10th Anniversary TLDR: Angry Video Game Nerd: The Movie (2014)
He's gonna take you back to the past.
Plot: Based on the hit web series of the same name, a disgruntled gamer must overcome his fear of the worst video game of all time in order to save his fans. Hilarity ensues as a simple road trip becomes an extravagant pursuit of the unexpected.
Direction: James Rolfe spent his entire life making home movies and student films, eventually graduating to YouTube short films and popular long-running series. The Angry Video Game Nerd was far and away his most recognizable project and had amassed over 100 episodes before his need to make it legitimate led to him making it a feature film. An Indiegogo campaign raised more than $300,000 to make his dreams a reality. Collaborator Kevin Finn co-directed and co-wrote the movie with him, but Rolfe is the main attraction.
Screenplay: The YouTube videos were about a guy who plays frustratingly difficult retro video games and insults them, calling them things like "donkey diarrhea." It was funny, particularly in the early days of YouTube. As you can imagine, however, videos where a guy sits on his couch and yells at his tv don't really scream movie. To make it two hours long, they had to invent characters, situations, and locations that had never even been mentioned before. He works at GameStop? Oh, okay! He's got a best friend we've never met? Sure! Also, the word "titties" is said way too many times.
Performances: Rolfe plays his own character and does what he does. Jeremy Suarez and Sarah Glendening are in the unfortunate circumstance of being both unrecognizable and unmemorable in the Nerd world. Lloyd Kaufman will be in anything.
Cinematography: No time to write this section.
Best Nerd Episode: Either Halloween or Bugs Bunny's Birthday Blowout.
Fun Fact: Would you believe me if I told you that David Dastmalchian is in this movie?
Imaginary Accolade: Best YouTube to Feature Film Adaptation I've Seen (Also, I think, the only one I've ever seen. I can't say that I sought out FRED: The Movie.)
Everything is too long! Is it too long? When the character typically appears in 15-20 minute videos, 115 minutes feels like forever.
Rating: 5.40
Credit: Plot synopsis from Letterboxd via TMDb.
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