Search Party
review by Bobby Blakey
There are some truly great comedies out there that sadly get lost in the shuffle of all the nonsense that gets released around it. While there are plenty that miss the mark, when you can find that one that delivers it’s a true find. The latest Search Party is looking to be that next fun R rated comedy, but does it have the meat to deliver the laughs or is it a search not worth doing?
Search Party follows Jason, who is convinced that his buddy Nardo is making the mistake of a lifetime by marrying Tracy, Jason so he puts a dramatic end to their wedding. When the furious bride decides to take her Baja honeymoon solo, Nardo follows her-where the lovesick groom is carjacked and left stranded, naked and penniless in a remote part of the Mexican desert. Helpless, Nardo sends out an SOS to Jason and their pal Evan, an up-and-coming ad exec slated for an important business meeting the next morning. During their ridiculous attempt to rescue Nardo, the trio embarks on a series of increasingly outrageous misadventures involving con artists, drug smugglers and even the Federales. This film features a great cast including Adam Pally, T.J. Miller, Thomas Midleditch, Shannon Woodward, Alison Brie, J.B. Smoove, Lance Reddick, Krysten Ritter, Jason Mantzoukas, and Jon Glaser with each of them bringing their own genius to their roles. From the opening of this film you can tell it is going to be outrageous and it does not fail to deliver. There is a kind of Hangover vibe here with the crazed adventures, but here you are getting to see what shenanigans the missing guy is dealing with too. Sure there is no real mystery to where the film is heading, but the journey is a blast. These guys are a lot of fun to watch and the situations they get into are hilarious. There are a lot of moments that are over the top and you have to kind of buy into it all, but that is part of the fun.
Just about every joke in this film works thanks to this great cast and clever writing. Every time things seem to have pushed the limit of laughs it calms down a bit and then takes it to the next level. There are numerous jokes that will seem familiar from other films in different ways, but they are so well done here you will just laugh and enjoy. Everyone in the cast have great chemistry making it further fun as they rush around getting into more and more trouble. You know you are in for a good time when there is drug dealers, organ harvesting, shoot outs, and nudity all thrown into one fun comedy that deserves a bigger platform. Stick it out through the credits for some great extra moments that just further add to the end result.
Check out Search Party available now on Blu-ray and DVD.