Beerfest
| Beerfest | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Directed by | Jay Chandrasekhar |
| Produced by | Michael Beugg Bill Gerber Steve Lemme Richard Perello Erik Stolhanske |
| Written by | Jay Chandrasekhar Kevin Heffernan Steve Lemme Paul Soter Erik Stolhanske |
| Starring | Jay Chandrasekhar Kevin Heffernan Steve Lemme Paul Soter Erik Stolhanske Jürgen Prochnow Cloris Leachman Mo'Nique Donald Sutherland Daniel Poyner |
| Release date(s) | August 25, 2006 |
| Running time | 110 min. |
| Language | English |
| IMDb profile | |
Beerfest is a beer-themed comedy film by the comedy group Broken Lizard released 2006. Along with the regular members of Broken Lizard, other actors who appear in the movie include Nat Faxon, Will Forte, MC Gainey, Cloris Leachman, Mo'Nique, Eric Christian Olsen, Daniel "Ducky" Poyner, Jürgen Prochnow, Blanchard Ryan, and Donald Sutherland.
Beerfest was filmed in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
Plot
The plot begins with two Coloradan brothers, Jan (Paul Soter) and Todd (Erik Stolhanske) Wolfhouse at the funeral of their German born immigrant grandfather Johann von Wolfhausen (an uncredited Donald Sutherland) who founded the family business, the Shitsnitzengiggle(A play on "shits and giggles") Tavern, a sausage house. They learn from their great-grandmother (Cloris Leachman) that they must travel to Munich to fulfill the centuries old Wolfhausen family tradition and spread their grandfather's ashes. Jan and Todd eagerly undertake this family duty when they learn that this tradition must be completed during the Oktoberfest and the ashes spread on the Theresienwiese itself where the Wolfhausen family resting place sets.
Great "Gam Gam" (Cloris Leachman) gives them two tickets to the Oktoberfest where she tells them a Mr. Shitsniedelwichsen (Bjorn Johnson) will meet them to lead the brothers to the family resting place. After arrival, they single handedly bring down an entire Oktoberfest tent when out of cultural ignorance, instigate a brawl between themselves, a troop of Australian Sailors, and a group of Swedish revelers while waiting for Mr. Schniedelwichsen.
Jan and Todd are led by Mr. Schniedelwichsen to "Beerfest", an underground drinking game tournament run by Baron Wolfgang von Wolfhausen (Jürgen Prochnow). As the brothers arrive, they witness the German national team defeating the Irish national team and discover that the German Von Wolfhausen competitors are relatives of the American Wolfhouse family. The Germans are furious that Mr. Schniedelwichsen would lead outsiders and Americans to Beerfest, and he is dragged away, and shot. When Jan and Todd question them, the German team tells them that Johann was actually a stableboy that had stolen a beer recipe for "The greatest beer in all the world" decades ago and had run away with his prostitute mother, Gam Gam. Jan and Todd try to win a drinking contest against the Germans but are easily defeated, the two German competitors give the brothers a head start while taunting them before quickly chugging their beer to win. The brothers travel back home and swear to get revenge on the Germans, who arrogantly celebrate the victory by humiliating the Wolfhouses, motivate the audience into pelting them with vegetables, destroy their grandfather's urn, and spill the ashes all over Jan and Todd.
In order to beat the Germans at "Beerfest", Jan and Todd assemble a team of their college drinking friends to represent the United States. They first recruit Phil "Landfill" Krundle (Kevin Heffernan), an overweight former brewery employee and competitive eater who is recruited to the team because of his drinking skills (his love of beer got him fired from the brewery for drinking large amounts of beer off the assembly line). They next enlist Charlie "Fink" Finklestein (Steve Lemme), a nerdy, Jewish scientist who is recruited to the team because of his knowledge of beer and understanding of chemistry. The third recruit is Barry Badrinath (Jay Chandrasekhar), who is recruited to the team because of his impressive ability to play drinking games. When the gang recruits Barry they learn that he had been working as a male prostitute. Conflict arises between Barry and Todd, as Barry had had a three-way with Todd's then-girlfriend (now wife) and "The Silo" when they were in college. Barry tries to play down the incident, saying that it wasn't enjoyable and that the woman in question was ugly anyway, unintentionaly insulting Todd. They plan to spend the next year training their skills with various beer-related activities, and have Charlie try to uncover the secret of "Das Boot", a large boot-shaped drinking glass.
During the one year training period, the Americans discover that Johann did not steal the family beer recipe, his father placed the recipe in a doll that was given to him as a young boy. Johann should have been the heir to the family brewery in Bavaria, as he was the first-born child of the Baron. The team uses the recipe to brew Schnitzengiggle Beer, which they find to be the greatest in the world. The German team receives a bottle of Schnitzengiggle in the mail, at which time the Germans go to America to confront the Wolfhouse brothers to re-procure the recipe. They challenge them to a ping-pong game, but are turned down because their best player, Barry, is too afraid because the last time he beat somebody at ping-pong, the loser rammed the ping-pong paddle up his anus. However, under the guise of a nurse for Jan and Todd's great-grandmother, a German-sent spy named Cherry (Mo'Nique) (who had sex with Barry earlier while he was in a beer goggles state of inebriation from drinking the family beer) presumably steals the recipe and murders Landfill after he attempts to stop her treachery by tripping him into the giant vat of beer that they were brewing (It may actually have been Cherry who sent the bottle of Schnitzenngiggle to Germany, as the package was marked "Most Urgent!"). He attempted to drink his way out, but may have died of either alcohol poisoning or simply drowning in the vat. After Landfill's funeral, the team decides to disband. However, in an obvious deus ex machina, Landfill's twin brother, Gil (also played by Heffernan), suddenly appears and expresses his desire to join their team. Gil is similar to Phil, yet better in almost every way (he claims he taught Phil everything he knew), and asks to be referred by the same nickname as his deceased brother, Landfill, in his honour.
The team travels to Germany for the international competition. However, the two brothers cannot remember where the event takes place, as they were drunk the first time they were there. They solve this by making Todd drink beer, and eventually, chug a handle of liquor, in order for 'drunken recall' proposed by 'Fink' to take effect. They advance to the final round after beating multiple teams along the way. The Americans lose in the finals to the Germans through further intervention by Cherry who reveals to Gil how his twin brother, Phil, died during a critical time during the event. Jan, still clueless as to the fact that Cherry had stolen the recipe, offers the Germans a deal. He has them agree to a rematch on the condition that the Germans will get the recipe back if they win, while the Wolfhouses will receive the family brewery if the Americans win. The Germans inform Jan that they already have that recipe, but Fink points out that they had stolen the wrong recipe, which prompts Wolfgang to have Cherry executed. Using Fink's scientific beer knowledge, the Americans defeat the Germans in the ensuing drinking contest and inherit the Wolfenhausen brewery.
As the team celebrates their victory in Amsterdam, they find Willie Nelson (in a cameo role), who welcomes them to compete in a marijuana smoking tournament that he has been invited to due to his teammates,
DVD release
| Ratings | |
|---|---|
| Argentina: | 16 |
| Australia: | MA |
| Canada (Alberta): | 18A |
| Canada (BC/SK): | 18A |
| Canada (Ontario): | 18A |
| Canada (Manitoba): | 14A |
| Canada (Maritime): | 14A |
| Germany: | 16 |
| Ireland: | 15A |
| Netherlands: | 12 |
| New Zealand: | R16 |
| Singapore: | R21 |
| United Kingdom: | 18 |
| United States: | R |
Beerfest was released on DVD on December 5, 2006. Two versions of the movie are available: an R-rated theatrical version (available in widescreen format only), and the "Completely Totally Unrated" edition (available in both widescreen and fullscreen formats).
Both versions of the DVD include the following special features:
- Audio Commentary with Broken Lizard Members Jay Chandrasekhar and Steve Lemme
- Audio Commentary with Broken Lizard Members Kevin Heffernan, Paul Soter, and Erik Stolhanske
- "Rule #1" Featurette
- "With the Frog Fluffer" Featurette
- "Beer 101 History Lesson" Featurette
- Deleted Scenes (with 2 Optional Audio Commentaries: 1 with Broken Lizard Members Jay Chandrasekhar and Steve Lemme and 2 with Broken Lizard Members Kevin Heffernan, Paul Soter, and Erik Stolhanske)
- Theatrical Trailer
Both Blu Ray and HD-DVD versions of the film have been released in full 1080p hi-def.
Trivia
Beerfest was inspired by Broken Lizard's experiences at Colgate University, as well as a spontaneous "boat race" drinking contest at a beer festival between the comedy troupe members and Australians during the promotion of Super Troopers.[1] After the German cast members completed their final day of filming, the American and German cast competed in another boat race; the Broken Lizard team won two out of three games.[1]
The cast drank non-alcoholic O'Doul's beer during most of the filming, although alcoholic beer was sometimes consumed near the end of a day of filming.[2] Beer brands seen, mentioned, or sponsored in the movie include Franziskaner, Spaten, Henninger, Red Stripe, Beck's, Guinness,[1] and Radeberger.
The German movie Das Boot is referenced in the movie. Jürgen Prochnow, who plays Baron von Wolfhausen, starred as The Captain in the World War II submarine movie ("I start to feel all cooped up in these U-Boats; I had a bad experience once."). Also, chugging from a large, beer-filled, boot-shaped glass known as "Das Boot" serves as the finale for all of the drinking games. Such "Beer Boots" are known as Bierstiefel in Germany.
The British-born Philippe Brenninkmeyer, who plays the German referee, also played a German in Super Troopers.
The names of two of the German competitors, Hammacher and Schlemmer, refer to the retail store Hammacher-Schlemmer.
While at the Schnitzengiggle, Kevin Heffernan's character orders six Schnitzes. This is a reference to his character ordering six Schlitzes at the anti-drug rally in Super Troopers.
Will Forte impressed the cast with his beer drinking speed.[2] Drinking games played in the movie
include Beer Pong, Beirut,
The techno song playing in the background during the German training scene, is the same one used in Super Troopers when the speeding German is pulled over. The song is named Bidibodi Bidibu, by Bubbles.
The final scene with the message "Coming Soon - Potfest" was confirmed by Broken Lizard as a joke to make this film have an open-ended feel. The troupe said there has been fan support to create the sequel, which might be made as an animated film.[3]
The name "Schnitzengiggle" is not German. It is a play on words, being a malapropism for "shits and giggles".
The name Schniedelwaschen is misspelled in the captioning and credits, but it is German for "penis washing." [4] In the credits the name is spelled Schniedelwichsen, a rather unusual German word that literally translates to "willy wanking" (willy in terms of penis).
The names of some of the characters in Beerfest are taken from classmates and fraternity brothers at Colgate University,
including the nickname "Landfill" and a brief mention of "Tommy Malarky".
Nat Faxton (Rolf) exclaims "DO IT! DO IT NOW, IM HERE!" a reference to Arnold Schwarzenegger in the movie Predator.
Countries Competing in Beerfest
Germany
India
Scotland
Ireland
Canada
Mexico
England
Sweden
Holland
Australia
Cast
- Paul Soter (Jan Wolfhouse)
- Erik Stolhanske (Todd Wolfhouse)
- Jay Chandrasekhar (Barry Badrinath)
- Kevin Heffernan (Phil "Landfill" Krundle/Gil "Landfill" Krundle)
- Steve Lemme (Charlie "Fink" Finklestein)
- Jürgen Prochnow (Baron Wolfgang von Wolfhausen)
- Will Forte (Otto)
- Eric Christian Olsen (Gunter)
- Ralf Moeller (Hammacher)
- Gunter Schlierkamp (Schlemmer)
- Nat Faxon (Rolf)
- Mo'Nique (Cherry)
- Donald Sutherland (Johann Von Wolfhausen)
- Cloris Leachman (Great Gam Gam)
- Blanchard Ryan (Krista Krundle)
- Philippe Brenninkmeyer (Herr Referee)
- Candace Smith (Naomi)
- Willie Nelson (Willie Nelson)
- James Roday (German Messenger)
- John Shumski (Alternate German Messenger)
References
- ^ a b c d Groucho Reviews- Interview with Broken Lizard's Steve Lemme & Erik Stolhanske
- ^ a b IGN: Set Visit: Beerfest
- ^ IGN: Broken Lizard on the Road to Potfest?
- ^ DVD commentary.
External links
| Broken Lizard |
|---|
| Films |
| Puddle Cruiser | Super
Troopers | Club Dread | Beerfest |
The Babymaker | Super Troopers
2 |
| Members |
| Jay Chandrasekhar | Kevin
Heffernan | Steve Lemme | Paul Soter |
Erik Stolhanske |
This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)
