User Reviews

The Long Weekend does itself no favours by blatantly ripping off the worst bits of the American Pie franchise and infusing it with some of the most nauseating and unfunny scenes filmed for this genre.

Gross-out sex comedies have been on the rise since the success of American Pie and its spawns like Not Another Teen Movie, Eurotrip and Van Wilder have thrived at the box office while being panned by many in the process. Although distasteful for many, these movies have always found advocates in younger viewers with many of its plots set in schools. Following the recent straight-to-video release of American Pie Presents Band Camp, audiences are now subjected to The Long Weekend, a crass sex romp through a city involving 2 brothers and the women they encounter.

In a story as old as time, the uptight and sexually repressed brother, Ed (Roswell's Brendan Fehr) is urged by his playboy brother, Cooper (American Pie alum, Chris Klein) to embark on a weekend of debauchery. Ed, a reserved and artistic advertising wunderkind, has hit rock bottom. His ideas hit a creative slump when he finds out that his philandering ex-girlfriend is now married to his former best friend cum roommate. Threatened with the thought of losing his job, he has a weekend to create a new advertising concept for his firm's biggest client, an insurance company that's on the verge of seeking another ad agency's service. Unfortunately, this weekend coincides with his birthday and his dolt-of-a-brother has something up his sleeves.

As the 8th most recognisable Western face in Japan due to a successful advertising campaign for the country's leading sake (a Japanese alcoholic beverage made from fermented rice) manufacturer, Cooper's the quintessential Lothario actor who beds the most promiscuous and attractive women that he's able to get his hands on. With the best of intentions, he's determined to get the reluctant Ed back into the dating scene as he drags him to different locales where desperate single women gather. With each scenario turning into 1 awkward situation after another, a resolute Ed is finally unwavering in his pursuit to have sex by the time his weekend ends.

The formulaic plot involving a tense and asexual character that suddenly becomes dogged in his pursuit of sex while facing obstacles that humiliate, maim and ultimately fortifies him is utilised till the end. A lack of originality is just one of the many reasons this film falters as there's none of the comic unpredictability we've come to expect from recent sex comedies such as The 40 year old Virgin. The film's gross-out factor hits pretty high up on the charts when we start to see bodily fluids being digested, faecal matter and scenes that border on bestiality. These scenes seemed to have been tacked on for the sole purpose of keeping viewers remotely interested in the lacklustre script and cringeworthy dialogue.

long weekend 2While it aspires to be a low-budget version of the Wedding Crashers or Swingers (both outrageously funny and highly recommended Vince Vaughn vehicles), it fails to engage viewers due to its unlovable and pathetic characters that have the misfortune of being badly played as well. Fehr seems grossly miscast as Ed as he comes off as a potential sociopath more than a sympathetic and lovelorn chump. Klein's Cooper is the less likable 'Stifler', being more obnoxious and ignorant to those around him even when he expiates his shortcomings in the end. As a film that appeals to a younger and less discerning audience through its gross humour, its story is unevenly set in situations familiar to adults and those accustomed to the workplace, decreasing its appeal.

The only fresh aspect of this film that made it bearable was its unique use of genuine home videos that feature folks getting hurt while in embarrassing situations and animals oblivious to the camera. These videos were used to accentuate a character's emotional state. Probably guilty Schadenfreude at its worst but it lent a distinct style to the film that managed to become part of the climax. No surprise then that 1 of the production companies involved in The Long Weekend is Vin Di Bona Productions, the company behind America's Funniest Home Videos.

Even a cameo by Lost's Evangeline Lilly was absolutely wasted as a dead body at a supermodel's funeral. Copious amounts of female nudity, distasteful visuals of animal parts and scatological humour are heaped in its short runtime of 85 minutes, a favour to the audience that the film's producers didn't count on. With inflated ticket prices these days, this trite and foul effort is a waste of money and time even when it eventually becomes available for rental.

Rating: 1 out of 5 stars

I thought this movie started out great, but took some missteps and ended up only an average funny film. Still, it's not bad.

The use of various amateur videos of disgusting or hilarious or disgustingly hilarious or hilariously disgusting events was I think the major feature this film had going for it. It was, dare I say, a bold move, and I'm certain this film will be banned (or cut) in various locales for some of these few seconds.

I felt that the part about saving the company was a bit unnecessary. I would have left that out.

And, like so many Canadian films, it's in the closet about its location until the credits roll. Watching this film, I don't think anybody is buying the US setting, just because there are US flags on things. It's clearly Canada. The story doesn't depend on anything being in a particular city, so why not just be honest about it, instead of having this weird "we're not in Kansas anymore" feeling permeate the film?

I would have left out most of the moralizing, with the appeal to god, and subsequent acting role. It just doesn't make sense for that character, and detracts from the fact that this is supposed to be a comedy.

But on the whole, I enjoyed the film. It's laugh-out-loud funny at a lot of points, and some of those film clips just leave you shocked and speechless, but in a good way (if you're into being shocked and speechless). It's something you really have to watch at home, so you can rewind for those times when you ask "Did I just see that?" or worse "WHAT did I just see?"

There are way too many clips in this movie. Obviously, it's from time before Youtube.

A well known story, which, funny enough for a movie w/Cobie Smulders before HIMYM, echoes Barney Stinson telling Ted Mosby "I'm gonna teach you how to live", is not very-well carried out. The "Barney Stinson" of this movie (the older brother) is lacking any real plan or "plays". "Ted Mosby" of this story - the younger brother (who hooks up w/Robin Scherbatsky of this story, obviously) is not nearly so goofy or interestingly "out to lunch". He's mostly just whining.

But, these guys and gals are having fun and do manage to crank up a few good jokes and some well placed (if immature and borderline disgusting) clips. Since you can see them having fun, you're kind of OK with it.

So, it's an OK watch, but there are much better comedies.

There are some great sex comedies out there but this sure as hell isn't one of them. This is a mean-spirited, unpalatable, grotesque and deeply unfunny movie.

Normally I am happy to spend 90 minutes or so in the company of Chris Klein. I recently enjoyed seeing him in "Just Friends". What was he thinking when he saw the script to this stinker? The plot mainly deals with the two protagonists' efforts to find sex over the eponymous long weekend. Not a great premise for a movie, admittedly, but in the right hands it might have been fun.

Not in these hands though. The jokes, if that is what they are supposed to have been, are either idiotic, unhealthily misogynistic or utterly revolting. The action is interspersed with a variety of truly repulsive video clips (which have some vague relevance to the plot), mainly of animals eating their own crap and the like.

It's rare that I actually give up on a movie, but after 45 minutes or so I had to rip that sucker out of my DVD player as it was turning my stomach. There are doubtless some morons out there who'll enjoy wallowing in the unbelievable crassness that is The Long Weekend, but I would advise most of us to avoid avoid a-void this one.

I like Chris Klein, and I like these types of comedies. This is why I had confidence that The Long Weekend was gonna be a very, very funny movie. I am sad to say I was wrong. I did not laugh at any one point throughout this whole movie. It's a gross-out comedy that's just gross. It's not funny, it's just gross. The story of Ed Waxman (Brendan Fehr), a guy who since babyhood has had a video camera stuck to his face like super glue is not anything new or original. This is not one of my biggest complaints. These movies do not have any intention to be new or original, nor should they. The movie follows how Ed finds his girlfriend videotaping her cheating on him. Ed now has lost his job, and no longer even looks at a video camera. Now, his well-intentioned brother Cooper (Chris Klein) tries to find him love, and just ends up screwing up his life even more (it figures.) The movie at least has an appropriate title, which is still not a good thing. It falls flat at every turn, and the movie is appropriately titled because this weekend is long, tedious, boring, and just plain dreadful.