Splatter: Love, Honor and Paintball

In the Will Ferrell Age, we lovers of comedy have come to expect a lot less from our funny movies. Mostly, comedy writers put gags before story and cheap laughs before character development, Occasionally, we are treated to a comedy that seeks to reverse this trend, one that focuses its energy on telling a human story, one that allows the comedy to develop organically. Lonnie Schuyler's "Splatter" is such a film. That said, this is not a high-brow, intellectual film. There are plenty of broad strokes, hilarious broad strokes. But unlike the average American comedy, "Splatter" gets even more mileage out of its gags because of its relentless investment in the story. And a simple story it is. A loser dad, trying to earn back the respect and affection of his ex-wife and young son, finds himself in a ridiculous paint ball competition against the biggest and baddest paint ball warrior in town (who just happens to have the hots for the ex- wife). Perfect! Schuyler receives terrific performances from his acting ensemble, most notably a subtle and very funny Matt Geiler in the hero role. The film conjures some of the best comedies of old. It's part Office Space, part Meatballs, and part Old School (yes, a Will Ferrell comedy!). In the end, this messy and satisfying film serves as a reminder that real comedy just IS. Kudos to Lonnie Schuyler and his company for capturing it in such vivid (and explosive) color! DS

The filmmaker of this obviously just watched Paintball: The Legend of Bobby Dukes (or whatever the title was?) which was an OK paintball comedy, then decided to make it himself with $5 and a script he just farted out on a bar napkin. 2 stars instead of 1 because I have seen even worse.