Gravy (Blu-ray / DVD)
Starring Jimmi Simpson, Sutton Foster, Michael Weston
Directed by James Roday
Distributed by The Scream Factory
I’ll admit that over the course of my relatively short reviewing career, I’ve come across some films that made me feel as if my skull had cracked open, allowing what gray matter there is left to ooze out onto the floor like a freshly broken egg yolk – some for the good and quite a few for the bad. In the case of James Roday’s cannibalistic comedy Gravy, what started off as what I thought was something simply goofy, turned out to be gloriously gory and a really fun flick to watch.
Packed tightly with cameos, the film takes place on the eve of Halloween, and from the onset where we see Sarah Silverman portraying a loopy convenience store cashier, the stage is slowly being set for something off the wall, for sure. Taking place inside a Mexican restaurant, the movie centers around a group of three costumed dilettantes of dermis (Simpson, Weston, Lily Cole) that hold the staff hostage and are merely at ease with playing some games with their captives until it’s time to dine. Win some games (like Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon and William Tell target practice), and you’ll be set free (well, not really). Lose a round, and you’d better hope that you showered before the night began… can’t have what’s on the menu giving off a little odor, now can we?
Comedian Paul Rodriguez excels as Chuy, and Gabourey Sidibe gives a hilarious performance as a defiant security guard. Now, I’m not going to blow the details up for anyone as far as to who ends up on the carving table and who doesn’t, but trust me when I tell you that the second half of this presentation is considerably much more gory than the first half.
Roday, who gained notoriety on USA’S “Psych,” offers up a nice blend of dark humor and outstanding gore in his first full feature film undertaking and even jumps on the “gravy train” (bad pun) as a co-writer and small acting credit in the film. Aside from the complete lunacy and goofball actions that more than a few of the cast members emitted, the movie doesn’t make any apologies for its off-color remarks about minorities or fat people, instead using them as a fortifying supplement to the cannibals’ already warped sense of thinking. Jimmi Simpson is absolutely superlative in his role as the leader of the flesh-chewers (and NO, these are NOT zombies) – with a sharp tongue and ultra-cool demeanor, he literally devours (again with the bad puns) his screen time and will make you laugh as well as wince at his actions.
Anyone that knows me, or has utterly wasted their precious time reading my reviews, has noticed in the past that I’m not the biggest advocate for horror/comedies, but this Gravy is one food enhancer that I’d be proud to have at my table once the dinner bell rings.
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Film
Categorized:Reviews
