Director(s) – Kevin Finn and James Rolfe (Board James, Angry Video Game Nerd)
Starring – James Rolfe (You Know What’s Bullshit?), Jeremy Suarez (The Bernie Mac Show), and Sarah Glendening (Law and Order: Criminal Intent)
Release Date – 2014
Rating – 4/5
Tagline – “Worst game. Greatest game story”
A few years ago I started working for a cell phone provider as a sales representative. This was my first foray into the professional world of employment which resulted in hour long lunches. I went from working fast food with just 20 minute lunches to having an entire hour to myself to do whatever I wanted. This lead to me quickly becoming bored with nothing to occupy my time until I started to turn to YouTube where I started following several YouTube personalities and channels like Epic Meal Time, Smosh, Rhett and Link, Good Mythical Morning, and my favorite of them all, Angry Video Game Nerd.
Soon after discovering the Nerd’s channel I soon started ordering his DVDs even though they were available for free on YouTube and I learned that he was putting together a film and successfully ran a crowd funding campaign for it. Sadly, I missed the crowd funding campaign and the perks along with it but the movie would soon be released. So I waited, waited, and waited until no word of its releases was announced. Then one day someone said the film was finally available on VOD and DVD. This slightly pissed me off that no word was given on it’s release but because it was the Nerd I had to see it so I ordered it and here we are.
**Spoiler Alert**The film follows the Nerd who is working at the video game store when he learns that the worst game ever made, Eee Tee (E.T.) for Atari is getting the sequel treatment with Eee Tee 2. His friend Cooper tries to convince the Nerd to review Eee Tee before the game is released but the Nerd refuses. Cooper is persistent about the matter but Nerd refuses to cave in but he is getting sick of the rumor of the Atari graveyard out in the desert.
Cooper teams up with a spokeswoman from BurnCock Entertainment and plan a trip to the desert to film promo material for Eee Tee 2 featuring the Nerd. He agrees to go along just so he can crush the rumors of the Eee Tee burial ground. On their trip they run into the armed forces who want to stop the Nerd and his group from reaching those games because a scientist stole alien material and encoded the map of Area-51 into the game itself. On his journey the Nerd runs into scientists, an escaped alien, and a kaiju god.**Spoiler Alert**
Angry Video Game Nerd is a YouTube channel that I often visit when I am in the mood for a lot of potty humor and a good laugh. People that know me know how vulgar I am and the AVGN appeals to that side of me while letting me indulge in nerd culture that I rarely get to share. His reviews are usually short, around the 10 minute mark, and are full of foul mouth jokes and crude analogies resulting in tons of laughs. When I heard that he was making a movie I was excited but I was worried how he was going to turn shit pickle into an hour long skit. Rolfe himself knew that he would not be able to pull off a AVGN movie if he stayed close to his review format and switched it up drastically resulting in a fun film that lacks the same vibe we get from the AVGN videos.
The acting in this one is surprisingly spot on. The entire cast. Rolfe included, actually deliver some fantastic performances that honestly shocked me with the quality. Even Rolfe picked up the slack and made the nerd feel like a genuine character and not the angry asshole he is in his videos.
The story for this one is all over the place and actually transcends genres. We get a very generic road trip story than soon hits us with some horror (there is fucking zombies) and sci-fi before giving us a great fantasy angle and even a little romance. This film takes everything and puts it in the blender giving us some serious entertainment. With that being said, the story does not really feel like an Angry Video Game Nerd film. The nerd does not go off on his rants about why something sucks and what were they thinking like we are used to. We also don’t get the cheesy animations or shit pickle. These are elements that keep people coming back for AVGN videos. Also, with AVGN taking on a movie wouldn’t Mother Fucker Mike be somewhere in this?
Finally, the film has tons of special effects be it practical and visual. The film does not have any kill scenes but it does have some blood, an amputation, and a great deal of visual effects that look cheap but actually add a lot of fun to the film. The kaiju looks great and fun but the alien, Eee Tee just look horrible. He just feels out of place. Overall, The Angry Video Game Nerd: The Movie is a fun film that anyone can enjoy. Fans of the nerd will have fun but may be a little let down by how different the film is from the show. Regardless of the differences, the film is still fantastic and is well worth your time. Check it out immediately.
I had a fun time with it, love the nerd.