It's not the easiest task to give a review of this odd low budget comedy, made in Tromsø, the "Paris of the North". It's obviously on a tight budget, still it's got some awesome details put into it. It's obviously kind of amateurish, still the gags are of really high quality. If you are intrugued by this, then this a winner. I give this movie a 7/10 on the scale of a future cult comedy.
Wackadoodle (In Norwegian: Tullerusk) is directed by Espen Olaisen and Håvard Walseth, first released in 2019, and enjoys the paticipation of some semi-known actors from the Northern Norwegian movie scene.
The story is about big time gamer and newspaper deliver boy and milk driniking fan Kurt and his equally wacky best friend Kåre. They want to game all day, making a normal life impossible when it comes to growing up as well as tending to girlfriends and other hobbies. However this gaming life is made very difficult by the same overbearing girlfriends, demanding triple work shifts, and rather pervy gangsters and psychologists.
Northern Norwegian movies are still on the rise after Tommy Wirkola released the moviespoof parody on Kill Bill - Kill Buljo. The movie was a revelation in Norwegain fil industry, and a very effective trailer assured Kill Buljo national cinema release.
Kill Buljo was obviously quite amateurish, but still all the qualities shone through, with salty and edgy humor making it a balst. Later on Wirkola went on to make deas Snow (2009) and Kurt Josef Wagle and the Legend of the Fjord Witch, all with the same qualities more or less, and it all sent Wirkola off to Hollywood to work along with the big boys.
Wackadoodle has some of the same playful qualities, less of paody, but more deadpan humor, but it arguably grew out from the succesful story of Kill Biljo, when this showed the possibility to succeed. According to the online newssite iTromsø Kill Buljo started the dream of making this movie, and the work with Wackadoodle started off 4 years later and 8 years before the finished movie premiered on the very best cinema in Tromsø, otherwise known for it's international fil festival.
The humor is the same Northern Norwegian humor, which we know from the Wirkola movies, which really hold no bars when it comes to obscene jokes.
Wackadoodle is a real blast when it comes to the ideas and humor. It's quite obvious years and lots of people has been involved in the script, making it high class. Still a budget of mere $30.000 sets it's undeniable marks. The gags are simply great, and the movie is full of them.
Main caracter Mats Lasse Jangås (Kurt) is doing a great job, so is his wacky friend tarjei Anbyonsen (Kåre) and storyteller/narrator Finn-Arve Sørbøe is simply perfect. Supporting roles are mostly great, but Arne Skog as the pervert gangster Ulf is a scene-stealer with huge qualities.
The movie is filmed in HD with a Canon D7, and editing is quite professionally done.
To break up my 7/10 rating I would have to :
All over quality: 6/10, script: 9/10, acting: 7/10, humor: 9/10, parody-level: 6/10, attention to details: 10/10, budget let-down: 4/10, filming qualities: 5/10, effects: 4/10, photo: 7/10, lighting: 5/10, sound: 5/10, music: 6/10, technical quality: 5/10, editing: 7/10, budget-to-product: 10/10, feelgood-factor: 10/10, watch-it-again-qualities: 8/10, compare-to-Hollywood-quality: 2/10.
This movie had deserved a national cinema release on the same scale as Kill Buljo or From here to Haugesund did. It deserves a big cult following.
Being released on youtube will make this movie get a lot of cult fans, and I really hope it also will get an English subtitle version. Search it up, and give it a go. And remember, there's more after the credit roll, even all at the end!
