Postal


2/4

Starring: Zach Ward, Dave Foley, Chris Coppola, Vern Troyer, Larry Thomas

Rated R for Extremely Crude Humor Throughout, including Strong Sexuality, Graphic Nudity, Violence, and for Pervasive Language and Some Drug Use

Uwe Boll does not have a good reputation, even among the mainstream crowd.  People hate him more than serious critics hate Michael Bay movies.  Admittedly, this is the only film of his that I have seen, and while I don’t think “Postal” is that bad per se, I can see their point.  The film is really shoddy and unpolished, and the first hour is borderline painful, but once Boll lets loose, it gets pretty funny.

The film opens with the much-talked about satire of the 9/11 hijackers.  Apparently, the terrorists were getting second thoughts about dying for the cause when there were some inconsistencies about how many virgins they could expect when they met their maker.  The scene is funny, but the final shot pushes the limit too much.

After that, things quickly grind to a dead halt for the better part of an hour.  Postal Dude (Ward…Scutt Farkus all grown up) is having a really bad day.  His now-fat wife is cheating on him, his neighbor is giving him no end of grief, and his job interview is going badly.  He seeks refuge with his cult leader uncle Dave (Foley), whose heart isn’t into his cult and is in dire need of some cash.  So he plans to steal a shipment of the latest hot toy, the Krotchy doll (which looks like a cross between a dick and one of Ronald McDonald’s friends) and sell it on their own.  Unfortunately, the Taliban, led by bin Laden himself (Thomas) want them too.

According to iMDb, Boll only shot a few takes for each scene, believing that the emotion behind the jokes will fade with each successive take (making them less funny, I suppose).  This statement is obvious with every frame.  The film looks like it was made on the cheap, and nothing appears to be rehearsed.  Sometimes, like in pseudo-documentary movies, this can be an asset.  Not here.  It looks amateurish and rushed.

“Postal” takes a while to get going, and up until that point, it’s a real drag.  It’s not quite zero-star territory, but it’s close.  Happily, once Krotchy himself (played by Verne Troyer, who proves that he can be funny while speaking, which he didn’t do in the Austin Powers movies) shows up, the film starts to become funny.  It’s below lowbrow, to be sure, but the film gets injected with a much needed dose of energy, and I started laughing.

I don’t recommend the film; the first hour is too painfully boring and even when it gets going, it loses its steam fairly quickly.  But for those who are looking for more evidence to pile on the hate for Boll, this isn’t going to help your cause much.

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