It could've been entertaining...

Rating: 5/10 (25 July 2007)

Instead, we're presented with a weird little comedy that fails to deliver.
The first 10 to 20 minutes I had a smile on my face.It really seemed Jared Hess was able to harness Jack Black's comedic talent(which he has plenty of), toning down the show-man into his own style of offbeat comedy.What started off hinting at a character driven movie(as in Napoleon Dynamite) soon began to rely too much on Black's clowning around, on him making silly faces and trying to get laughs with that ridiculous accent(which is fine by me, but a bit overused as a comedic tool).
The awkwardness of Napoleon Dynamite doesn't go along that well with the script(we don't have usual people in everyday situations anymore, we have unusual heroes in preposterous situations).And, except for little to none use of subtle humour, it's all about physical gags, farts and unusual characters, oh...and of course, Black can't help himself, and has to sing, a couple of times(moments that are pretty close to the highlights of this movie).
All in all, another reason for me to conclude Black's talent is best kept for supporting roles(i.e.Orange County), since he's rarely been able to produce a great movie as a lead.I know some might think of School of Rock, but that also had a good director, good script and good music, not to mention a Jack Black learning restraint as far as a role goes.