Produced by Jim Ziegler,
Buddy Enright, Chris Henchy
Written by Chris Henchy,
Joe Gatto, James Murray,
Brian Quinn, Sal Vulcano
Based on Impractical Jokers
by The Tenderloins
Directed by Chris Henchy
Starring Brian Quinn, Joe Gatto,
James Murray, Sal Vulcano
If you aren’t familiar with the television series, Impractical Jokers, here’s the premise: it’s hidden camera reality game show with improvisational elements which features four lifelong friends who set up scenarios to try and embarrass one another.
Despite it’s popularity, it never has really resonated with me, in no small part, because I’ve never found any of the cast members particularly funny or entertaining.
But, where there’s money to be made, there’s a movie and Impractical Jokers is no exception.
Whereas the far funnier Jackass franchise is often shocking and hysterical, they never made the mistake of trying to fit their antics into a cinematic narrative. In Impractical Jokers: The Movie, the plot hinges over a ridiculous premise that when in high school, the characters made an enemy of Paula Abdul after sneaking into one of her concerts posing as security.
The movie jumps to the present where a chance encounter with Abdul at a Red Lobster and offers them tickets to one of her Miami shows.
The group discovers that Abdul left only 3 of the 4 necessary tickets, so they would road trip to Miami and compete in hidden camera challenges, to see which three Jokers will attend the show.
And at that point, the movie falls apart in what turns out to be a 93 minute exercise of perhaps one of the unfunniest comedies I’ve ever come across. Released during the COVID-19 quarantine, viewers aren’t even able to walk out of this mess. If you’re a fan already, you might find this to be a worthwhile watch. For those who appreciate even stupid comedy, this one seemed to have forgotten the comedy part entirely.
