Review: Bad Trip (2021)

Once, in the distant past, ‘Jackass’ was the pinnacle of humor. This American company performed daredevil stunts and was not afraid to involve innocent people. By misbehaving himself enormously in front of an ignorant audience, quite strange scenes emerged from this. For example, a member of ‘Jackass’ decided in a sanitary shop to relieve himself in a demo setup of a toilet bowl. The public – and the shop owner – didn’t really like that. It did produce remarkable television. The success of ‘Jackass’ resulted in a lot of clones in the form of ‘The Dudesons’ and ‘Dirty Sanchez’. While the success of hidden camera jokes seems to be ebbing – except for the films around ‘Borat’ – there is suddenly Netflix vehicle ‘Bad Trip’. And yes, that is a kind of clone of ‘Jackass’, but a bit raunchier, dumber and rude. For the shape, a story has been made around the sketches.

A wimpy car mechanic (Eric André) goes on a road trip because he has fallen madly in love with a classmate from his high school. Although the lady in question has shown no affection, the mechanic decides to enlist the help of his mate (Lil Rel Howery). This friend has a sister (Tiffany Haddish) with a car. Sister is in jail and won’t mind if her vehicle is borrowed unsolicited, right?

If you like ‘Bad Grandpa’ with Johnny ‘Jackass’ Knoxville, you will love this ‘Bad Trip’ too. The jokes are crude, rude and dumb. Think of a rape scene in which a gorilla attacks a car mechanic, a passage in which a hand ends up in a blender and a prison break. All these crazy fragments take place in front of an ignorant audience.

The reactions of the terrified bystanders should reinforce the comic effect. ‘Bad Trip’ is a very flat film, but it is very well done. The scenes – no matter how gross or gross they may be – are creatively conceived and sometimes genuinely cleverly put together. How would you react in such a situation? You will often ask yourself this question during this movie. During the credits you can see how the cast and cameramen make it clear that the bystanders have been made fun of. That’s good for your heart, because you shouldn’t think that they didn’t know they were dealing with actors …