Not Nearly As Funny As I Hoped ... "Puddle Cruiser"

Puddle Cruiser (1996)

Rated R

Starring Jay Chandrasekhar, Kevin Heffernan, Steve Lemme, Paul Soter, Erik Stolhanske,

Written and Directed by Jay Chandrasekhar

The Story:

Felix (Lemme) is in love. Grogan and Matt (Heffernan and Soter) are facing charges for breaking into the college cafeteria and eating food.  The rest of Broken Lizard will revolve around the storyline offering gags and humor as possible.

Club Dread was a pretty good horror-comedy.

Super Troopers is a cult classic.

Puddle Cruiser is their first movie.

Yeah, that's really all the praise I can give this one.

The pieces are there, and there are a few gags that are more amusing than others, but otherwise...

If you want to see Broken Lizard at their best, check out any of their films after this one.

Sorry.


If you want a funny comedy about college, check out Animal House for starters.


Final Grade: C

Rewatchability/Purchase Factor: The pieces were being put into place, but this one wasn't that great.

Dying For A Vacation? "Club Dread"

Club Dread (2004)

Rated R for violence and language

Starring Jay Chandrasekhar, Bill Paxton, Kevin Heffernan, Erik Stolhanske, Paul Soter, Steve Lemme, Brittany Daniel, Jordan Ladd,

Directed by Jay Chandrasekhar

The Story:

Coconut Pete (Paxton) is a washed up singer, a la Jimmy Buffet, who runs an island resort filled with an odd assortment of staff.  However, when they all start turning up dead, there may be trouble in paradise!

The Broken Lizard (Chandrasekhar, Heffernan, Stolhanske, Soter and Lemme) troupe return to the screen in their followup to  the cult classic Super Troopers.

Not nearly the same following has surrounded this film as Troopers, but it's not for lack of trying.  Club Dread is both a comedy, and a perfectly themed horror movie, often at the same time.

The cliches and trappings are all around, and naturally everyone is considered a suspect...

Until that character turns up... Dead!

I'm not sure that the best villain and motive were selected for the picture...

But when you're doing a horror-comedic send-up, perhaps that's the perfect character and motive?

Worth a spin for Broken Lizard fans, and fans of horror films.

Final Grade: B-

Rewatchability/Purchase Factor: I'd say that this one was probably good for a once in a blue moon viewing.