Official Synopsis:
Tonight seemed like a good idea at the time... Michael Clarke Duncan (School For Scoundrels), Jennifer Esposito (Taxi), Ron Livingston (Office Space) and Rob Schneider (Deuce Bigalow: Male Gigolo) give hilarious performances in this offbeat comedy! For years, Johnny (Livingston) has been successfully devising schemes that would help him achieve the American Dream. Until the night he throws a bachelor party for his best friend. Now, before the frantic evening is over, all his best-laid plans comes crashing down as the paths of several highly eccentric characters (including a transsexual prostitute, a runaway virgin, a gorgeous gun-wielding ex-con and a porn king) converge in this seriously twisted comedy where no deed - good or bad - goes unpunished.

  
Our Take:
When I read the summary of American Crude I was somewhat enthused. It sounded like something that might happen in my life (minus the transsexual prostitute, runaway virgin, ex-con and porn king). I have a friend that is always devising schemes to get rich and I have seen more that a few of our best laid plans come crashing down. And hey, I’m at that age where I’m going to have to start planning bachelor parties soon. Throw in the fact that I am also a fan of Ron Livingston (mostly due to his role in Office Space) and I was pretty intrigued to watch American Crude.

What I found out, though, is that the summary isn’t really a true reflection of just how frantic the night it describes is and just how truly twisted the movie is. As it says, the night revolves (loosely) around a bachelor party, but in all honesty that point really is lost in how tangled and weird (and at some points just how downright sick) this movie is. It truly has something vile for everyone, from prostitution to pedophilia to—well—murder.

If that doesn’t sound funny to you than this is probably not your type of movie because that—and pretty much that alone—is what the movie’s humor is based on. There aren’t many one-liners nor are there a few light scenes that are designed for a cheap laugh. It’s either you laugh at what’s there or you don’t. And if you don’t laugh you’re probably not going to enjoy it.

The movie’s only extra feature is a set of deleted scenes from various parts of the movie.

It seems that American Crude was attempting to be an “American” version of a Guy Ritchie movie (Snatch or Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels) and had it been I probably would have loved it. Unfortunately, it just doesn’t put things together quite that way and ultimately it’s way too out-there to be enjoyable. For a movie that bills itself as a screwball comedy, it has way too much screwball and not nearly enough comedy.

Overall Picture:
Movie: C-
DVD: C

- Cris Savino
Staff Writer