Mardi Gras: Spring Break (2011)

Good start, but then it gets ruined

I wanted to like it more than I actually did... But much of the humor totally escaped me and I walked out only mildly impressed.

A lot of perfectly good film show their cards early, establish a unique premise and let the audience explore a topic at a leisurely pace, without much in terms of surprise. this film is not one of those films.

Great example of an old-fashioned, pure-at-heart escapist event movie that doesn't pretend to be anything that it's not and has boat loads of fun being its own ludicrous self.

"Mardi Gras" makes the audacious choice of putting its worst scene at the beginning: you know how sex comedies have to start with a big set piece, one huge laugh that pulls you in and never lets you go? Well, "Mardi Gras" starts with an elderly couple we'll never see again remembering their first Mardi Gras, which very predictably turns into an overly explicit conversation about sex. I've seen and heard some horrid things in this subgenre, but an elderly woman literally just describing how her husband ejaculated on her breasts, without an actual joke in sight? Not how you lure me in. It's only like a thirty- second vignette, but it easily feels like thirty minutes. Who writes this and honestly thinks he's struck gold? Oh, we'll get two elderly actors and write some sex-related words on a napkin, maybe it'll be funny by accident. It won't.I'm glad to say that's the only cringe-inducing scene in the movie, it doesn't have laugh-out-loud moments but I got through it fairly well. "Mardi Gras" is hurt though by the fact that its plot just hobbles along. It starts of with two losers who can't get a girlfriend (not saying "boobs" in every sentence could help), then they turn on the TV and it's a report on Mardi Gras in New Orleans. So uh...let's go to Mardi Gras in New Orleans! If that's all the effort you're going to do to set this up, why not just start the movie at Mardi Gras? The lack of stakes also makes it difficult to connect: Bret Harrison was a believable nerd in "Grounded For Life", but even there he got the girl fairly quickly. We're honestly supposed to buy him as a desperate, 25-year-old virgin? Would have made a lot more sense to reserve that subplot for the obese friend who's desperately trying to be Jonah Hill. The movie quickly deteriorates into a collection of barely related sketches, which are occasionally good for a chuckle but never add anything to the meager story.There is a saving grace though: Nicholas D'Agosto and Arielle Kebbel have a very natural style in their acting, and though their story is highly predictable it didn't really bother me. They both have likable characters, which is kind of a rarity in "American Pie" rip- offs. Hell, most of them don't even have characters. They really have great chemistry, I wish the movie didn't waste that much time in Carmen Electra's (does she ever refuse a role?) hotel room or showing not Jonah Hill naked. Come on not Jonah Hill, I'm trying to have popcorn here. "Mardi Gras" isn't a great movie, but it's not a completely brainless sex comedy either.

I've rated it a 5 out of 10 because it's average. On the whole it wasn't very entertaining but it did have it's comedic moment's. It was a bit confusing, in the sense that it didn't 'flow' well, a bit choppy. Some of the actors/actresses were good but the majority of them were very much below average, maybe with the right actors and a few alterations within the script it might have the potential to rate a 7-8/10 - we'll have to just wait and see whether a sequel is made and whether or not it is interesting enough to watch.--------------------Chrisie Wood-Hopps

If you find a fat guy being rude and obnoxious towards others then this is for you. If you find a stupid guy saying completely stupid things funny, then this is for you. If you find a total loser funny then this is for you.This was not for me.It was awful and i highly doubt anyone giving this a good review is being sincere.John Belushi was a class act and funny, the idiot trying to say Josh Gad is the next JB obviously hasn't watched many JB films.Josh Gads character left me wondering why script writers think it's OK to be sexist pigs with moronic thinking in their writing.That's my view in a nutshell with me being brutally honest about it.

I too visited IMDb before viewing this movie, and watched it based on it's rating. I was NOT disappointed. By all means, it's not an 8.1, but it was fun to watch (personally speaking) Films like these have been done to the death, American teens on vacation somewhere, and hilarious events occur. OK, so the occurring events are not side-splitting funny, but they're not dull either. I found the characters to be fresh, and Carmen Electra is always a welcome addition in my eyes.Think American Pie, Superbad etc. Granted, this film does not have the same wow factor as those films first did, but it's along those lines and I think the creators have done a good job.Personally, I enjoyed this film, it's not the funniest, greatest comedy of all time, but there are a lot worse than this, and it makes you feel happy at the end.