F.A.R.T.: The Movie
directed by Ray Etheridge
starring Shannandoah Sorin, Joel Weiss
SRS Cinema
Sometimes, all you can do is shake your head sadly and walk away. That’s the best advice I can offer on this low budget, low fi, low IQ collection of fart jokes that a 12-year old would consider lame. Russell Weiss releases more methane than British Petroleum as he walks the streets of LA with a vacuous grin. Even derelicts complain, but he just keeps smiling and tooting. His girlfriend Heather (Sorin) hates farting and wants to go out on New Year’s Eve, but he’d prefer to stay at home, watch VHS, and take a bubble bath. Heather leaves in a huff to get drunk and get mooned at a posh party, and Russell becomes Budweiser sad that she left. Sprinkled in between the endless bad acting and whoopee cushion sound effects are a collection of completely unfunny comedians and TV parodies. I won’t name the comedians; it’s possible they are out on work release and attempting to rebuild their careers. The TV bits cover a farting game show, canned air unfreshener ads, and a TV preacher claiming flatulence was the work of the devil. If Satan weren’t behind it, why wouldn’t we pray “Our farter who art in heaven…?” One glimmer of hope lurks here: a country folk band called Medicine Wheel Band has two numbers. The principle one is “Life’s a Gas,” but they look extremely uncomfortable singing. They do another number “Modern World” which rolls under the credits; here they seem happier knowing the torture is almost over, but so is their career.
Overall, the filming is well-lit and in focus, but I’ve seen better acting on story boards. Running through the history of the cast, I note most have had numerous gigs that lean toward “Irate New Yorker” and “Man #2” genre, but there’s one small slice of fame here – Conrad Brooks plays a game show panelist, and you may recall him as Officer Jamie in Plan 9 From Outer Space. Perhaps the producers had a sense of humor. A snarky Siskel and Ebert style review gives it a “Thumb and forefinger around the nose” rating. F.A.R.T.: The Movie succeeds in sucking all the humor out of unexpected gas emissions, and if you come across this stink bomb, light a match. Maybe it’ll blow up.
SRS Cinema: http://www.srscinema.com
