Films like Scary Movie and Shaun of the Dead proved that scary material can offer fodder for choice comedy. More often than not, though, films that try to combine chills with giggles are terrible messes. When seeing the title and poster for Tucker and Dale vs. Evil one may assume this is another cheap, witless farce of the genre, and though the film isn’t without its missteps, Tucker and Dale is a thoughtful satire of cabin-in-the-woods thrillers, and it’s good for plenty of laughs.
In Tucker and Dale vs. Evil, the titular heroes are a couple of good ol’ boys heading to fix up their new vacation home in backwoods country. Meanwhile, a group of college co-ed’s are heading to the middle of nowhere for some camping. When the two groups cross paths, Dale (Tyler Labine) falls for quiet cutey Allison (30 Rock’s Katrina Bowden) at first sight, but the teenagers view Dale and his buddy Tucker, portrayed by Alan Tudyk (A Knight’s Tale), as creepy redneck killers. When Dale and Tucker stumble upon the group again and find Allison knocked out, they do their best to try and save her, stereotypes intervene, and our heroes are miss-casted as villains. The group decides to rescue Allison, following the lead of sociopathic frat boy Chad (Jesse Moss). And let the misunderstanding and blood flow.
The film uses the college kids’ ignorance and subsequent clumsy-ness as a crutch for all the films jokes. Example: One male teen decides to sneak up on Tucker as he is chainsawing a log. Little does Tucker know that the wood is harboring a hornets nest. Tucker begins running away and flailing his chainsaw while the college kid believes he is being chased, but alas, before Tucker can explain the situation, and that their friend is being safely attended to, the teenager accidently impales himself on a sharp branch while not watching where he’s running.
This simple premise for a joke continues throughout the duration of the movie. Kid attempts a rescue, hillbilly attempts to explain, kid kills himself. The joke doesn’t go stale, however, due to the clever deaths and the reactions of the lead actors. Tucker and Dale are not played as ignorant or over-the-top caricatures, making their reactions genuinely hilarious. “These kids just keep killing themselves on our lawn,” Tucker screams, ‘they must be apart of a suicide cult!”
The film really shows its heart by creating a budding romance between Allison and Dale. Somewhere, between all the blood and accidental suicide, there’s a message in here about not being judgmental and seeing people for who they really are. The film teeters towards sappy at a few brief moments, but the vulnerability and earnestness that Labine brings to Dale makes these moments seem sweeter than cliché. Where the real problems lie are in the third act, when psycho-Chad explains his hillbilly hating backstory. It all leads to a character twist that is unnecessary and flat-out uninteresting.
Tucker and Dale vs. Evil is a one-joke film that somehow keeps that joke funny for the duration of the flick, due to a sound script and the actors’ wise resistance to ham it up. The movie is like a three-chord pop song: just because it’s simple doesn’t mean it’s not creative and worthwhile.
3.5 out 5 |
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