Available at Amazon.com
Director
Tom Brady
Cast
David Koechner ………. Lambeau “Coach” Fields
Carl Weathers ………. Freddie Wiseman
Melora Hardin ………. Barb Fields
Matthew Lawrence ………. Lance Truman
Brooke Nevin ………. Michelle Fields
Nick Searcy ………. Mr. Truman
George Back ………. Buddy Boy
Noureen DeWulf ………. Jizminder Featherfoot
Jesse Garcia ………. Jorge Juanson
Jackie Long ………. Trotter
Robert Ri’chard ………. Aseel Tare
Martin Spanjers ………. Randy Randinger
Jermaine Williams ………. IPod
Finesse Mitchell ………. Titans Coach
Will Arnett ………. Mailman
The Movie
If there’s a lost art, it’s that of the saturation comedy. Throwing tons of jokes out there, hoping for more hits than misses, is something that’s hard to do well. Late in 2007 two films came out attempting to follow in the tradition of Airplane!; the first was Walk Hard, which has won some critical acclaim for a long suffering supporting actor in John C. Reilly in a role mocking music biopics. It was fresh and original because it really hadn’t been done before, unlike The Comebacks, a vehicle for long-suffering supporting actor David Koechner. The Comebacks is a mocking of the underdog sports film in an era where the genre is almost a parody of itself already.
Koechner makes the most out of Lambeau Fields, a disgraced former coach given one last chance to redeem himself: coaching Heartland State University’s football team. A ragtag group of losers, Fields has to mold them from losers to winners. Lampooning every sports film of the last decade, from Radio to Stick It, the film is a series of rapid fire gags designed to overwhelm the palate.
The problem is that the film has a “been there, done that” feeling to it from the beginning. While the inspired gag featuring “Don’t Stop Believing” by Journey is a bit creative, the film’s lampooning of other sports films and their formula feels a bit clichéd in and of itself to begin with. Making fun of something that has already gotten to the point of self-parody feels a bit lacking in many respects, though to its credit the film tries to go for the hilarious joke as opposed to the easy ones in many instances. The jokes are cute and work on a number of levels, but the genre is clichéd enough that the jokes are as predictable as the plot of a film like Radio.
The Comebacks, then, is an innocuous comedy that does about what it can given the material. It’s not obscenely funny like Knocked Up or Death at a Funeral were in 2007, and it isn’t even in the same category as Superbad or Walk Hard, but it is a solid comedy for those who enjoy sports films.
A/V QUALITY CONTROL
Presented in a widescreen format with a Dolby Digital format, the film has a good but not great transfer with a solid audio format. The picture is grainy on occasion, unfortunately, but the film does have a relatively solid transfer for the most part.
The Extras
There are a lot of extras to be clicked on, but most of them aren’t worth mentioning. The DVD tries to use the same rapid fire style with its extras as the film did with its gags, as none of the features is longer than several minutes. A Laugh of Their Own is a look at the celebrity athletes involved in the film. The footage is all compiled from Koechner working with famous athletes during the filming of the movie and lasts about five minutes (the longest of the DVD). Heartland Hotties vs. Lone Star Naughties is a cheerleading chant between both sets of cheerleaders from the film, lasting under two minutes. The Karaoke Kid is various members of the cast singing a song about Jizminder. Coach Koechner is a quick piece about Koechner, including one funny bit where various people discuss how nice of a guy he is in between Koechner’s profanity-laden tirades. Million Dollar Booty features one of the cast members in a “booty shaking” competition with a comely young woman. The Mighty Dicks is a series of outtakes from Andy Dick. Razor Blades of Glory is a series of outtakes from Dax Shepherd, Will Arnett and others. On the bench is a series of deleted scenes, deleted for the usual reasons.
Trailers for the DVD releases of Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer, Drumline: Special Edition, Live Free or Die Hard, Dirty Laundry and a generic promo for Fox’s Sunday Night Lineup.
Commentary from Director Tom Brady
