Movie Review - Bad Trip (2021)

Eric André created a short-form comedy series on Adult Swim called The Eric Andre Show (2012). Each episode was about 10 minutes in length. It was a parody of late-night talk shows. However, the opening to each episode was André being wild and crazy, running around the set and violently crashing into things, purposefully doing physical damage. It was intentionally, aggressive pratfalls. He was almost acting as pure id or as some unchained, rabid animal. Interspersed in each of the episodes was André pulling pranks on unsuspecting people on the streets. For example, he would hide in a trash can and then pop up and scare people walking by. André brings that same unchained, rabid energy and shocking pranks to this feature film, which are essentially a series of pranks strung together into a narrative.

The closest comparison would be to Borat (2006), which was a mockumentary where the protagonist, performed and created by Sacha Baron Cohen, was a journalist whose job it was to interview and engage with real people. In that Oscar-nominated comedy, instead of using actors for the interviews, Cohen actually approached and interacted with real people or non-actors who didn't realize that Cohen was portraying a character. Even if the non-actors knew they were on camera, they never suspected that Cohen was an actor playing a character, so the comedy came in their non-scripted and real reactions. Cohen's film though was intended to be a satire that exposed certain sociopolitical ideas or ideologies. However, Cohen did have some gags that were essentially lowbrow pranks meant to shock people with either full-frontal nudity or gross bodily functions. Yet, those lowbrow pranks weren't the thrust of what Cohen was doing. Yet, it is the main thrust of what André is doing.

What André is doing isn't anything more clever than Impractical Jokers (2011), What Would You Do? (2008) or even Candid Camera (1960). It might even be less clever because in those aforementioned TV shows, it was about getting the non-actors or real people to engage or participate in whatever outrageous or ridiculous scenario was concocted. It was more about finding ways to get the non-actors or real people to interact truly with the scenarios. In this film, André doesn't feel the need to get people to interact truly. He just wants them to be shocked or be grossed out by what he does or what they see. Several times that shocking thing will be full-frontal nudity on André's part or even sexual acts out in the open or in public view. André plays Chris Carey, a Florida resident who works at a car wash who decides to travel to New York to find a woman on whom he has a crush.

Tiffany Haddish (Like a Boss and Girls Trip) co-stars as Trina Malone, the sister to Chris's best friend. She escapes from prison and chases after Chris because Chris steals her car. Haddish's character is a bit of the exception to the whole interaction thing. Haddish's scenes mostly involve her interacting with non-actors and real people. This is good because she proves better at improvisation and staying in character, even as she's saying and doing over-the-top things that would stun or just confuse the average person. As a result, her scenes are by far the best and the funniest in this whole thing.

Unfortunately, André's scenes, often with Lil Rel Howery (Bird Box and Get Out) who plays Bud Malone, involve just him doing penis and poop jokes. The only deviation from those penis and poop jokes is a scene at the end that's basically not even a part of the narrative. It's a scene where André, Howery and Haddish put on makeup and infiltrate an event in the Hamptons, New York. The scene is funnier because of the optics rather than the substance of what could have happened. But still, the optics are funny.

Rated R for some crude sexual content, some graphic nudity, pervasive language and drug use.

Running Time: 1 hr. and 26 mins.

Available on Netflix.