Tim & Eric’s Billion Dollar Movie: Anti-Comedy

Even with the first line, this has already become an exercise in futility.

Evaluating the works of Tim & Eric as cinema is akin to reviewing an amusement park ride, or haunted house. I can provide you with an outline of important details, and maybe relate some of my personal experience, but the process of undergoing said experience is all that matters, and will vary wildly rider by rider. Many of you would not find the same joy in the loop-d-loops, but that's probably why I enjoy the ride.

For the uninitiated, Tim Heidecker and Eric Wareheim were the creators and stars of the series "Tom Goes To The Mayor" from 2004 – 2006 on Adult Swim. The show was barely animated, and featured only poorly Photoshopped still frames of people in a world populated by cheap clip art, yet created a bizarrely touching relationship between a forever-tread-upon-optimist and his powerful local representative. The team then moved on to "Tim and Eric Awesome Show, Great Job!", where they came into their own. Now a live action experience, Tim & Eric found ways to combine short sketches, a micro-budget, and a penchant for the extremely odd into a cultural monster; of which, the Billion Dollar Movie is to ostensibly serve as finale. 

But it doesn't. See, B$M serves as a better introduction to the TV series than a final chapter. It's dedication to a central linear narrative, consistent characters, and big name actors serving as more than just cameos, makes the film an easier line-in to the world of Tim & Eric than the first episode of Awesome Show, Great Job. Which, for a long time fan, creates the conflict of being proud of their growth as filmmakers, but let down by the missed opportunity for their most extreme expression yet. 

The story follows two filmmakers, named Tim & Eric, who produce a billion dollar movie, starring Johnny Depp in a suit made of diamonds. Unfortunately, a billion dollars only amounts to three minutes of screen time, and the producers (an evil mega corporation, fronted by William Atherton) demand their money back. Tim & Eric run for their lives, then catch a TV commercial promising a billion dollars to any two men who can come run a near abandoned mall. They apply for the job, under mall owner Damien Weebs (Will Ferrell) and are shown around by the sickly Taquito (John C. Reilly), all while being haunted by their former spiritual adviser (Zach Galifianakis) and taunted by an angry sword shop owner (Will Forte). Throw in a romantic interest (Twink Caplan), a mysterious Shrimmer (Ray Wise), and a wolf, and you've got most of the movie.

The film, of its own merits, is actually surprisingly good. The problem is its inability to compete with the astoundingly high bar set by the series. (Yes, I realize that 95% of the population can't stomach more than a few minutes of Tim & Eric in any scenario, so "high bar" sounds laughable to you, but we're in my bubble now, so back off.) All of these name actors enjoyed various cameos within shows past, where they've done much more exciting, dangerous, and memorable work than here.John C. Reilly's character work on the show as Dr. Steve Brule led to his own spin-off, so the ailing Taquito portrayed here seems like a waste of his talent. And Will Forte seems so ineffective in comparison to his short TV stints, it is the entertainment equivalent of transitioning MacGruber from SNL sketch to feature film.

Luckily, most of the people who catch this film will be experiencing Tim & Eric for the first time, and for that, B$M serves as a tremendous primer. They cover a broad range the tropes and styles they're fond of using, an inject just enough madness to let you feel the danger throughout. Importantly, they also get you accustomed to their thesis: an anti-comedy which laughs at the mechanics of humor, then deftly navigates it in such a way that the viewer becomes the focus, making you question why you are laughing, or more precisely, why you are not. 

In the end, your enjoyment of their work will be a question of whether you can see through the Magic Eye of their oeuvre: do you see the surface idiocy, or the genius that meticulously creates those mechanics?