directed by:
Duke Ross written by: Duke Ross genre: Comedy |
I'm gonna be real with you: I did my best to farm this review out to a bourbon expert, as opposed to me writing it. Once I read the synopsis that said, "when two unlikely friends embark on a journey to find the world's best bourbon," I immediately asked my wife, who proudly guzzles that shit like it's water - if she wanted to write this review for me, given her immense degree of experience as a bourbon aficionado. She politely declined and reminded me that writing is "my" job. Then I read her the way I chose to open this review, and I feel like she might have thought better about letting me handle the writing after all.
Anyhow. When I pushed play and realized that this is basically a cartoon with the illustrative genius of "Kevin Spencer" and the crude sense of humour to match, I knew this review made a whole lot more sense for me to write. I freakin' LOVE stuff like this, and the less sense things make, usually the better. Plus, in the credits, you'll see that Tommy Chong is attached to this, so that's awesome – and while I wasn't aware that there even was a Kanye East, I am now, and I feel more complete as a person. Written/Directed by Duke Ross, complete with a kickass anthem to start it up from Red Ross featuring King Ronin Da Scholar, and brought to you by Urinal Cake Productions – I mean…all signs point to this bizarre oddity called "The Ballad Of Straw-Hat Sam" pulling out a complete victory for entertainment. When even the credits get you laughing, that's always a great indication of what's to come, ain't it? We're introduced to Max Bucket pretty quickly, whose name gets replaced immediately by Straw-Hat Sam on account of him hating his original name. Because why not, right? Isn't that what YOU do with people who have a name you absolutely despise? You just change it. You don't need permission. The pair of newfound friends team up to go find this delicious ethanol-based nectar – or bourbon, to the layman (gasoline to the rest of us) – and off we go to Sam's Uncle Joe's house. To…you know…procure his 100 tabs of acid and a few other items that might come in handy for their journey ahead. Sam is surly AF, and I'm here for it. Bucket is…nice. "Must be a sad life you live…being so cynical all the time," says Sam, without a hint of irony, or some kind of self-awareness. You gotta love it. They're an odd couple, to be sure, and while how they're portrayed onscreen is quite likely very different from a lot of what you might have seen, the classic pairing of yin/yang is still at the heart of the core of this story, and in this duo's charming banter. With the supplies they need, they proceed to frolic across the countryside, meeting a few bizarre characters along the way, eating poison berries, and drifting between mediums as the animated pair floats between life as we know it and the animated realm. You'll encounter a whodunit-style mystery at the diner; you'll meet a bridge owner with crab claw hands, and, of course, you'll eventually meet Thaddeus, the wisest man on Earth who knows the real secrets of good-ass bourbon. The crazy characters you'll meet become central to this film, from Gambling Gary, all the way to God himself…every ticking second of this film is fully loaded with content that you can't possibly live without. Okay…so… let's get real here. I love the way that Duke writes, I love the guy's sense of humour, and I have always felt a very strong attachment to mixed-media projects like this that have cartoons wandering around in the real world. It's what life is like, both with and without my self-prescribed medications. For real, though, it's a very smart way of visually enticing us to watch, and with the practically primitive way these zany characters are animated & the brilliant way that Duke has written their dialogue & various weird traits & quirks…I mean, c'mon y'all – you can't REALLY resist watching "The Ballad Of Straw-Hat Sam," can you? It can't just be me who finds this relentlessly entertaining, is it? I'm willing to concede that I am…sigh…overwhelmingly immature for my age, but yo – this film IS funny y'all - straight up! Take the "freshly forged swords" sold by "Bert, the sword salesman," for example – not only are the swords clearly sharp, but Duke himself wields randomness like the weapon it really can be. Dude pierces the living daylights out of us with the unexpected & the unpredictable, and it is pleasing me greatly. I have done nothing but laugh my way through "The Ballad Of Straw-Hat Sam" from what I see and what I hear – in all seriousness, Ross is the freakin' boss - and knows how to create comedy that genuinely connects. Would I change anything? F**k no! I'm sure that Duke is well aware that "The Ballad Of Straw-Hat Sam" isn't gonna appeal to everyone out there, and is probably quite comfortable in telling anyone that doesn't get this film to kindly f**k all the way off. When you're doing what Ross is doing, you don't get to be successful by compromising your vision of the way things should be…you don't pull punches, you don't stop the madness, and you trust your instincts – you SHOW people that the rude and crude can be relentlessly funny, and you commit… that's how you win the war.
For example, when you hear Sam say "Oh my God, I can hear my penis breathe" after taking a very, very large dose of LSD and the visuals we see get all kinds of tripped out, and the entire film takes a massive departure into pure eye-candy and glorious mayhem combined…I mean…if you can't get down with that, it really says a whole lot more about YOU (you f**kin' square) than it does about Duke and his film. What most folks won't tell you, but I will, is that you can't create something this immature without being extremely intelligent – that's the facts Jack, take 'em or leave 'em. I'm willing to bet (maybe not as much as Gambling Gary would, but a lot nonetheless) that it is very rare that Duke ever encounters a person with the mental quickness that he has - or the creative mind he possesses. Dude's like Duke are on a completely different level than the vast majority of us, which is all the more reason to never lead the way by example when it comes to the art of comedy. Through his confidence and commitment – through KNOWING that he's authentically gifted when it comes to knowing what's funny – Duke's jokes and zaniness continually land at all times. Will the duo ever find their way to the "angel's teat" to get that sweet, sweet bourbon they're after? WATCH THE FILM if you want the answer – it ain't my job to enlighten YOU on everything, just your mom. Will Duke eventually break the 4th wall & put himself into this wonderfully animated mischief? You bet he will – but what else are you supposed to do when an army of gnomes threatens to take the whole project down? Listen…I get that practically none of this review will make sense to most of you before you watch "The Ballad Of Straw-Hat Sam" for yourself, and if I didn't know that Duke would be so proud of that, I might even care! This entire film deserves to be shown at one of Spike & Mike's film festivals - and then it deserves to win. I love the black & white scenes with the actual humans, but there is only so much that real people can do to compete with this much animated kickassery. All that being said, I have no additional notes here… I'm a huge fan of what I've witnessed in this film, and I'd absolutely watch it again in a heartbeat. I'm realistic about it not being for everyone, and I sincerely wish that I lived in a world where it was. To me, "The Ballad Of Straw-Hat Sam is well worth the four and a half stars that I'm willing to give it, and if you don't agree, I genuinely feel sorry for you, for the people who know you, those that have been forced to cross paths with you, those that have entertained you for even a second, those you've once bought candy from, the fine folks that have filled up your gas tank (not a euphemism…okay…maybe it is…), your door dash delivery guys, and obviously, your mom. |
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