Even this kind of shoddy script deserves someone better than Forte.
The first 10-15 minutes appear to be reasonably promising but at the latest when the very mediocre Will Forte makes his very mediocre appearance do things start devolving at great speed towards the very mediocre - and the very boring. By the 30-minute mark I had very little interest in continuing with this pedestrian "comedy". It took me some real powers of self-persuasion and discipline to actually finish this dull nonsense. But it's not just Will's fault, the script stinks.
The way Maeve killed her father is unconvincing, unfunny, and utterly illogical. Three people are standing on a tiny and very flat road, a truck approaches at a speed of 30 km/h, yet it fails to break on time - because the driver was absent? Shooting heroin? Talking to UFO aliens?
Maeve not suspecting Forte is also illogical. Why would he call her for driving classes, right after she met him at the place where the "virgin" works, just a day before she becomes possessed/levitational? She supposedly has "the talent" yet completely fails to add 2 and 2, completely fails to "feel" there's something wrong with him. This makes her out to be not only not "gifted" but daft as well.
Forte's powers seem to be so extensive that I wondered why he'd even bother with such an intricate sacrifice when he could rule all of Ireland with the spells he already has - nevermind have another no 1 hit. In short: he is far too powerful for some bumbling hobby satanist. He was written that way because the writers (all 4 of them) couldn't come up with a cleverer plot. The motive for Forte to carry out the sacrifice seems trivial, considering what a powerful sorcerer he is. It'd be like Qaddafi hiring 50 terrorist bombers to kill a person who owns a pair of sneakers that he badly wants, despite the fact that he can afford to buy and get whatever he wants - including a new pair.
Villain's motive. 101 Writing. Very important. If the villain makes little sense the plot falls apart. Don't make the villain too powerful if it makes no sense, or too incompetent. Basic writing. 101. Even a comedy needs a halfway logical villain, especially one as unfunny as this. Forte goes against his character when he spontaneously kills his wife/girlfriend - to whom he had been subservient the entire time. That's the typical kind of random plot-twist that one encounters in badly conceived films.
But it's the overly "cute" humour that sinks the film. This kind of dumb banter is for millennials, for teens, for people who'll laugh at just about anything. Certainly not for me. Whoever considers this "clever" must have been watching Teletubbies well into their 20s. The last 20-30 minutes in particular feature some rather cringy juvenile humour.
Maeve being the love-interest is rather far-fetched, quite unacceptable, and would be so even if this were an absurdist comedy. Too absurd even for a ZAZ film. I know that some guys are so insecure that their standards have fallen to rock-bottom, but this is nevertheless too ridiculous for me. If you're gonna cast someone like Maeve (an even weaker version of Ons Jabeur) as the female lead - a romantic lead even - then you'd better make sure she is nothing short of hilarious. Not even remotely close...
The first 10-15 minutes appear to be reasonably promising but at the latest when the very mediocre Will Forte makes his very mediocre appearance do things start devolving at great speed towards the very mediocre - and the very boring. By the 30-minute mark I had very little interest in continuing with this pedestrian "comedy". It took me some real powers of self-persuasion and discipline to actually finish this dull nonsense. But it's not just Will's fault, the script stinks.
The way Maeve killed her father is unconvincing, unfunny, and utterly illogical. Three people are standing on a tiny and very flat road, a truck approaches at a speed of 30 km/h, yet it fails to break on time - because the driver was absent? Shooting heroin? Talking to UFO aliens?
Maeve not suspecting Forte is also illogical. Why would he call her for driving classes, right after she met him at the place where the "virgin" works, just a day before she becomes possessed/levitational? She supposedly has "the talent" yet completely fails to add 2 and 2, completely fails to "feel" there's something wrong with him. This makes her out to be not only not "gifted" but daft as well.
Forte's powers seem to be so extensive that I wondered why he'd even bother with such an intricate sacrifice when he could rule all of Ireland with the spells he already has - nevermind have another no 1 hit. In short: he is far too powerful for some bumbling hobby satanist. He was written that way because the writers (all 4 of them) couldn't come up with a cleverer plot. The motive for Forte to carry out the sacrifice seems trivial, considering what a powerful sorcerer he is. It'd be like Qaddafi hiring 50 terrorist bombers to kill a person who owns a pair of sneakers that he badly wants, despite the fact that he can afford to buy and get whatever he wants - including a new pair.
Villain's motive. 101 Writing. Very important. If the villain makes little sense the plot falls apart. Don't make the villain too powerful if it makes no sense, or too incompetent. Basic writing. 101. Even a comedy needs a halfway logical villain, especially one as unfunny as this. Forte goes against his character when he spontaneously kills his wife/girlfriend - to whom he had been subservient the entire time. That's the typical kind of random plot-twist that one encounters in badly conceived films.
But it's the overly "cute" humour that sinks the film. This kind of dumb banter is for millennials, for teens, for people who'll laugh at just about anything. Certainly not for me. Whoever considers this "clever" must have been watching Teletubbies well into their 20s. The last 20-30 minutes in particular feature some rather cringy juvenile humour.
Maeve being the love-interest is rather far-fetched, quite unacceptable, and would be so even if this were an absurdist comedy. Too absurd even for a ZAZ film. I know that some guys are so insecure that their standards have fallen to rock-bottom, but this is nevertheless too ridiculous for me. If you're gonna cast someone like Maeve (an even weaker version of Ons Jabeur) as the female lead - a romantic lead even - then you'd better make sure she is nothing short of hilarious. Not even remotely close...