Hank Is Evil: The Movie

(From Tom @ BBR Productions)

With a strong run time of 76 minutes, Hank is Evil: The Movie begins with Hank E. Valdooer (Adam Gennari) comfortably maintaining his reign as Peoria's number one super villain. In a time where a mysterious foe, working behind shadows, plots to take down Hank's rule. Evil, and slightly more evil, battling it out in the criminal underground of Peoria; Hank vs Mayor McDigley (Les Degen). BEGIN!

A seemingly well crafted group brought life to this film with excellent performances. The majority is held together by both villain leads; Adam Gennari and Les Degan. Together they shine best working off of one another. Alone they help keep scenes moving smoothly forward. There is never a feeling that a moment was filler or a throwaway. Each cast member added value in their own way.

There are an array of old characters returning as well as a few new guys. If you blink, you might miss some wonderful cameos. Or in some cases Joe Pontillo himself portraying multiple characters. One thing that truly stood out is how much fun you can tell they were having. A huge group of friends, mostly all New York comedians, hanging out and filming an epic battle of good... uh, evil vs evil.

An intensely funny ride, which began as a Web-series; aptly titled "Hank is Evil", are expanded upon. We follow the tutorial main character's villainous struggles to be truly good at being evil. Battling to take sides, there is corruption within The Evil Society of Villains ranks. Some will live, most will die and so will the audience watching. Die with laughter that is.

Hank is Evil: The Movie, takes a sitcom approach and gives us a one two three laugh-a-thon. Audiences are treated to well exercised joke colleague within each playful scene. Writer/Director Joe Pontillo pokes fun at silliness being villainous. Hank, a mustache twirling top-hat wearing kingpin is his own worst enemy. Seemingly always one step behind himself, you still find yourself cheering Hank on.

A fun and easy movie to watch. A good beginning sets both environment and tone. Walking new audiences into a weirdly enjoyable world. While allowing familiar fans to brace themselves for an interesting ride. A good chunk of the movie pays attention to relationships being reintroduced, or established for the first time. It really leads audiences into a comical good middle.

What could only be identified as a serious conclusion, audiences are treated to an exciting finale. A battle to the death, swords, guns, henchmen, a guy in Mickey Mouse gloves, and a slue of action are thrown at the camera. Who is following who? Which villain is good enough to lead The Evil Society of Villains to reign as absolute super villains!? WHO!? Who will win!? Evil or slightly more evil!?

"Hank Is Evil" is what happens when a group of friends get together to create something just for the fun of it. It is at once dopey and charming, and surprisingly well-edited for a home movie on steroids.

This tale of evil vs. evil-er started out as a web series and evolved into a funny, full-fledged story. It has everything: comedy, mystery, action, and for lack of a better word, romance. The characters may be derivative archetypes, but they are presented in a fresh way. The low-budget sets and locations are people's actual homes and local downtowns (Valley Stream and Garden City, Long Island, standing in for Peoria, Illinois) and the special effects are spectacularly cheesy. And yes, there is a plot. One can tell that the performers had a great deal of fun working on this project. Many of the actors are local comedians who are not afraid to make bad jokes and laugh at themselves.

To be honest, this is not Sundance material. However,I'd recommend it for school A/V and film clubs (middle-school and up)to encourage future movie makers.