But it would be unfair to just pick on Ms. Moore this whole review when there is Ed Helms. Famous comic actor Ed Helms. Prominently used in all the advertising in a desperate attempt to draw fans of the Office. Which might have made a few fans happy if Corporate Animals didn’t kill off his character in act one. He’s introduced, he acts like a douche, gets caught in a rockslide, his body goes boosh. (Ok fine, he comes back in a dream sequence, but if I bring that up then my poem doesn’t work.)
I thought to myself; maybe it’s the script. Maybe the script itself just isn’t funny? Maybe the cast is really good, but they don’t have enough to play with? And then Nasim Pedrad as Suzy just nails every joke. Nassim Pedrad is wasted in this film in a role that is far too small for her talent. She is the only one who is making this tired dialog work and getting any laughs. Somebody, please give her a sitcom or movie to star in.
“…with so much that went wrong…it’s difficult to pin down exactly what the issue is…”
But, the script by Sam Bain isn’t doing anyone any favors. The characters are broad two-dimensional pastiches, their relationships are never clearly defined, and people blurt out their confessions not because it is motivated by the story but because it’s their turn.
But one would think with Patrick Brice at the helm you might get something mildly interesting. He’s directed some of the most intriguing independent films in the last decade. One wonders if he was steamrolled by his stars or just didn’t care enough to do something that looks better than an “edgy” sitcom.
Corporate Animals tries to be a comedy about class struggle, hubris, cult of personality, and corporate culture using cannibalism as a metaphor. It is a fantastic idea that never gels into anything worth watching, and I suggest you miss it.
"…only option is to air all their grievances and resort to cannibalism."
Johnny Carson, Rich Little, Jack Benny, Jonathan Winters the Great, and oh wonderful Jackie Gleason, onstage these and so many so many more like them didn’t need to be nasty. I always found the less the content the more they threw filth into the movie. True Talent and great movies like ocean 11 cetera, certainly portray the reality the difference between great and garbage. The Sound of Music. Fiddler on the Roof, magnificent movies compared to this piece of garbage with foul mouth dirty nasty people. How is that funny.? Are the millennials so compromised they don’t know the difference between pornography and poetry. I can’t see that this filth is the lowest form of amusement. It’s so disgusting to see civilization unwind and it is first exposed by the storytellers and what the people listen to as their entertainment.