User Reviews

AJ Goes to France is the kind of comedy that Hollyood seems to be incapable of making anymore. It is a film whose plot does not make sense and does not matter. Thank God. For too long we have suffered through the likes of Scary Movie and Date Movie and Not Another Teen Movie and, and, and... none of which have a single joke that isn't communicated to the audience 5 minutes before it happens (hence negating the point of the gag) or isn't a variation of a famous scene from a movie ("Show me the money!", etc.) with scatological/ sexual innuendo/drug references being added to show how creative the screenwriters are.

"France" moves along a rapid fire pace, never outlasting its welcome, utilizing a machine- gun fire dispersing of its many clever sight gags, run-ons, and one liners which aren't so much one-liners as they are clever versions of tired, plot-oriented dialogue from other movies. Everything but the kitchen sink is included, but in such a way that it is intentional and not a desperate try to get a laugh out of everybody. The filmmakers know what they are doing, they know when they want everyone to be confused, to be laughing, to be excited at there film. Not afraid of being offense or feature cruelty into a passive manner ("I get to see hero today, Kapitan Kangroo!" "You mean the one with the debilitating addiction to black-tar heroin?"), "France" is above using cheap scatological humor or base sexual innuendo as easy substitutes for jokes, characters and a storyline that was well thought out (which is impressive in itself considering what kind of film this is).

All in all, a strong recommendation for "AJ Goes to France", especially for those who, like me, remember the glory days of the 80's when thing like gags, one-liners and intelligent parodies of the ridiculous in other popular films (see Heidi Gustad's pitch-perfect send-up of the quirky caricatures of the female leads in Garden State and Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind) didn't have to be dumbed down in order to make light of films that took themselves too seriously. -10/10

Don't let the fact that 'AJ Goes to France's' comedy may be reminiscent of the greats mentioned in reviews of the film fool you; the script and all of its jokes are most definitely original (and hilarious). Starring AJ Thompson (as himself), Danny Davy (the French guy, himself), Toby Jones (George Sampson III, himself), Ben Hanson (Jean Patrick Francois deLayfayette), Heidi Gustad (Gretchen Walla), Tom "Zero" Seim (angry mime), and Cody Koch (Sabin), 'AJ Goes to France' is a wonderous work created by high schoolers. Honestly, you would never guess that we made this the summer immediately following senior year. "Mad props" to Toby Jones, Danny Davy, and AJ Thomson for co-writing and directing such an amazing full-length debut. If you are a fan of the comedy trio Stella (Michael Showalter, David Wain, Michael Ian Black), you will love 'AJ.'

AJ Goes to France is a local and independent film made by three teenagers in Fargo, ND. The film truly shows the grit of how to do it without any financial help or studio backing. Regardless, the no-budget film is laugh-out-loud funny. Borrowing humor from Seth MacFarlane, Michael Ouweleen, Erik Richter, etc. AJ Goes to France renders the usefulness of timing and weirdness in adding to the comedy. Another comedic aspect is the fact that a few of the main actors play multiple characters. This shouldn't throw any people off, because from the first scene on, a viewer will get the feeling of wackiness. All jokes follow suit and can easily be apprehended. Interestingly enough, as much as the creators of this movie have borrowed comedy from other sources, it maintains a lot of originality in its own element. As a movie itself, it does not fall short in maintaining a steady pace, quality editing, and believable acting. The power of self-promotion is profound as the film premiered with 199 people in attendance at the historic Fargo Theatre. For a small town in the Midwest, this is quite an achievement. All in all, Hollywood wishes it could make a movie like this.