Checked out the new comedy Action Point, a film most noticeable as an excuse to let Johnny Knoxville to continue to hurt himself, this time in a narrative story. As opposed, you know, to a bunch of jackasses hurting themselves for the cash.
Action Point is set in the 70s and features a local amusement park that is going up against a new, slick corporate park. Knoxville plays the owner who decides to take off all those pesky safety precautions as a way drum up business. Which is really just an excuse for Knoxville and his infamous stunts.
On the plus side, the film looks like it could have been filmed in the late 70s or early 80s. It includes a bunch of dirty, grungy, counter-culture types who fight The Man. It even has that rich blonde snobby guy who can’t handle these dirty hippies. It’s pretty spot on Meatballs or Caddy Shack type stuff.
Too bad the movie is just really really boring. And the stunts, while painful, aren’t super impressive, given it’s a narrative story and not just a bunch of people screwing around.
So, yeah, this is just a bad movie. I guess I respect the effort to give a throwback story, but they just didn’t have a good enough comic script to make it work. Stunts are not jokes.
Score: 59