| The
Review: |
Outside
of some high-altitude filming and some lackluster action stunts,
it's apparent that there wasn't much of an effort put forth
into making "Out Cold," a college-aimed comedy that wears
its badge of desperation proudly on its sleeve. It's like
watching someone take different elements of ESPN snowboarding
coverage and crossing it with the humor and laughs of "National
Lampoon's Animal House," and dozens of other ill-fated comedies
that have paved the road for this latest (and most ingratiating)
pile of drivel.
The plot
(as if it were even worth the time and effort to mention)
centers on the Bull Mountain ski area, where the peaks are
always covered with snow, and a group of stoner snowboarders
hang out, drink beer, play King of the Mountain, and waste
their lives away doing nothing of interest to the audience,
and perhaps even to themselves.
There
is a plot hook, albeit a very turgid and hollow one that does
nothing to enhance the already-moribund pacing and interest
in the material. The owner of the mountain, we are told, is
now deceased, and no sooner does this occur than a hot-shot
developer arrives to turn it into a commercial ski resort,
much to the dismay of our circle of friends, who must fight
to keep it the way they it has always been.
Take note
that I have yet to mention anything about characterization,
character interest, acting, or development of any kind. There
is a reason for this: it's because THERE IS NONE! The cardboard
cutouts the film tries to pass off as likeable characters
are full of cliches and smarm, from a budding love interest
to the token idiot and fat guy who, in one of the film's disgusting
and poor jokes, receives a "special favor" from a polar bear.
The acting is lifeless, perhaps because the people the cast
inhabits are equally dismal.
Not even
the movie's high-flying stunts, nor the fact that they are
done by the industry's hottest names in snowboarding, can
save the film from an almost certain death. The scenes of
guys in heavy clothing boarding down white slopes is lacking
in any sort of excitement, juice, or intensity, possessing
a choreographed look that cheapens the effects these scenes
should have on the audience. In effect, this lame, banal,
predictable, uneventful, outrageously bad excuse for a movie
leaves its viewers out in the cold, six dollars poorer.
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| The
Extras |
If
"Out Cold" was rude and crude, then its DVD is ruder, cruder,
and much more irritating. The audio commentary featuring the
Malloy brothers, accompanied by their grandmother (!!!!),
is little more than a glorification of the movie, as is the
behind-the-scenes featurette, which features interviews with
the actors saying things like "penis jokes" and "clean, raunchy
fun." The action montage is just as lifeless as what is seen
in the movie, and the deleted scenes only means more "Out
Cold" to have to put up with.
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