Go West

As is the case with any feature film based upon and written by a sketch-comedy property, Go West is a mixed bag of material.

Some of the scenes really fell flat with repetitive "jokes" that were devoid of any sort of structure that could be construed as comedy.

But the infectious personalities of the cast and the blend of dry delivery and absurd style of humor really worked for me more often than it didn't. The film's finale also had plenty of cleverly-inserted payoffs to jokes that were set up earlier in the film.

These types of movies usually have a few bright spots amidst a total mess, but for me this had some really messy spots amidst a mostly admirable effort from a small studio.

I'm a big fan of the original cast of Studio C for their light-hearted humor in sketch comedy. This movie is a longer version of a sketch comedy with many jokes- some hits, some misses- that decently highlight the humor style of each of the cast members. You can see hints/characteristics of old Studio C characters throughout the movie. If you are already a fan of the cast and are familiar with their style of humor, I think you will enjoy a decent portion of this film. But if not, maybe try some of their old Studio C videos to see if you like this type of humor first.

My favorite characters in this movie are played by Jason and Whitney as usual.

I wanted to like this movie more than I ended up doing. I enjoyed many of the skits from the original "Studio C" cast, so perhaps I was expecting a bit more. There were things to like and laugh at, others not so much. The packed theater I saw the movie with seemed to get laughs mostly from the younger folks (tweens and teens), not so much from the adults.

Pros: Natalie Madsen and Stephen Meek are good in the lead roles/straight men amid all of the quirky characters. Sean Astin is funny and is good as the narrator. Jason Gray is still the funniest actor in this bunch. No bad language or lewd anything, apart from a veiled reference to a man being attacked in the crotch by a buffalo, resulting in his voice going up a few octaves.

Cons: I was a bit taken back by the puns and jokes about dysentery, polio, skin diseases, etc. Perhaps it's because I have eczema myself, or perhaps it's because I have ancestors who really suffered through these issues while making their way out west, and such ailments were not a joke to them. *Shrug* The cast tries a bit too hard to be Monty Python-esque, with the 10 of them playing multiple characters; it gets a bit confusing at times as to who is who. Sometimes quirky gets mistaken for funny, which is sometimes a downside to both older and new "Studio C" episodes. A few fart jokes.

Overall: good popcorn flick for a Tuesday $6 movie at the Megaplex. If you're a "Studio C" fan, you'll enjoy it. If you're not, I reckon you won't. 6/10.

I went with a small group of friends to a matinee performance of Go West and there was a lot of laughter and engagement throughout the theater. It was fun to watch in a larger group in a theater setting.

I enjoyed many of the characters and skits, even if some of them were a bit over the top for me. Overall I thought the writing was fun, but sometimes too silly. I really enjoyed the performances of all of the actors. The sets and locations for filming were really well done. The film was very professional and well made.

I would recommend the movie for any family looking for a goofy afternoon.

I love the "old Studio C" cast, or JK studios as they are now called. I started watching their content back in 2014, and have been a big fan ever since. From old YouTube videos of Divine Comedy, to Studio C, and finally JK Studios, I have enjoyed their creative talent, friendship, and passion for brightening people's lives with their humor. I was very excited when I heard they were making a movie.

Now I have to be honest with you, I did not enjoy the film as much as I wanted to. I thought the humor was okay, and good at times, but not great. I thought Matt's characters failed to capture the range he has. I would have also liked to see more from Adam, who was hardly in this movie.

It felt like multiple sketches loosely woven together. The overall plot or story just didn't hold that much tension (if that's the right word). It had some good sketches (although not all were great) but lacked overall cohesion besides having reoccurring characters. The attempt was there, but it just was missing something.

The humor was good (sometimes a bit on the gross side) but I think it lacked variety, or maybe they could have developed some stronger jokes that felt natural with the story/plot of the film. Not all of the jokes were bad, but they averaged on ok to good, when I was hoping for more.

If you guys are reading this, I hope you don't take this personally. I don't want to discount the effort you put into this project. Even though I think this wasn't your best work, I sincerely hope you continue making movies, sketch comedy, T-Shirts, whatever, I'm here for it. You have made a great impact in so many people's lives, including mine. I am so grateful that you put yourselves out there again and again. Looking forward to your next big project.