Self-Indulgent And Unfunny
After watching this movie, I'm wondering why it was ever made. James Rolfe got internet famous a few years back when he posted a video review of Simon's Quest on Youtube. I thought it was pretty funny, as I had that game growing up and I voiced many of the same criticisms that he had.
And then he made another couple of videos using the same schtick. Play an old Nintendo game and make angry, vulgar rants. It was kind of funny the first few times but as the reviews became more elaborate, and by extension more forced, I lost interest. Rolfe is at his best when he is legitimately angry with a game that scarred him during his childhood. He's not very funny when he writes skits to accompany the video, as he's not a very good writer and he's definitely not an accomplished actor.
So when Rolfe's reviews got popular and he started doing in-store signings, I think he started letting it go to his head. I mean, who wants the signature of a guy who makes youtube video game reviews? Let alone drive to a store to get said signature? It was about this time that he started talking about making an AVGN movie. My question then is the same as it is now: why? I think the answer comes down to ego and an inflated sense of self-worth. This is apparent in the film where everyone asks him for his autograph and basically worship him as some sort of guru god. I thought at first it was just to establish the fact that the Nerd has a following, but after several minutes of such nonsense it becomes clear that James Rolfe actually believes that he is as famous as he portrays himself in the film.
The second biggest flaw in this film is the token black sidekick that was added for no apparent reason other than to have a person of color in the movie. This guy can't act, which is saying a lot for this film as nobody else puts in much of a performance either, but this guy is especially lousy. And he's in every scene! It was like they needed a black guy so badly for the film that they took the first person of color that they came across and ignored the fact that he couldn't act. In fact, I remember reading a post by Rolfe's wife who said the first draft of the screenplay was stupid because all of the characters were white males. So I'm guessing there's a little bit of a Yoko Ono thing going on here as I saw her name listed as Executive Producer.
I'm not going to go in to any of the controversy over the making of this film and how funds were raised, etc, because honestly I couldn't care less. All I can say is that if this movie really put the nearly $400,000 it took in on Kickstarter into the budget, it really doesn't show. Honestly, some of his reviews look better than this film.
I guess that overall the movie just plays out like a really long, unfunny video review skit and somehow manages to be even less humorous than the youtube material it's based on. The "jokes" aren't funny, the "effects" aren't very special, and the writing is juvenile. But not juvenile in that goofy "If I was seven years old I would really like this" way, but more of "Even if I was seven years old I wouldn't find this the least bit funny." James Rolfe, you were funny when you were making legitimate angry reviews. Then you decided to make this tangent of your personality a "character" and milk the joke for all it was worth. Well, that time is over. It stopped being funny a long time ago. The time for this movie would have been in 2009 when you were at your peak of popularity. As of now, it just seems like you're alienating the ever-shrinking fanbase you still possess. Go back to making strict reviews, stay away from the skits, and you'll probably be able to keep going for the next few years.
And then he made another couple of videos using the same schtick. Play an old Nintendo game and make angry, vulgar rants. It was kind of funny the first few times but as the reviews became more elaborate, and by extension more forced, I lost interest. Rolfe is at his best when he is legitimately angry with a game that scarred him during his childhood. He's not very funny when he writes skits to accompany the video, as he's not a very good writer and he's definitely not an accomplished actor.
So when Rolfe's reviews got popular and he started doing in-store signings, I think he started letting it go to his head. I mean, who wants the signature of a guy who makes youtube video game reviews? Let alone drive to a store to get said signature? It was about this time that he started talking about making an AVGN movie. My question then is the same as it is now: why? I think the answer comes down to ego and an inflated sense of self-worth. This is apparent in the film where everyone asks him for his autograph and basically worship him as some sort of guru god. I thought at first it was just to establish the fact that the Nerd has a following, but after several minutes of such nonsense it becomes clear that James Rolfe actually believes that he is as famous as he portrays himself in the film.
The second biggest flaw in this film is the token black sidekick that was added for no apparent reason other than to have a person of color in the movie. This guy can't act, which is saying a lot for this film as nobody else puts in much of a performance either, but this guy is especially lousy. And he's in every scene! It was like they needed a black guy so badly for the film that they took the first person of color that they came across and ignored the fact that he couldn't act. In fact, I remember reading a post by Rolfe's wife who said the first draft of the screenplay was stupid because all of the characters were white males. So I'm guessing there's a little bit of a Yoko Ono thing going on here as I saw her name listed as Executive Producer.
I'm not going to go in to any of the controversy over the making of this film and how funds were raised, etc, because honestly I couldn't care less. All I can say is that if this movie really put the nearly $400,000 it took in on Kickstarter into the budget, it really doesn't show. Honestly, some of his reviews look better than this film.
I guess that overall the movie just plays out like a really long, unfunny video review skit and somehow manages to be even less humorous than the youtube material it's based on. The "jokes" aren't funny, the "effects" aren't very special, and the writing is juvenile. But not juvenile in that goofy "If I was seven years old I would really like this" way, but more of "Even if I was seven years old I wouldn't find this the least bit funny." James Rolfe, you were funny when you were making legitimate angry reviews. Then you decided to make this tangent of your personality a "character" and milk the joke for all it was worth. Well, that time is over. It stopped being funny a long time ago. The time for this movie would have been in 2009 when you were at your peak of popularity. As of now, it just seems like you're alienating the ever-shrinking fanbase you still possess. Go back to making strict reviews, stay away from the skits, and you'll probably be able to keep going for the next few years.
- princebuster82
- Mar 7, 2015