Tim and Eric's Billion Dollar Movie (2012) - ★★★

Directors: Tim Heidecker, Eric Wareheim
Writers: Tim Heidecker, Eric Wareheim
Stars: Tim Heidecker, Eric Wareheim, Twink Caplan, John C. Reilly, Zach Galifianakis, Will Ferrell, Will Forte, Ray Wise

Tim and Eric's Billion Dollar Movie was a huge disappointment. My favourite comedy TV show happens to be Tim and Eric's Awesome Show: Great Job! In their show, they make intelligent, hilarious, and ultimately disturbing commentaries on the stupid shit mankind does (whether it is inventing stupid products, or stupid TV shows). The actual story of the film is its biggest letdown. It doesn't give them many opportunities to flex their crazy, off-coloured humour. They have to follow a coherent storyline that makes a little bit of sense, which throws their usual methods out of whack. While I still enjoyed this movie immensely, I'd call it the longest, unfunniest episode of Tim and Eric I've ever seen. It's funny, but I miss the non-stop laughs they used to give me.

Here's the story: The Schlaaang Corporation gave Tim and Eric 1 billion dollars to make a movie. They squandered the money and made a shitty movie, so the CEO of Schlaaang wants them dead. In order to make the billion dollars back, they purchase an abandoned mall in hopes of fixing it up and turning a profit. It's here they meet some pretty funny characters, played by some of my favourite comedic actors. The rest of the movie is just Tim and Eric trying to fix the place up, with the occasional cutaway to random funny videos.

The humour does show a lot of classic 'Tim and Eric,' but sometimes it just degenerates into smutty gags that take little to no intelligent thought (e.g. When Eric was masturbating in bed). I love the satire that they inject into their comedy, making fun of commercials, the film industry, and just people in general. But I've seen episodes of Tim and Eric with more laughs in them, and they're only 15 minutes long!

Zach Galafianakis was funny, but not 'HAHA' funny.

There is some major star-quality in this movie! John C. Reilly happens to be my favourite comedic actor of all time, and he does a pretty big role here. BUT, his character wasn't very funny, whereas his usual role of Dr. Steve Brule on the show makes me roar with laughter. Will Ferrell was pretty funny, but no more than usual. Will Forte is always hilarious on the show, but he was just annoying and unnecessary in this movie.

Their utilisation of Zach Galifianakis could have been better. He plays many characters on their show, like Tairy Green and 'Zach.' Here, he played a relatively funny health guru. So what's the problem here? THEY HAVE SOME OF THE FUNNIEST ACTORS OF ALL TIME, AND THEY COULD BARELY MAKE ME LAUGH! I can't say whether the delivery of the jokes was off, but the writing definitely wasn't great. Tim and Eric really dropped the ball with this one. 

I love John C. Reilly, but his character just wasn't funny.

The highlight of their Billion Dollar Movie is by far the cutaway bits: AKA, the bits that have nothing to do with the actual story. Jeff Goldblum's commerical for the 'Super Seat' at the start of the movie was the second funniest thing in the film! The funniest being the 'Shrim' commercial (IMO). Tim and Eric's 'Dobis P.R.' team building video made me laugh until my sides started hurting, and so did their commercial for the grand re-opening of the mall. This is what they do best! Their random imagination's combine and create the most absurd, hilarious clips I've ever seen. That's why it's my favourite television series of all time! The movie doesn't really give much time to these funny little segments, because it has to focus on an average little story with very little to offer. That's why it's funny, but not constantly entertaining. 

Will Ferrell gave a few laughs, but he could have been so much funnier!

Overall, the major problem I have with this movie is this: there were long periods where I couldn't even muster a smile. Now that's a big no-no, especially when it concerns two of my all time favourite comedians. Because Tim and Eric are my kind of comedy, I liked this movie. There were moments where I roared with laughter, which is something I've come to expect from these two. Whatever faults there are with the film, they managed to produce a whole bunch of different gags that made me laugh. In the end, it's not as good as your average episode of Tim and Eric, but it's pretty good.