Bad Trip

Bad Trip

A nervous smoothie shop worker with a bleeding right hand sits next to an old man on a bench. “Can I ask you something?” he begins. The worker rambles about his crush, Maria. Should he follow her to New York City and leave Florida behind? The older man gives advice heart to heart and it fills the young man’s soul so much that he jumps off the bench and bursts into song. This guy is having his big romantic moment, and he dances away before almost getting hit by a car, then sings at people in the mall until one of them tries to side-kick him.

This funny sequence, which blends cliché storytelling with unsuspecting public interactions, is just one of many endearing moments in “Bad Trip” a hidden camera comedy gem starring Eric André, Lil Rel Howery and Tiffany Haddish that’s finally coming out on Netflix. Directed by Kitao Sakurai (previously behind numerous episodes of “The Eric André Show”), the film shows an evolution in the hidden camera subgenre as it takes on a more warming spirit about people than previously defined films in this category.

It is not so much about creating a freak show from unsuspecting extras but rather noting what one would do when confronted with someone as delusional as André’s character Chris. Natural human behavior can be extremely funny, and Sakurai and André know it’s possible to bring it out of people without being mean-spirited. Footage during the credits of real people excited to learn they’re in a movie comfort for us as well confirms the chaos is controlled physically and emotionally throughout.

“Bad Trip” is an excellent showcase for Eric André because it’s more mainstream than his talk-show-in-hell “The Eric André Show,” but less watered down than his recent resume-boosting commercial work like “The Lion King.” This role lets him scream and sprint through things while showing off that he wants you to be included in all of his absurdity too.

It wouldn’t be unfair to predict that André will become a huge comic force after seeing him perform stand-up on Legalize Everything tour at Chicago Theater where I watched him completely wrap up sold-out crowd Face Timing parents random audience members or anytime else near me since then; affable anarchist with Robin Williams-like verve should let burgeoning persona run wild alongside what movie advertises as “Real People Real Pranks.”

André’s adorably earnest Chris joined by Lil Rel Howery who would have been known enough at time of filming from scene stealing turn Get Out but disguised as Chris’ reserved friend Bud here. They support each other like when Chris gets really drunk at cowboy bar or Bud finds himself inside porta potty, wide-eyed dreamer versus shy rationalist energy radiating off two friends adorable chemistry driving across country Florida NY reuniting high school sweethearts after two disastrous brief run-ins fast food joints jobs.

To represent their friendship as pure as the Golden Girls’ “Thank You for Being a Friend” plays frequently in between slapstick gags that deepen their road trip.

Bud and Chris “borrow” Bud’s sister Trina’s (Tiffany Haddish) bright pink Crown Vic to get to New York City. Bud is terrified of Trina but relieved when she gets locked up for breaking house arrest. But soon enough, Haddish crawls out from under a prison bus after escaping and begins her search for her car.

Not finding it where she left it, she chases Bud and Chris up the Eastern seaboard in some incredibly funny abrasive scenes where she confronts people about whether they’ve seen her or her car with “Bad Bitch” written on the window. Haddish bulldozes into every set-piece showcasing the film’s over the top spirit. Talking to progressively uncomfortable strangers without missing a beat, she relishes appearing dangerous; stealing a cop car and burning out of a donut shop parking lot is one of many triumphant moments for her.

“Bad Trip” collides great improv actors with authentically bewildered reactions from people unaware they are now in Chris’ story which makes Michaela Conlin’s performance as Maria all the more essential middle of its Venn diagram. She enters the movie also an innocent bystander but that deceptive comic energy plays out in very funny ways as she pushes against Chris’ delusions. In Chris’ prank-based daydreams Andre’s intensity matches Conlin’s; that later scenes require straight playing adds to tension created like when Chris tries professing his love to her.

Just how funny is “Bad Trip”? After two viewings, even if it doesn’t always hit you quite as hard, it’s one of those comedies with stable laughing averages and high replay value because it knows what works so sometimes misses on purpose (like grocery store trip drugs that play like soft tribute). But speediness favors this movie whose plot paces from prank to prank often including crowds of people in latest big dramatic confrontation stemming from expected emotional arc between Bud & Chris at NYC destination with well-planned sudden car crash sequence ready cameras extras nearby throughout build-up bubbling discomfort before toppling over each major piece constructed necessarily escalating worst customer smoothie jobs only begins making drinks without spoons escalating awkward tension disgusted annoyed customers boom laugh-out-loud gory finale impeccable unexpected timing.

If certain parts aren’t as out and out cry laughing maybe story still involving work put into them desires dimensionality adds unscripted human behavior

And it doesn’t keep that hidden camera movie’s fading aim of dunking on dummies, a differentiator that also makes this more fluid than the start and stop traps, made for reaction shots, in something like “Jackass”-spinoff “Bad Grandpa.” That’s the sweet spot: how its pranks are constructed to get the unexpected to converse with Bud and Chris and/or Trina, and see if strangers attempt to help. (“You turned on us!” says Chris after a golfer starts swinging a club at Chris and Bud while their penises are enjoined by a Chinese fingertrap.)

An amazing scene comes at a tense mid-point when Trina appears at a restaurant, spreading around fliers advertising her desire to kill Bud and Chris with their dopey faces on them. She leaves. Minutes later, Bud and Chris then show up at the same place, and everyone’s response is incredible some people trying to warn them and others not wanting to get caught in the middle. “Bad Trip” knows how to stir things up, and its funniest scenes often involve real people getting in the mix tested by the brilliant skills of André, Howery and Haddish. Some ways that some people react might shock you about their pranks in some ways but absolutely will not in others.

Watch Bad Trip For Free On Gomovies.