Apparently, 'Trailer Park Boys: Countdown to Liquor Day' (yes, that is the movie's actual name) is the sequel to a phenomenally successful Canadian "comedy" called 'Trailer Park Boys.' It is also a continuation of sorts to a popular Canadian television series (also called 'Trailer Park Boys') that ran for a mind-boggling seven seasons. Yes, 'Trailer Park' boys was on the air for the same amount of time as Joss Whedon's outstanding 'Buffy the Vampire Slayer.'
Anyway, I looked all this nonsense up with a little help from Google. It was me trying to come to terms with the numbing stupidity and relentless mayhem of 'Trailer Park Boys: Countdown to Liquor Day,' a movie so bad that, by being released on Blu-ray, it threatens to undermine the entire format.
What's it about? Well, the movie's "plot" (and we're using the term quite liberally here) is about a man named Bubbles (Mike Smith) who seems to at least be emotionally disturbed, who is released from prison and goes back to his trailer park (like in the title) and finds that his cats have been taken away. There are some other idiots (Robb Wells and John Paul Tremblay) who are let out of jail (you see, they are the other trailer park boys), who are equally disturbed that their beloved trailer park is being turned into a kind of designer trailer estate.
All of them engage in stupid nonsense, culminating in a failed bank robbery, landing them all back in jail. It's like a lesser, later episode of 'The Simpsons,' where some huge event transpires in the episode, only to be resolved by the end of the 22 minutes and everything is back to normal, leaving no bearing on the rest of the series. I'm thinking specifically of the Armin Tamzarian episode or the one where Moe gets a new face. There are no stakes, no conflict, nothing hanging in the balance; it's all just narrative dead weight.
I didn't crack a smile during this movie, not even once, let alone laugh out loud. Maybe it's the fact that I'm not Canadian, maybe it's because I didn't know anything about the series or the previous movies (and I'm sure as hell not going to go back and watch them), maybe it's that grotesqueries that would have seemed childish and outdated on the vaudeville circuit, just don't hold up in 2010. But I think it's just the movie doesn't work, on any fundamental level. It's basically taking these crude caricatures and mashing them together with outrageously destructive moments, but to what end?
The 'Jackass' series, which 'Trailer Park Boys' obviously rips off, works precisely because of its aimlessness. In the absence of anything, they decide to create something. It's just that that something is usually stupid and involves people getting smacked in the nuts or gored by some exotic animal. The 'Trailer Park Boys' sequel tries to graft a narrative onto this kind of free-floating mayhem and the result comes up unbelievably short.
Watching this movie was akin to the scene in 'Clockwork Orange' when McDowell's eyes are forced open and he's watching all that disturbing stuff. Just replace 'disturbing stuff' with 'lame-ass comedy that drags on for an unbearable 102 minutes' and you get the picture. I wouldn't wish this movie on my worst enemy.
The Blu-ray: Vital Disc Stats
The 50GB disc is Region "A" locked and plays automatically, whether you want it to or not.
This is one of the more honest transfers I've ever seen. By which I mean the film's MPEG-4 AVC 1080p transfer (1.78:1 aspect ratio) is just as crummy as the movie.
I forgot to mention that the movie has an already tired Christopher Guest-style documentary feel (if Christopher Guest was a complete moron), whose realism is betrayed when, say, the filmmakers have to blur out all the labels on liquors and various things because, conceivably, the liquor companies didn't want their good name besmirched by this garbage. Anyway, the shaky, documentary style of the film leaves things looking flat and texture-less. The colors don't pop, in fact they barely register, blacks are more like weak greys, and details are nonexistent.
It's got a blurry, muddy look that's unbefitting high definition, as well as heavy grain, noise, and occasional edge enhancements. This transfer is just awful. But, like I said, it's very true to the movie's quality.
The DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 lossless mix isn't going to earn this movie any fans, either. And just because this is a comedy isn't an excuse.
Since it is a comedy, I must make the requisite remark that the mix is incredibly front loaded. Dialogue sounds mostly crisp and clear, but towards the end of the film, when the calamity starts to really take off and, presumably, the mix should kick into high gear, well, it just doesn't.
The mix remains just as flat as the video presentation (and the level of humor in the film) but it's pretty much in keeping with the rest of the disc (and the movie itself).
There's also a Dolby Digital 5.1 mix here, which is actually the default soundtrack option, so you'll have to go in and change the audio option to get the Master Audio mix. There are also English subtitles.
There are extras on this disc. You won't want to watch them either.
The box for 'Trailer Park Boys: Countdown to Liquor Day' declares it "The funniest Canadian movie ever made!" It is not. In fact, it is one of the worst movies I've seen in a while. It's painfully unfunny, sloppy, and overlong. Please keep away from this release. It's really that bad. The audio, video, and extras all just as awful. One to avoid.
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