Freddy Got Fingered
Written and Directed by: Tom Green
Starring: Tom Green, Rip Torn, Harland Williams

Tom Green is a funny guy. Just when I thought that TV was completely useless and devoid of any humour that is even slightly intelligent, I caught part of The Tom Green Show one evening on the Comedy Network and realized that there was still hope. It was so fresh and off the wall, and it had me in hysterics. It had been a long time since I had laughed out loud in front the television screen.

I’m sure there are a lot of people right now who would question my assertion that Tom Green’s humour is intelligent. In fact, I am questioning it now myself, after seeing his film Freddy Got Fingered. Let me tell you, this thing is a real piece of work.

As we all know, the movie got pitiful reviews, but I didn’t think I could really trust critics on a movie like this one. A lot of critics probably couldn’t wait for their chance to rip into Tom Green. While the release of Freddy Got Fingered may have come at the height of his popularity, it also came at a time when I think a lot of people were beginning to sick of him. I think he was putting himself in people’s faces just a little too much, and for most people I think 90 minutes of Tom Green on the big screen (with no chance to change the channel) is a possibly fatal overdose.

There were definitely numerous warning signs to stay away from this flick, but I still wanted to give it a chance and see it for myself.

It didn’t start off all that bad. The intro shows Tom skateboarding all over town and performing some cool stunts. Although it was rather self-indulgent, it was put together in a cool way, and energized the film off the bat.

Tom Green’s frantic, hyperactive acting style had me grinning initially. One or two jokes kind of made me laugh. I was still uncertain as to where it was heading, but there was a faint hope that maybe it wouldn’t be too bad.

From there the movie quickly fell… fell until it hit rock bottom. Then fell some more. That’s really what it felt like.

Before seeing this movie, I didn’t realize how important even a vague, predictable plot is to a comedy. Freddy Got Fingered makes all of those cheesy Saturday Night Live spin-off movies seem like masterpieces.I won’t even bother trying to explain the plot, because there isn’t one. Tom just seems to jump aimlessly from scene to scene, each scene consisting of one simple event that is stretched into 5 or 10 minutes while Tom repeats things over and over again.

Film just doesn’t seem to be Tom Green’s forte. It’s clear that he is only funny when being spontaneous, and that he and his friend Derek can only come up with amusing ideas that are suitable for 60 second segments. (This may explain why the trailer for this movie is actually somewhat funny.)

It’s like there is no script here, but rather each scene has one or two lines that he improvises around. Unfortunately, his improvisation just doesn’t work in the sterile film environment, and he ultimately ends up repeating the same sentences over and over again. Tom just seems to be trying too hard throughout the movie. Maybe he is trying extra hard because he knows that his antics aren’t going to translate as well when they are not live and off the cuff. Each scene just drags on and on, and there are parts that would have been funny, but they are killed because they carry on for too long, or because we’ve already seen them in the trailer. (ie. “Daddy would you like some sausage?”)

Also, gross out humour is one thing, but there are some particular scenes that are just not enjoyable to watch. I’m not overly sensitive to these kinds of things. In fact, I laugh at a lot of gross out stuff he does on his TV show, but in the movie, for example, when his friend breaks his leg skateboarding and the bone is sticking out, and Tom starts to lick the wound… I just stared at the screen dumbfounded. It may have sounded bizarre and funny on paper, but really, it’s just gross, and up on the screen it just looked moronic.

There is also the matter of the music selections in this movie. Tom Green acts like a true MTV spokesperson, throwing all kinds of popular music for the little generation X-ers into the movie, even if it is just for 5 seconds. That kind of thing bugs me. It becomes painfully obvious that you’re just trying to be hip when you have to keep finding excuses to play popular music in a movie.

All I can say is… ouch. Tom Green has definitely made a name for himself with this film, unfortunately, it’s not a very good name.Indeed, I feel bad for everyone involved in this movie. How could they all have gone along with this, and not realized at some point that it was going to suck? I feel bad for the actors who lent their faces to this monstrous creation (especially Rip Torn who also lent his ass). Actually wait… I don’t feel bad for Drew Barrymore. She deserves the wack role she had in this movie. But what the hell was Shaq thinking, giving a cameo appearance in this? It’s going to tarnish his image from previous films such as Shazam and Steel.

So as I watched the film deteriorate into a horrible, horrible thing, I had to stop and ask myself, “Is it supposed to be this bad? Is he doing this on purpose?” I almost want to believe that the whole thing is a Kaufman-esque inside joke. I think that Tom Green is smarter than this.

There is a hint that maybe Tom knows how stupid the whole movie is: At the very very end of the movie, while the credits are rolling, and we seem some of the outtakes, the last outtake has Tom getting up off the ground, and walking off camera, rolling his eyes, and laughing to himself muttering “What the fuck am I doing?”

Tom Green himself has said that all that matters to him is getting a reaction out of people; whether it is laughter, or not is irrelevant. In a way, I can see him being very proud to have made this movie that people are calling one of the worst films ever.

But you know what? When all is said and done, I look back at this movie and I laugh – laugh because it is completely ridiculous that a movie like this was ever made. I can definitely see this becoming a cult classic. It is quite possibly one of the worst movies ever made, and in that sense, I find it kind of interesting. Still, that doesn’t mean that I would sit through it again, nor would I ever think of recommending it to anyone else. — Sean