bits.

The one glaring problem is the guys in the group. The members of The Vacationeers are just not up to the caliber of David Cross. Very few people are, and none of those people are in this movie. They don't have the same screen presence. In contrast, all the girls in this movie are top rate. They all bring a little something different to the table.

This movie certainly had its moments. The energy does dissipate somewhat after the chaos of the attack. So it ends up as a good film that could have been great.

Have you ever wondered what it would be like to find out that the world is ending? In most movies and TV shows, we see the characters either die a grisly death, or transform themselves into an everyday action hero. But It's A Disaster is not most movies, and it's all the better for it.

It's A Disaster follows Glen, played by the superb David Cross, as he is invited to a dinner party to meet his new girlfriend's group of friends. Soon after the dinner party starts, the group find out that a dirty bomb has been set off downtown and the radiation is going to kill them if they go outside. The rest of the movie follows each character as they each deal with the crisis in very different ways.

The tone is set right from the start, with a wonderful exchange about listening to the car radio. It has very little to do with anything but it is very funny, and this theme runs throughout. Fans of Seinfeld will be in heaven here, as a number of mundane social conventions are deconstructed hilariously, with each character providing a different angle to keep the comedy fresh. The acting and writing is top notch, with a number of well place dramatic beats punctuating the sharp comedy and a slew of memorable characters, the best of which is Shane; a geeky weirdo who seems to have been thinking about these types of situations way too much.

There are a few missteps; America Ferrera's character is more annoying than funny, there is a reveal about Glen which seemed to come out of nowhere and it starts to lose a little steam towards the end, but these are minor complaints in an otherwise highly enjoyable comedy. This is one dinner party you'll be happy to attend.

A sharply written and wonderfully acted comedy. It's A Disaster is anything but.