Quasi (film)

Quasi is a 2023 American satirical comedy film directed by Kevin Heffernan and written by Heffernan and Broken Lizard members Steve Lemme, Jay Chandrasekhar, Paul Soter, and Erik Stolhanske. The film takes a satirical take on Victor Hugo's 1831 novel The Hunchback of Notre-Dame.

It was released by Searchlight Pictures as a Hulu original film on April 20, 2023.

Plot
In medieval France, Quasi, a hunchback, attends work as a torturer along with his co-worker and "hut mate" Duchamp where they torture culinary student Michel. Meanwhile, the sinister King Guy is set to marry Queen Catherine in a planned ceremony to unite the kingdoms during Pope Week which is to be attended to by Pope Cornelius, with whom King Guy shares a staunch rivalry with. During Pope Week, a papal drawing is held, with the lucky winner getting a chance to meet the pope in person. Out of sympathy, Duchamp gives Quasi a ticket so that he can participate and it ends up being the winning ticket, causing Quasi to suddenly become popular and Duchamp visibly becoming jealous.

Catherine takes an interest in Quasi when he leads his coworkers in a brief rebellion against their boss Lucien and sees potential in him. Later, Quasi is invited to eat with King Guy where he asks him to assassinate Cornelius, much to his shock. He tells Duchamp and Michel and admits that he is going through with it or else he will be killed. When it comes time kill Cornelius, he suddenly orders him to kill King Guy during the union ceremony. When King Guy sees that Quasi has not killed Cornelius he threatens him, but decides to have the assassination done also during the ceremony. He tells his assistant Henri that he plans to kill Quasi afterwards, news that his heard by Catherine.

Quasi becomes depressed when he is approached by Catherine who tells him what she heard. They concoct a plan which Quasi tells Duchamp about. During the ceremony, Quasi ambiguously attacks King Guy and Cornelius, but Duchamp "kills" Quasi and becomes a hero. Quasi is whisked away to stay in a cave where Duchamp promises to look out for him. When he returns to the kingdom, nobody recalls Duchamp's heroic deed and are only saddened over Quasi's death. Catherine comes to visit Quasi and when Duchamp sees the two of them getting along, he leaves heartbroken. Duchamp gets drunk and tells Lucien that Quasi is still alive, causing him to tell Henri who comes and captures Quasi to have him tortured.

Catherine sneaks into the dungeon and kills Lucien before freeing Quasi. The two of them learn that they are both of royal blood and are cousins, news that excites them into having sex. Quasi escapes and seeks out Duchamp who confesses to outing him. Quasi escapes the guards while Duchamp is captured and ordered to be publicly executed. Quasi plans to leave town, but Michel manages to convince him to return and rescue Duchamp. They arrive at the execution where Quasi outs that both King Guy and Cornelius ordered each other's death and Catherine reveals that Quasi is of royal blood. A fight breaks out resulting in the deaths of Michel, who in his dying breath asks Quasi and Duchamp to remain friends, Henri and Cornelius' assistant Claude.

The people of France soon rally behind Quasi, not because of his royal lineage, but because they relate to him. King Guy and Cornelius both fatally stab one another and in their dying moments reveal that they were once lovers at university and broke up due to being cheated on by the same man. They die admitting that they still love each other. Quasi renews his friendship with Duchamp before he and Catherine admit their love for each other and become the new rulers of France. During the credits, Quasi and Duchamp hold a funeral for Michel, who also asked that he have a proper burial so that animals do not eat him, but they have trouble due to his height (he was constantly stretched via the rack). In a post-credits scene, Michel's hands get eaten by dogs.

Cast
 Jay Chandrasekhar as:
 King Guy, the sadistic and foppish king of France.
 Blouin, the owner of the pub that Quasi and his friends visit.
 Kevin Heffernan as:
 Duchamp Rousseau, Quasi's optimistic, but later jealous, hut mate.
 Henri-Francoise, King Guy's personal aid.
 Steve Lemme as:
 Quasi Modo, a hunchback who is tasked with an assassination.
 Jester, the King's fool who is constantly punished.
 Paul Soter as:
 Pope Cornelius, the pope of England who wants power.
 Lucien, Quasi and Duchamp's mean and cynical boss.
 Erik Stolhanske as:
 Cardinal Claude, Pope Cornelius' personal aid.
 Michel Demek, a culinary student and Quasi and Duchamp's friend.
 Adrianne Palicki as Queen Catherine, the smart and seductive queen of France.
 Eugene Cordero as Pascal, Quasi and Duchamp's co-worker.
 Marcus Henderson as Stefan, Quasi and Duchamp's co-worker.
 Gabriel Hogan as Jonathan, King Guy's guard.
 Hassie Harrison as Margot
 Gabby Lane as Emmanuelle 
 Brian Cox as Narrator

Production
On November 3, 2021, Broken Lizard announced a new film titled Quasi, which would be a co-production with Searchlight Pictures. The film would be a satirical take on by Victor Hugo's novel The Hunchback of Notre-Dame, with Kevin Heffernan directing the film and starring with Broken Lizard members Steve Lemme, Jay Chandrasekhar, Paul Soter, and Erik Stolhanske. Adrianne Palicki would also star in the film. While working on Super Troopers 3, the troupe showed the script to Searchlight, with the film being greenlit.

At the film's announcement, production had started in Los Angeles. By April 20, 2022, filming had wrapped up. Filming also took place in Santa Clarita.

Release
Quasi was released by Searchlight Pictures on Hulu in the United States on April 20, 2023. It will also be released on Disney+ via the Star content hub internationally and Star+ in Latin America.

Reception

References

External links
 
 

2023 comedy films
2020s American films
2020s English-language films
2020s parody films
2020s satirical films
American parody films
American satirical films
Broken Lizard
Films based on The Hunchback of Notre-Dame
Films shot in Los Angeles
Films shot in Santa Clarita, California
Hulu original films
Searchlight Pictures films