Beerfest (2006)

User Rating:

6.2/10   

Director:

Jay Chandrasekhar

Writers (WGA):

Jay Chandrasekhar (written by) &
Kevin Heffernan (written by) ...

Release Date:

25 August 2006 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy

Tagline:

Brewed in 2006

Plot:

Two brothers travel to Germany for Oktoberfest, only to stumble upon secret, centuries-old competition described as a "Fight Club" with beer games.

Plot Keywords:

Beer | Competition | Oktoberfest | Germany | Fight

Cast

M.C. Gainey	...	Priest
Paul Soter	...	Jan Wolfhouse
Erik Stolhanske	...	Todd Wolfhouse / Young Baron Ludwig
Cloris Leachman	...	Great Gam Gam
Jürgen Prochnow	...	Baron Wolfgang von Wolfhausen (as Juergen Prochnow)
Cameron Scher	...	Helmut
Owain Yeoman	...	Aussie Sailor #1
Tom Tate	...	Aussie Sailor #2
Allan Graf	...	Soup Waiter
Chris Moss	...	German Producer
Bjorn Johnson	...	Mr. Schniedelwichsen (as Bjørn Johnson)
Kevin Heffernan	...	Landfill / Gil / Sausage Lady
Jay Chandrasekhar	...	Barry / Blind Sikh
Steve Lemme	...	Fink / Emcee
Collin Thornton	...	Little Boy

MPAA:

Rated R for pervasive crude and sexual content, language, nudity and substance abuse.

Runtime:

110 min

Country:

USA | Australia

Language:

English | German

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

USA:R | Ireland:15A | Canada:14A (Manitoba/Nova Scotia) | Canada:18A (Alberta/British Columbia/Ontario) | Netherlands:12 | Singapore:R21 | UK:15 (cut theatrical version) | Germany:16 (nf) | UK:18 (DVD rating) (uncut) | Australia:MA | Argentina:16 | New Zealand:R16 | Malaysia:18SX (unrated DVD version) | South Korea:18 | Iceland:12

Filming Locations:

Albuquerque Press Club - 201 Highland Park Circle SE, Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA

Company:

Warner Bros. Pictures

Trivia:

Will Forte impressed the cast with his beer drinking speed.

Goofs:

Continuity: When Fink is explaining the air bubble problem with Das Boot, the drawing on the board behind him changes.

Quotes:

Todd Wolfhouse: Steve's got the eye of the Jew.

Movie Connections:

References The Bad News Bears in Breaking Training (1977)

Soundtrack:

Jungle Boogie

This one goes down smooth

Many critics are heavily scolding this movie as a stupid, drunken frat-boy romp filled to the brim with crude humor and bad taste. I'd tend to agree with them, aside from this one addition -- it's absolutely hilarious.

From the truly side-splitting opening scene with Grand-papa to the final confrontation before the credits roll, you'll be entertained. The acting and gags are right on the mark for the admittedly low-brow appeal that this movie is shooting for. In that regard, it's no surprise that BeerFest won't get any Oscar nods. But to those of us who appreciate the suds and debauchery of five cartoonish characters embroiled in "a super secret international beer drinking contest to take on the Germans for national pride", this is an instant classic.

To be fair, BeerFest utilizes a much feebler narrative than some of it's gross-out contemporaries, such as Van Wilder, but definitely has a much stronger vision than something like Harold & Kumar go to White Castle. Within this genre, the latter is a fine movie as well -- BeerFest simply stays on track a little better, instead of being a slapdash montage of funny scenes. That said, BeerFest really triumphs by giving us characters so lampoon, you are able to sit back and enjoy two hours of gaseous gaffs without too much mental investment. And that's a good thing every now and then, right? If not, I feel very sad for your sedate, austere funny-bone.

For the rest of us, a toast. Raise your mugs for BeerFest, the drunken orgy of comedy that will keep you laughing!