Low budget independent films are a tricky thing for the average viewer, they carry a kind of stigma that makes people think they are less than their mainstream counterpart and unfortunately for the most part they are right. However, every once in a while a truly great flick can be made out of great writing and true creativity instead of piles of money and a Hollywood formula the most famous example probably being Kevin Smith’s debut ‘Clerks’. Filmmaking at its purest and when it’s done right it reminds you of what one can do with a little bit of money, a camera, and a good idea, ‘Stick It In Detroit’ is one of these great indie comedies. The flick follows Todd Kennedy and his friends on the days leading up to their annual Halloween bash. Todd is thrown a curve ball when he’s offered a promotion which will relocate him to a factory in Georgia. He must decide if he’ll leave his girlfriend and the friends he’s had since high school, or forgo the promotion and “Stick it in Detroit”.
Todd’s story is the heart of the movie, but the real funny comes from the colorful cast of characters that comprise his friends. Scott, played by Kieran Campion, is hilarious as a Wall Street wannabe who works as a janitor. His tendency to daydream provides some of the films funniest moments, not to mention the gut busting sequence at a snobbish country club that he’s bullshitted his way into. Then there’s Justin Rose, the chubby nerd who draws a ridiculously perverted comic strip. Rose lucks out when gorgeous girl starts working at his office, however his ineptitude with women and downright bad luck lead to the most cringe inducing gross out scene I’ve seen in years. I couldn’t do it justice to explain it here but let’s just say the genius is in its simplicity, they don’t feel the need to soak you in nastiness but rather take a small thing and make it harder to watch straight on than a needle going into an eyeball. It really is the type of scene you watch out of the corner of your eye because you can’t bear to look dead ahead. Next up is Wojo, a holy roller at heart who can’t seem to keep from doing the most hedonistic things of the whole group. He’d be a priest if he could stop getting high and banging random gutter sluts. The real service that Wojo does for the film is introduce us to its scene stealer and, I think, hands down the funniest character in the flick, Rod “Hot Rod” Johnson. He’s the wanna be white gangsta and is played perfectly by Brett Gelman. Every time this guy was on screen I was laughing my ass off and he even comes off with the most quotable lines of the movie. Rounding out the cast is Susan Meiner ably playing Todd’s beautiful girlfriend and Matt Chapman playing Gary, somewhat of an outsider to the group who happens to be a successful lawyer and the pawn in Scott’s ploy to land a high society honey. The plot is somewhat simplistic and secondary to the jokes, but for this film it worked. The laughs were great so you’d almost feel a downturn if they had tried to hit you with too much story. Even with the minimal plot development they still managed to squeeze in just enough heart and emotion to make you feel Todd’s decisions.
All in all I had a great time with ‘Stick It In Detroit’ and can only hope the flick get’s enough exposure so that plenty of people get to see it. It takes the kind of comedy that National Lampoon’s has been failing at for the last few years and just knocks it out of the park. The real charm and appeal to the movie is that anyone who still has friends from high school can relate to it. You have nothing in common with these people other than the fact that you graduated together, yet despite your differences you wouldn’t trade them for anything. Hell, I know at least 3 Hot Rod Johnson’s that I still see every once in awhile and now thanks to this flick I won’t be able to look at them with a straight face anymore. So if you guys want to see a hilarious comedy with just the right amount of raunch and a little bit of gross out sprinkled in for good measure I definitely recommend checking out ‘Stick It In Detroit’. You can’t get it at your video store just yet, but if you’re interested head on over to
http://www.stickitindetroit.com and check out the unrated trailer.
