Go West

I love the "old Studio C" cast, or JK studios as they are now called. I started watching their content back in 2014, and have been a big fan ever since. From old YouTube videos of Divine Comedy, to Studio C, and finally JK Studios, I have enjoyed their creative talent, friendship, and passion for brightening people's lives with their humor. I was very excited when I heard they were making a movie.

Now I have to be honest with you, I did not enjoy the film as much as I wanted to. I thought the humor was okay, and good at times, but not great. I thought Matt's characters failed to capture the range he has. I would have also liked to see more from Adam, who was hardly in this movie.

It felt like multiple sketches loosely woven together. The overall plot or story just didn't hold that much tension (if that's the right word). It had some good sketches (although not all were great) but lacked overall cohesion besides having reoccurring characters. The attempt was there, but it just was missing something.

The humor was good (sometimes a bit on the gross side) but I think it lacked variety, or maybe they could have developed some stronger jokes that felt natural with the story/plot of the film. Not all of the jokes were bad, but they averaged on ok to good, when I was hoping for more.

If you guys are reading this, I hope you don't take this personally. I don't want to discount the effort you put into this project. Even though I think this wasn't your best work, I sincerely hope you continue making movies, sketch comedy, T-Shirts, whatever, I'm here for it. You have made a great impact in so many people's lives, including mine. I am so grateful that you put yourselves out there again and again. Looking forward to your next big project.

IN A NUTSHELL: The story is about a crazy group of pioneers who braved the harsh elements and numerous mishaps to travel thousands of miles out west to find a place to call home.

The film was directed by Stephen Meek and Jeremy Warner. Writing credits go to Adam Berg, Whitney Call, and Mallory Everton.

The cast came from a group of college students at Brigham Young University who performed in a comedy troupe called Studio C. Since graduating, they're known as JK! Studios. I'm so happy for them and their success. Congratulations on making a feature film together! Their true-blue fans will definitely get a kick out of this campy flick.

THINGS I LIKED: The comedic cast includes Natalie Madsen, Whitney Call, Stephen Meek, Matthew Meese, Jason Gray, Mallory Everton, Jeremy Warner, James Perry, Stacey Harkey, Adam Berg, Ruth Clarke, Matt Moen, and many more. Almost all of them played more than one character, showcasing their versatile talents.

The title has previously been used in a Buster Keaton movie in 1925, then in another movie in 1940 with the Marx Brothers. The 1979 song by The Village People, which was later covered by the Petshop Boys in 1992, is featured in this movie.

I adore Sean Astin and loved him in The Lord of the Rings. (Best movie trilogy ever!) His character in that movie says, "Potatoes...boil 'em, mash 'em, stick 'em in your shoe." Loved it. We hear that same line used by one of the characters in this movie as a sweet nod to Sean Astin as the narrator. Nice touch.

There's a random musical number that's actually pretty funny.

The film was written by JK! Studios themselves, but there are also gems in the film when cast members improv'd many lines, enhancing the script. For example, the "I want to watch a man go over a waterfall..." moment in the campfire scene was delivered by Mallory Everton spontaneously.

Jeremy Warner acted in the film, co-directed the film, co-wrote the film, did most of the editing, and much of the special effects, as well as all of the musical score used in the film.

They filmed in Utah, mostly outdoors, from October 15 to Nov 11, 2022, to get the movie in the can before winter. The weather quickly turned frigid and began to snow halfway through their shoot. Luckily, it was in sequence, so most of the snow worked for them and they ended up with some perfectly snowy backgrounds on set as a result. While the snow was beautiful to look at, it made for very cold filming sessions throughout the production.

Stacey Harkey actually played in a couple of video ads for a dating app my son invented called Mutual.

THINGS I DIDN'T LIKE: Not all of the humor lands, but sometimes, the writers knock it out of the park.

I adore Mallory Everton, so I was disappointed that she didn't get to play more characters and show off her wide range.

TIPS FOR PARENTS: No profanity.

There is a LOT of potty humor and jokes in poor taste Lots of blood, snot, and talk of other bodily fluids.

I wanted to like this movie more than I ended up doing. I enjoyed many of the skits from the original "Studio C" cast, so perhaps I was expecting a bit more. There were things to like and laugh at, others not so much. The packed theater I saw the movie with seemed to get laughs mostly from the younger folks (tweens and teens), not so much from the adults.

Pros: Natalie Madsen and Stephen Meek are good in the lead roles/straight men amid all of the quirky characters. Sean Astin is funny and is good as the narrator. Jason Gray is still the funniest actor in this bunch. No bad language or lewd anything, apart from a veiled reference to a man being attacked in the crotch by a buffalo, resulting in his voice going up a few octaves.

Cons: I was a bit taken back by the puns and jokes about dysentery, polio, skin diseases, etc. Perhaps it's because I have eczema myself, or perhaps it's because I have ancestors who really suffered through these issues while making their way out west, and such ailments were not a joke to them. *Shrug* The cast tries a bit too hard to be Monty Python-esque, with the 10 of them playing multiple characters; it gets a bit confusing at times as to who is who. Sometimes quirky gets mistaken for funny, which is sometimes a downside to both older and new "Studio C" episodes. A few fart jokes.

Overall: good popcorn flick for a Tuesday $6 movie at the Megaplex. If you're a "Studio C" fan, you'll enjoy it. If you're not, I reckon you won't. 6/10.

I'm a big fan of the original cast of Studio C for their light-hearted humor in sketch comedy. This movie is a longer version of a sketch comedy with many jokes- some hits, some misses- that decently highlight the humor style of each of the cast members. You can see hints/characteristics of old Studio C characters throughout the movie. If you are already a fan of the cast and are familiar with their style of humor, I think you will enjoy a decent portion of this film. But if not, maybe try some of their old Studio C videos to see if you like this type of humor first.

My favorite characters in this movie are played by Jason and Whitney as usual.

I went with a small group of friends to a matinee performance of Go West and there was a lot of laughter and engagement throughout the theater. It was fun to watch in a larger group in a theater setting.

I enjoyed many of the characters and skits, even if some of them were a bit over the top for me. Overall I thought the writing was fun, but sometimes too silly. I really enjoyed the performances of all of the actors. The sets and locations for filming were really well done. The film was very professional and well made.

I would recommend the movie for any family looking for a goofy afternoon.