Intramural

Ignore the title and poster art for Balls Out. It's not a National Lampoon presents type of "movie". Once you've decided not to judge a movie by it's poster, sit back and enjoy a surprisingly witty, slapstick, sports movie that has an unbelievable cast.

Balls Out has several SNL cast members (Jay Pharoh, Beck Bennett,Kate McKinnon) and some Youtube/Comedy Troop stars that fill out the roles. The biggest names are Jake Lacy (Obvious Child) and Nikki Reed (Twilight series) who are the focal point of the movie.

What makes Balls Out different is it's supporting cast. It's the kind of film where the supporting cast steals the show and you end up liking them a lot more than the aforementioned actors. Without a doubt, Beck Bennett is worth seeing this movie alone. He's like Stan Gable from Revenge of the Nerds turned up to 11. Kate McKinnon has very few scenes, but she steals every single one of them. In a few years, people will look back at this movie and wonder how in the hell they got all of these stars in one movie.

There are some great scenes and hilarious moments that come from out of nowhere. The dick and fart jokes are few but they land; a refreshing style of comedy from an indie film.

My only beef with "Balls Out" is Jake Lacy and Nikki Reed. They're pretty to look at and void of charisma. Jake may have played his role a little too straight in a movie of outrageous characters. Other than that, this movie is a MUST SEE. You can sound cool and say you this before "fill in the blank actor/actress" got super famous. Stop reading and watch it already!!!!!!

Small-town college student has to choose between ambition and passion.

Iron rule of movie selection: always ignore the hot piece of ass on the cover. A few chuckles from this, but when I checked the time there were still 60 mins to go. Fcuk me.

In one scene a guy in a wheelchair delivers a sarcastic slow hand-clap, but keeps interrupting himself to roll the wheelchair forward - funny idea, but zero reaction from me. Plenty of parody of feel-good sports movies, channelling The Mean Machine with a touch of Ben Stiller. Actors, direction, jokes, editing all good - enough for a laugh-a-minute, but for all that input it just doesn't click.

How does a movie die on screen? I dunno - the mystery of comedy. I guess it comes down to the spirit of the thing, and the tongue-in-ass mockery of macho culture comes across as smug.

There was a hint of the pointlessness of college education, but they didn't go for the political slant.

Ignore the external reviews - this sadly is a fail.

Director Andrew Disney gained many fans back in 2011 with his comedic/mystery film Searching for Sonny. At this year's Tribeca Film Festival, the young director returned with the hilarious and original college film Intramural. Starring Jake Lacy, Nikki Reed, and a slew of current "Saturday Night Live" cast members that include Beck Bennett, Jay Pharoah, and Kate McKinnon, the independent film knows exactly what it is. There's no pretending to be anything more than an uproarious chuckle-fest at the movies.

Intramural tells the story of Caleb (Lacy), a fifth year senior that gathers the courage to return to the intramural games at school following a tragic accident of one of his classmates. As probable marriage, graduate school, and life close in on him, comedic antics engulf the viewer in a non-stop riot.

Written by Bradley Jackson, who's penned previous independent efforts like Lord Montagu, all the jokes utilized in film mostly land. Of the cast, Beck Bennett and Kate McKinnon steal the show in every scene, as they tend to do on "Saturday Night Live." Bennett, playing one of the funniest and sociopathic villains in quite some time, is the best of the cast. His gifts and timing are spot on. The biggest chuckles of the film come from him. McKinnon fires on all cylinders, giving her all as she does every Saturday night. I was under her spell the whole time.

Intramural is the best obscure sports film of its kind since Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story. Part "Old School" and part "Happy Gilmore," the film takes you completely by surprise by how easy-going and enjoyable the entire film is. Though the film relies heavily on slapstick humor, which works in parts, I would have liked some more of the infectious and quotable dialogue that Jackson created. A scene that includes the line "you got to sh*t on the ceiling" will likely stay with me all year, and perhaps the rest of my life.

It's great to see star Nikki Reed venturing out to new realms of her acting career. Once very promising in 2003′s Thirteen, Reed got hooked into the "Twilight" franchise before marrying (and now divorcing) "American Idol" alum Paul McDonald, the 25-year-old actress has a lot more to deliver the world of cinema. Star Jake Lacy helms the film à la Chris Evans in Not Another Teen Movie. An admiral effort but what's going on around him is much more interesting, and funny. I'm curious to see what the star can do in other vehicles in the future (he'll have a role in Todd Haynes' upcoming Carol).

The other supporting players put some of their best comedic ticks to good use, particularly Nick Kocher, a promising up and comer who may become a household name in years time. The entire ensemble is a terrific treat that will go down as one of the strongest of independent cinema in 2014.

Overall, Intramural is a successful hybrid of young adult comedy. A pure and modern example of slapstick comedy and where it can go, when placed in the right hands. Had me thinking fondly of last year's breakout comedy G.B.F. (currently on Netflix), another happy time at the Tribeca Film Festival.

I have always been a big fan of sports comedy. This one is an instant classic. Kate McKinnon will be a 20-30 million dollar actress someday, she is absolutely amazing in this film. The other cast members are great also. Beck Bennett was made for the "bad" guy role and Jake Lacy pulls it all together with the nice guy just trying to get through life thing he has going on in this film. Plenty of laugh out loud humor. I watched this movie when it was called "Intramural" at Tribeca Film Festival and now I have seen it as the re-branded "Balls Out", it is the same film. Highly recommended. If you like movies like "Dodge Ball" then you will love "Balls Out". Thanks for making something different and fun!

Caleb Fuller (Jake Lacy) quits Intramural football after his receiver friend gets paralyzed getting kicked in the balls. Four years later, Vicky Albrecht (Kate McKinnon) asks him to marry her publicly at her birthday party after 5 and a half months of dating. He accidentally says yes. He encounters former mate Vinnie and reunites the old team Panthers together again. His nemesis Dick leads the Titans. Caleb falls for Dick's sister Meredith Downs (Nikki Reed).

Comedy is easy to rate and hard to explain. I can't be absolutely sure. This is not outrageous enough. I barely cared about any of the characters and laughed even less. Everybody is trying to shine in a wacky character playoff. None of them are funny or the least likable. Jake Lucy as the straight man is lackluster. This is a comedy troupe B-team trying out their material and it's getting crickets. Despite the female butt shoot on the cover, there isn't any nudity humor. There is nothing overtly awful but it's simply not good. I blame Kickstarter.