BAGBOY (NATIONAL LAMPOON'S)

Once upon a time the National Lampoon's branding was a sure thing when it came to selecting a comedy. Titles like Animal House, Vacation and Class Reunion cemented their cred in the genre... but the cement got soggy and their name all but guaranteed a terrible movie... crud like Golf Punks, Senior Trip and Men In White. Eye Curumba!!!! And every now and then a few half decent ones slip thru the cracks, like Val Wilder, Going The Distance and Homo Erectus. So there you are, I've listed a string of National Lampoon's movies and you get the gist of their schtick (if you didn't already). And so I just watched Bagboy. It's about a supermarket bag boy who, with the guidance of his store manager, competes for the national bagging championships. Stupid stuff but strangely amusing. Watching it reminded me a lot of the Farrelly Brother's movie Kingpin. And then midway through the movie, low and behold, a character from Kingpin shows up and reflects back on events from that movie. WTF? Then I read up to discover that Bagboy was written and directed by the guy who wrote Kingpin and that this is a spin-off of sorts... the same universe and all that. So yeah, it's a stupid movie but has it's moments. Lots of gags miss the mark but enough of them strike bullseye to have kept me watching. It's certainly not worth rushing out to see (as if anyone would) but it is worth your time if you're couch surfing a stumble upon it.

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