#newlinecinema

Gimli, Son of Gloin.

Late for doing a review of a movie I've seen this Tuesday but better late then never. With HBO Max having the 2003 Texas Chainsaw Massacre remake on it figured it'd be a way to delve into the horrific world of Leatherface and his family and there's truly a lot to look into when it comes to how there's a lot of horror in not just the violence but what Leatherface and his family represent.

For one thing there's obviously Leatherface the one guy you're seeing the whole movie for and he's without a doubt someone that you can understand clearly why he's among the scariest characters in horror history and the fact that he's based on Ed Gains doesn't help make him any less scary. From how he does his kills to going as far as to wear the face of someone he's recently killed to messed with people if you mistook him for a demon you'd be correct. But that's only tipping the ice berg of what's also just as horrifying which is his family especially one of them that steals the show. I won't say who due to spoilers but those who have will know FULL well what I'm talking about. They overall feel like everything that is wrong with the concept of family which is they do things to both each other and other people that no sane person would EVER do. Something that main heroine clearly understands.

So overall while it doesn't have the same impact the original 70's movie did it's still nonetheless proved to be a solid movie in it's own right to fully respect what came before and it's easy to see why it's among the better horror remakes.

Synopsis:

On the last day of the year,  mild-mannered high school English teacher  Andy Campbell (Charlie Day)  is trying his best to keep it together amidst senior pranks, a dysfunctional administration and budget cuts that put jobs on the line. But things go from bad to worse when he accidentally crosses his much tougher and genuinely feared colleague, Ron Strickland  (Ice  Cube), who challenges Campbell to an old-fashioned throw down after school. News of the fight spreads like wildfire and ends up becoming the very thing this school, and Campbell needed.

- New Line Cinema with Village Roadshow Pictures

Film Review:

The film is set to document the worst day ever. It starts off with Andy Campbell   (Charlie Day) going on his daily journey to school where he teaches. At the beginning of the movie, it’s clearly established that Andy is not the tough guy type. He gets mocked, bullied and embarrassed by his students on his way to work.  It seems that this goes on quite on a regular basis throughout the day. However, unlike any other today was probably the worst day for him and every other teacher - last day of school.

                              ***Spoiler Alert***

Everyone knows that the last day of school is the day of epic pranking. All the teachers including the administrators and coach get pranked the entire day! To make matters worse for Andy, he gets into a fist fight invitation by one of the scariest teachers in school, Strickland ( Ice Cube).  They initially got into an argument after a student named Neil (Austin Zajur) pranked them both, it became messy when Strickland who probably has anger issues, furiously stroke the student’s chair with an axe.

Both teachers were called and threatened of getting laid off unless someone tells the truth. Andy, of course, being the weak one snitched his colleague Strickland. Not liking what Andy did, Strickland wanted a fist fight to teach Andy and the students a lesson about consequences.

Of all the days Andy got into a real fight, it was also the day when his daughter needed him the most. Ally ( Alexa Nissenson ) played Andy’s daughter who has a talent competition on the same day. And he has been thinking about it all day and was trying his best not to miss it despite him almost losing his job, bribing students, buying drugs, jailed and getting into a fight.

It’s a messy, chaotic day for Andy. However, he finally found his courage and stood up for himself for the fist time. He showed up in time for his daughter’s talent competition where they perform a very interesting number. And then he finally decided that he would fight his colleague at the parking. He may not have won, but he put up a good fight and gained a new friend. In the end, his wife who was also pregnant was in labour when Andy was knocked out. Strickland helped him get to the hospital, and that’s how his worst day ended- not so bad after all.

The story seemed interesting enough to watch with a promising plot. But then it takes a turn to over packing crude jokes and depended solely on comic reliefs that were not effective -making the film lame and boring to watch. 

In general, the film did not seem very entertaining and funny at all. Some scenes didn’t make sense- somewhat unnecessary. Like when Andy’s other colleague Miss Monet ( Christina Hendricks ) kept popping in and out of the movie as a sexy character distraction but did not fit in well. As well as her odd portrayal of a Psychopath did not seem believable. Holly ( Jillian Bell) was unpredictable with her character as the supporting actress to Andy.  She was funny at times but was trying too hard on some of the scenes. It came across as a little cringy on some of her scenes. The script didn’t have much impact as a supposedly funny film.

The movie is clearly not a smart comedy and will not make you laugh your hearts out. There may be very few memorable scenes and certainly not an enjoyable film to watch. As well as enough off-color humour and profanity but does not guarantee even a chuckle.  There is a lack of wit, timing and proper execution that made the jokes a bit stale.