Stephen_Murray's Full Review: Ryan And Sean's Not So Excellent Adventure
"Nigahiga". is the most subscribed-to You Tube site with more than one and a half million subscribers (including me) and more than 56 million hits. I think that the two-minute versions of popular movies as enacted by two Asian American youth who grew up together in Hilo, Hawaii, Ryan Higa and Sean Fujiyoshi are often hilarious (the two-minute "Titanic" is particularly classic). The two have a better comic chemistry than Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis IMO, though it does not take much to reach "too much" Jerry Lewis (or Sean acting like .Jerry Lewis.
So why not make a movie about bringing them to Hollywood to cash in on their popularity? This does not sound intrinsically implausible, but the material written for them is very lame. The parodies of special effects work better in condensed versions of movies. The infantile bathroom humor does not work for me, though I enjoy the choreography of their Asian hiphop.
The boys don't make a movie within the movie. They are mauled by masseurs and hairdressers, contemptuously dismissed by the studio music director, abused by the midget assistant of the producer (lesser YouTube star Michael Buckley of "Whatthebuck") desperate for a hit to keep his studio job, etc. Two bits that amused me are their attempt to get served without having reservations in a completely empty restaurant, and the producer having a contract on their terms ready. The failed parts are too numerous to mention.
Sean is hit on the head often, so is supposed to look a bit dazed, and a tentative smile is not out of place. He has a kind of blockhead innocence. Ryan is more knowing. Ryan recurrently speaks directly to the camera, making Sean think he is crazy, talking to himself.
There is plenty of blame to go around, but the primary share has to go to screenwriter Brian Zemrak, followed by actor-turned director Richard Van Vleet (the two collaborated on "Bikini Planet," whatever that might be). Ryan and Sean have been doing better developing their own material, though not stretching any idea out to 80 minutes length. And their costume budget for their YouTube videos seems bigger than that for their movie.
The rest of the cast rarely rises to the level of awful. Spread blame between them and casting directors (it took two?!).
The thinness of inspiration can make 80 minutes of sketches of Hollywood silliness strung together seem unlean and mean-smelling, an apt stimulus for a lean-n-mean (VIII) review from a disappointed fan of the Hilo dynamic duos.
There are deleted scenes (considering what is in the movie, I didn't venture there, and a theatrical [? on a direct-to-DVD release?] as bonus features.
The Story Of Two Young Web Celebrities Who Find Themselves, Brought To Hollywood To Audition For Starring Roles In The Next, Big 'buddy' Film. Sought ...More at HotMovieSale.com
YouTube "celebrities" Ryan Higa and Sean Fujiyoshi play versions of themselves in this otherwise-fictional comedy the story of a pair of Internet star...More at Family Video
Epinions.com periodically updates pricing and product information from third-party sources, so some information may be slightly out-of-date. You should confirm all information before relying on it.
- Add to My Yahoo!: 
- Add to Google Homepage: 
© 1999-2009 Shopping.com, Inc.