I was not looking forward to seeing this movie. I wasn't dreading the content of the film itself. Rather, as I am clearly not a part of the film's intended demographic, I was pretty sure I'd be getting some strange looks going to see it alone. I ended up going to an early afternoon weekday showing and lucked out. There were only six other people in the theatre.
The film is decent for much of its runtime, but in no way transcendent (not that I believe it tries to be). The various story threads tend to be hit or miss. This is to be expected when you have five main characters, each with their own story arc--some will connect better than others. The film is at its best when it is content to be a gentle comedy. It has some reasonably funny lines, although nothing truly hilarious.
The film lost me near the end, when it tried to get too serious. A lot of comedies fall victim to this. When they try to get dramatic and communicate the film's message, they do it in a ham-fisted manner and (even worse) forget to be funny. Many elements throughout the film were clichéd, but near the end it got truly ridiculous, with events occurring solely for the sake of drama. Even if it hadn't fallen apart at the end, there are plenty of movies that have done a better job with similar material. There's really no reason this needed to be made.
I have never seen an episode of the television show this movie follows (if it were on Netflix instead of Amazon, I might have gotten around to it). I still found the film to be fairly accessible. While I'm sure I would have gotten more out of it if I'd seen the series beforehand, I was never confused due to lack of information. The film started with a brief introductory voiceover played over what I assume were clips from the series. It's a clunky way to take care of the exposition (finding a way to eloquently convey said information in dialogue or action would have been ideal), but it doesn't sink the film, since it's over and done with so quickly.
There were a few jokes, also towards the beginning, that I felt relied too heavily on breaking the fourth wall. They were funny enough, but they also pulled me out of the film's world, never a good thing. On the whole, however, I enjoyed the film. Much of the dialogue was clever and fast paced. The storyline had its share of twists, making for a fun ride. Again, I'm sure I would have gotten more out of the film if I'd seen the original series. There would be an extra sense of excitement in seeing the characters onscreen again, reuniting and interacting. Even without that, I still found this to be a fun, enjoyable movie. I'm enjoying the trend of television shows seeing a second life after cancellation (I'm especially looking forward to the return of "24"). I hope that this film is successful and paves the way for similar such projects. A "Twin Peaks" revival is at the top of my wishlist.
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