Fun
Frisky
Nostalgic
Intense
Adventurous
Choked Up
Curious
Romantic
Weird
When we talk about streaming culture, we’re usually enthusing about what’s new, but one of the best things about streaming is how it’s made old and obscure cult hits available to a new generation. Presenting Cult Corner: your weekly look into hidden gems and long-lost curiosities that you can find on streaming.
It’s a sentiment that’s been explored before, and it’s sure to be explored a thousand more times — Hollywood is a superficial cesspool. That’s the world the star-studded animated romp Nerdland is set in, one where the only point of being alive is to be famous or at least to know someone famous. However, instead of exploring the phoniness of the entertainment industry through protagonists who see the world for what it really is, Nerdland is fueled by two BFFs who are even more desperate than the world they desperately want to be part of. The resulting movie is crude and raunchy critique of Hollywood that will sate any craving for dude-bro comedies you may be having.
Though the beats and characters in the movie aren’t anything that hasn’t been seen before, Nerdland’s animation adds a new energy to the slacker man-child genre. Created by Titmouse, the production studio behind Metalocalypse and Superjail!, and directed by Chris Prynoski, Nerdland is all bold outlines, unflattering shapes, and grungy colors. The movie looks like a better version of your middle school doodles brought to life, which is a tone that perfectly fits the movie’s unsettled sense of angst.
Nerdland follows Elliot (Patton Oswalt) and John (Paul Rudd), two best friends who are approaching 30 and are desperate to make it big. Elliot is scrawny screenwriter with a terrible Rip Van Winkle idea, and John is a stumbling entertainment reporter and aspiring actor. Both are aggressively awkward and creepy with women, their love interests being played by Kate Micucci and Riki Lindhome. It’s honestly difficult to decide which of the two is more desperate. The duo’s all-consuming need to be famous leads to them witnessing a crime they shouldn’t, which sets off a whole new world of craziness.
There is nothing subtle about Nerdland. The movie is packed full of strip club nudity, ultra violence, and body humor, sometimes to good effect but often not. The movie often lacks the brilliant notes of humor from some of Titmouse’s other projects, whether that may be the pure randomness of Metalocalypse or the blissful and psychotic gruesomeness that defines Superjail! However, Nerdland is an engagingly animated movie packed with all-star talent. From Hannibal Buress to Mike Judge, there are several delightfully familiar voices that any comedy fan will appreciate. And sometimes you’re just in the mood for a intense, gross-out bro comedy. If you find yourself craving a binge that’s foul, filthy, and packed with jokes that would make middle school you giggle, try Nerdland.
