Prime Time: Slapped! The Movie (2018)

It normally doesn't take much to put a movie on my radar. Someone can mention that they loved or hated it. A mainstream release will be obvious, you cannot avoid those blockbuster adverts online, on the sides of buses, and everywhere else. And I sometimes even get communications from film-makers directly. That's what happened on this occasion. I politely replied that I didn't really have the time or space in my schedule to check this film out, but then it turned out that I did. Would it be worth a watch? Well, it gives me a blog post, if nothing else. But for people involved in the film, unless reviewers really love their final product, or at least offer constructive critiicism, it's hard to tell what they might gain from a review that could end up being lukewarm, or even negative.

As ever, I approached this with an open mind. The trailer hadn't won me over, although I've yet to see a great trailer cut for an independent comedy film, but I had time on my hands and my ever-present sense of optimism.

Slapped! The Movie is a bodyswap film based on the web series, co-created by stars Alex Magana (who also directs here) and Matt Lowe. Alex and Matt play . . . Alex and Matt, two best friends who are quite clearly opposites of one another. Alex looks after his body, has quite a good life, but has no luck with women. Matt is a bit of a lazy slob, has a great girlfriend (Alysse Fozmark), and is woken up most mornings by his lovely mother (Aimee Binford) and her equally lovely same-sex partner (Erin Hagen). Long story short, the two are slapped by a hobo after a drunken night out and end up in each other's bodies. Various challenges lie ahead. There's a triathlon that Alex is due to compete in, a comedy night that Matt has signed up for, Alex has a chance to win over a woman he likes (Jenna, played by Shelby Meader) while he has the mind of Matt, and Matt has to just avoid having sex with his girlfriend while he has the mind of Alex.

There are lots of silly jokes here that revolve around body fluids. If you don't like to see fake semen onscreen then this isn't the film for you. It gets more screentime than most of the supporting cast members. There's also some urine and vomit, which may be a triple-bill that Magana and Lowe viewed as their equivalent of blood, sweat, and tears. Some of these juvenile gags made me laugh, but I'm not a big fan of toilet humour so I would have hated this film if that was all it had going for it. Surprisingly, there's a bit more here that proves amusing enough for undemanding viewers. Alex lusting after Matt's mother while in the body of Matt is pretty twisted and funny stuff, a scene in which one character runs towards the other to fight him is good (avoid the trailer to avoid that being spoiled for you), and there's a very funny interlude in which Alex decides to head along to a game of bubble ball that is clearly inteended for kids only.

Despite their failings as leading men (sorry, Alex and Matt aren't the most natural actors), the central pair don't do a terrible job. It's a pleasant surprise, in fact, when you realise that you've watched over half the movie and stopped thinking of one, or both, as being very bloody annoying. Binford and Hagen are bloody good sports, and provide a lot of the biggest laughs as they mollycoddle Matt, and Fozmark and Meader both do alright in their roles. Okay, Meader is quite bad but she looks like a believable romantic interest for Alex.

The problem is that this runs for just under two hours, and both Magana and Lowe seem to have an approach that involves throwing everything at the screen and hoping some of it sticks. Some of it does, some really doesn't (I didn't find myself entertained by any of the hallucinations shown onscreen), and some gags feel amusing but better-suited to a different movie (Alex checking his devices while an art teacher discusses how the lesson is a break from the trappings of the modern world). I think both men either need an editor or need to limit themselves to shorter skits. The bodyswap concept is given a fun twist here, and it's fun to see how dark and twisted things get as the plot unfolds, but there's too much that is completely unnecessary.

The end result falls a bit below average, which is a shame, especially when some judicious editing and a bit more time spent on the pacing and honing the gags that worked best would have resulted in something that, while still no masterpiece, would have been a very pleasant surprise for those who stumbled across it while looking for something to tickle their funny bone.

3/10

You can watch Slapped! The Movie here.
Americans can watch it here.