Customer Reviews

Red Green - Duct Tape Forever

5 star:		(18)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Anyone who likes the Red Green Show should take to this movie like duck to water. I admit, I found it a little odd seeing the gang in a movie for the first time. Those who are use to the show's format will have to adjust in order to appreciate the movie. I know with me the first time I viewed it I was not thrilled. But a subsequnt viewing made me enjoy it a lot more. I think Red Green is kinda like that. When you first view it you kind of dismiss it, but something draws you back none the less, and then it gradually grows on you like a fungus! Give this movie a chance to do the same thing. True, its a little silly and sentimantal, perhaps more so than the Show for sure, but that's the why movies are these days. Red and his characters actually have to sustain some longer scenes, and the production value is deffinitely better than what we are accustomed to on the show. Harold seems to be the main character who gets to evolve, just a little bit, and he gets his first kiss with the female cop which was a bit hooky, but thats the movies! I wonder if they have sheriffs in Canada? Thought it might be Constables more on the English model. Was not sure on that point, but one really should not ask these kinds of questions with Red Green! An added feature are the behind the scenes notes on the making of the movie where many amusing interviews of the charaters are shown. This could be a real plus for the viewer even more than the movie perhaps. Overall, Red Green fans should enjoy it. This is the kind of film with a built in audience. I would recommend first time viewers to see some of the shows before checking out the movie. That way they can understand the strange way that Red Green works. Otherwise, sit back, lower your standards and enjoy!

Suddenly, Red Green (played by Steve Smith) finds himself in a real bind, and this one not of his making. When an unscrupulous businessman sues Possum Lodge for $10,000, Red has ten days to come up with the money. Taking his nephew Harold's advice (yes, believe it or not), Red sets out for Minnesota, hoping to win the $10,000 third-place prize in the Duct Tape Contest. But, there's a lot in Red & Harold's way: a crooked cop, the businessman and his army, and...well...each other. Can they save Possum Lodge? No problem, eh?

This 91-minute movie, released in 2001, is based on the hit Canadian comedy show The New Red Green Show. Changing the format from the show, this movie puts Red and Harold on the road, facing numerous adventures in the real world. (If you can call that the real world!) This is a fun adventure, stretching the already wonderful characters - a must-have for any Red Green fan!

I'm a huge fan of the TV show, and almost any episode leaves my sides hurting from laughing so hard. The movie, while funny, at best elicited chuckles from me. Some of the writing was clever, but the story just didn't reach the high standards set by years of the show. The magnetism between Deputy Dawn and Harold should have been developed better, and why bother with the flashback sequence? I would have loved to see them make more of regular minor characters like Winston Rothschild III instead of wasting time on less-developed characters like the Sheriff. Red could have challenged the Rich City Guy to a winner-take-all word challenge, or set up an "out-innovate your opponent" contest. The duct-tape sculpture contest device was a bit weak. Maybe there's just a point you reach where it's just too late to make a movie spin-off of a project. I'd actually rate the DVD extras as much more valuable than the movie itself. They give a lot of insight into the show, the creative forces behind it, and the amazingly talented guys who make up the cast. I'm just disappointed that the movie had great material to work with and didn't live up to its potential. Buy it for the extras, not the movie.

It's a well-documented fact that a television series cannot be turned into a movie, even though some bonehead exec will occasionally forget and make one.

Well, that must only be true in America because the cast and crew of the Red Green Show have made a really funny little movie. While your average television conversion picture is obsessed with making everything bigger and better, the gang at Possum Lodge really know their strengths and play to them. They are entering a Duct-Tape goose into a contest by the manufacturer in order to save the lodge from a developer who wants to destroy it for his mother. Embodying the spirit of the Possum Lodge, they're shooting for third place. With their massive symbol of the Canadian lifestyle, our guys are a shoe-in for third......but the evil developer has hired the sheriff and his deputy to stop Red and Harold from getting to the contest. Wacky hijinks ensue (Really, this is not sarcasm. It's freakin' hilarious hijinks).

The DVD has a small but well-picked selection of special features that will be entertaining to any fan of the show (Which you probably will be after this movie). The actors' stories and opinions are actually interesting, as opposed to some others I could mention. And they don't display the cultivated obsequiousness which marks so many actors from our country.

Buy this movie ! ;-)

Perhaps the easiest way to describe "Duct Tape Forever" is to say that it's better than "Cabin Boy." If you understand that, you don't need to read any further.

"DTF" is the movie version of "The Red Green Show," a CBC production shown only on PBS stations in the US (and on CBC, if your cable or satellite system carries it). It's hard to describe in a few words, other than to say it's about the "inadequacy" of the human male, while also conveying an implicit misogyny, in a Zoroastrian sort of way. Though "Home Improvement" starts from roughly the same base, "Red Green" is a great deal cleverer and wittier, and is devoid of the annoyance of being a "family" sitcom.

Steve Smith, the show's co-creator, is a writer possessed of dry, subversive wit. In the "making of" featurette (included on the DVD) he gives a guided tour of his private trailer and its cheap accoutrements. He explains that the TV's remote control is best used to turn off the TV, "because you have no cable or no aerial or anything. I mean, it's like having TV in Baffin Island." Pointing to the microwave oven, he informs us that "This is mainly where I do my viewing. You get a bag of the Jiffy-Pop type popcorn -- especially with the foil on -- you put it in there and set it for around 20 minutes, and that's as good as any episode of `Matlock' you'll ever see." In detailing the need for stunt doubles, he tells us "When you kill someone in a movie and they're not a stunt person, you can get into some trouble for that."

This is pretty funny on paper, but it's even funnier in the delivery, because Steve Smith gives it what can only be described as a schizophrenic or Cubist reading -- you hear the material simultaneously from two perspectives -- Steve Smith the writer, and Red Green the character. It's all very post(?)-post-modern, with the actor occupying two distinct psychological spaces at the same time (ie, "inside" and "outside" his character).

Despite being filmed on a budget that would barely cover the catering charges of a Hollywood blockbuster, "DTF" is a visually slick production. If you're expecting something as sloppily assembled as "Strange Brew," you'll be pleasantly surprised. Steve Smith had the good sense to hire a talented director, cinematographer, and editor, and it shows.

"Strange Brew" had Max von Sydow. "DTF" has Patrick McKenna, probably the only actor who can turn the need for orthodontic work into an artistic statement. He has a lot of screen time and several scenes that really show off his acting chops, which are considerable. He also gets the funniest line in the film.

"Red Green" has never shied away from slapstick (slapstick and duct tape are natural partners), so the film has plenty of visual humor, even borrowing a classic gag from Buster Keaton. My only quibble is with the film's climax, where the slapstick gets out of hand, in a scene that must have had many viewers squirming and groaning.

One final, semi-personal comment... Steve Smith seems to have a Norma-Desmondish obsession with being middle-aged. I would simply suggest he stay away from wide-angle lenses, the nasally deleterious effects of which can be seen on the move's poster.

Warning to videophiles... The box is labeled "anamorphic widescreen," but the transfer is conventional 4:3 letterbox. There are no obvious artifacts (eg, visible aliasing) so I'd suggest you Rush Right Out In A Buying Frenzy and grab this edition.

Now, I know that you have to have different expectations for a movie than for a TV show, especially one like the Red Green Show. However, I found myself just not that impressed by the film. I think I figured out why... in the movie the writers came up with some external "enemy" (the sheriff and the rich guy) that the men of Possum Lodge must defeat. However, what made the show hilarious was that the men of Possum Lodge were inevitably their OWN worst enemy, with predictable consequences. The film had all the characters but not all the elements which really made the show so great.

If you want to learn how to belly laugh all over again, how to root for the hero and boo the villian, in short, everything that makes entertaninment fun, GET THIS DVD.You will love it, over, and over again. It makes me want to look for Possum lake on the map, and see if if I could live there

I had the luck to see the movie aired at the Embassy theater in Indiana, plush carpets, gothic styling, gilded adornments, in other words operas and other shows come here. It was an amazing mixture of suits, tuxes, and red green cast look a likes all in the two level theater. Anyone who likes Red Green television will like the movie. It was very entertaining and funny. It is well worth the money to buy and to rewatch.

I saw this movie in the Seattle area at a theater where Steve Smith (Red Green) was making a personal appearance. As he autographed my duct tape, I told him that the movie exceeded all my expectations. He said "thanks for lowering them."

I also promised him that I'd write a review on Amazon, and I've been waiting for this DVD to become available on Amazon in the US. Imagine my surprise to find it available in Canada but not the US.

Anyway, this is a movie so don't expect it to have the "look and feel" of the series. It has a slower pace, but most all of your favorite characters from the show are here, and there's a lot of that Red Green humor.

Some people gripe that this movie is a "road trip" and not a story shot at "Possum Lodge". Don't worry, it's not a very long road trip.

Finally, what really exceeded my expectations was some geniune character development for Red Green and Harold. You'll learn something about their past together, and why they are the way they are.

You'll also see some fantastic duct tape creations toward the end, but I won't spoil the whole ending for you.

If you've never seen the series, you probably should watch a few episodes of the series before deciding whether or not to buy this movie.

However, if you're already a Red Green fan, I cannot see how you would regret buying this movie.

So, put on a plaid flannel shirt, throw a log on the fire, grab some snacks (nothing too healthy), crank up the DVD player, lower your expectations, and laugh your head off.

As a long-time fan, watching since the first season, recording all episodes, watching them at least 200 times, owning all the DVD's and VHS specials, etc., it sorta hurts me to write a bad review of this movie. But, the fact is, it's just not very good. It's poorly written, with a premise that should have been a 5 minute skit, not a movie... and all of us long time Red Green fans know the show hasn't been the same since Rick Green left. More's the pitty, then, when a real movie is made, sans Rick. Actually, if you buy the DVD, the one hour 'behind the scenes' special included is better than the movie.

The basic plot of the movie is: guys need money, build duct tape goose, have trouble getting to duct tape contest... It's not much of a plot, even for an Ernest or Pee Wee Herman movie. I've watched it 4 times now, hoping it'd grow on me... it hasn't. There are no redeeming qualities here... nothing that couldn't have been done better as a regular episode. Some long gone actors from the show make brief appearances... Reg, the vegetarian hunter, returns as a lawyer working, oddly enough, against the lodge. Dwight manages a hotel. I assume this is just Steve Smith giving friends some work, but it sorta ruins the whole thing for me when characters you know from the show are doing something completely different in the movie.

But the main thing missing from the movie is comedic timing... in the TV show, the timing is great... it's just not in the movie. 'Red Green' many times tells a joke, then seems to just stand there waiting for appause, and with no laugh track, it's sorta like... you know, it's like the Gilligan's Island movies, where they're rescued? It's just not funny, and actually, a little sad because you can feel the actors working so hard to get a laugh.

One bright spot is Harold. Patrick McKenna gives an on par performance as Harold in the movie.

Overall, though, it's slow, draggy, and not funny. What would it have been with Rick Green directing? We'll never know, but it would certainly have been better than this.