Impractical Jokers: The Movie

Joe. Murr. Q. Sal! The stars of TV’s Impractical Jokers have made their way to the silver screen in their very own movie. While it has some very funny moments, the overall premise of Impractical Jokers: The Movie was almost what you’d see on their cable series on truTV. Was it worth going to see? Find out as we explore the movie debut of the comedy troupe known as The Tenderloins

Impractical Jokers: The Movie

Starring: James Murray, Joe Gatto, Brian Quinn, Sal Vulcano, Paula Abdul
Directed by Chris Henchy
Produced by Funny or Die, truTV
Distributed by Warner Bros.
Rated: PG-13
Run Time: 92 Minutes

Impractical Jokers has been running on truTV since 2011. The show stars 4 friends from high school who now in their 40s, perform a series of pranks to embarrass each other. Over 200 episodes have aired in the past decade. Through the years, each episode ends with one or more of the Jokers losing the episode and getting punished as a result. Punishments have included getting bad hair cuts, being forced to jump out of an air plane and to have the 13-year old face of Jaden Smith tattooed onto their thigh.

In what can only be considered a ‘mega-sized’ episode of the TV show, the Impractical Jokers (AKA The Tenderloins) are invited by Paula Abdul to a party down in Miami. Leaving the quartet with only 3 passes, the guys decide to drive from New York to Florida and perform pranks. Whomever loses the most on this road trip doesn’t get to attend the party.

If that was the movie, I would be totally happy. That set-up captures the Impractical Jokers TV show perfectly. While I am not sure how the movie will look on the small screen due to an obvious change in recording medium, the stunts aren’t any different from the show. Yes, the language isn’t bleeped out and there’s a little more skin showing than usual. But overall, this could’ve all been done on pay-per-view. 

The movie starts in 1994. It’s hilarious seeing the Jokers looking like they were teenagers again. And the opening segment which ties into why the 4 guys want to go to Paula Abdul’s party so badly is actually quite funny. It’s a sort of origin story. But it also harkens back to how the guys came to know each other. So this fictitious plot wasn’t so bad. 

What was really stupid was when the Jokers tried to act like themselves. In between the times where they are basically filming an episode, there’s filler that just doesn’t flow with the rest of the film. For instance, there’s a plotline that has Joe, Q and Sal wondering just what does Murray do when he’s not with his friends. As this segment keeps getting explored, it stops the pace of the movie, like when someone farts in an elevator but nobody wants to admit they did it.  

I also hated the very staged ending. Yes, somebody loses in this movie. The lead-up to that wasn’t planned. But the parts where ¾ of the Jokers get to party hearty without their 4th wheel was clearly scripted. That lengthy penultimate scene was just painful to watch. 

Impractical Jokers: The Movie brings about a lot of laughs. Making the film a limited showing was quite smart on everyone’s part. Having to wait longer, plus the massive advertising campaign truTV has done for this movie had my wife and I eating out of the Impractical Jokers hands as we both were eager to see this in the theater!

If you love the Impractical Jokers, then you really should show your love and see the movie! I just think that I would have enjoyed it more with less ‘fake Jokers’ and more of the guys doing the pranks and other oddball stuff which have made them household names! If you don’t go to see this in theaters then definitely set aside a couple of hours for some laughs when it hits PPV!

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 7 out of 10 stars.

Laurel and Hardy Meet The Three Stooges #1 (Family Comic Friday)

It's a crossover that only could have happened thanks to the magic of comic books. Join Family Comic Friday as we review the first ever meeting between Laurel and Hardy and the Three Stooges!

Laurel and Hardy Meet The Three Stooges #1

Written by James Kuhoric and S.A. Check
Art by Diego Tapie
Published by American Mythology
Retail: $3.99, variant covers are more slightly expensive

Laurel and Hardy- this duo were stars of stage and film from the 1920s until their last movie in 1950. They are a beloved pair of comedians who saw resurgence in fame in the 60s and 70s thanks to film festivals, appearances in comic books, even a cartoon show!

The Three Stooges- Larry, Moe and Curly. This trio got their start on the Vaudeville stage in the 1920s. Their slapstick hi-jinks made them movie stars from the 1930s-60s. With new members like Shemp and Curly Joe filling in for Curly, the Stooges took over comic books and TV with a long running kid shows that combined live action and animation.

In honor of looming the 100th anniversaries of The Three Stooges and Laurel and Hardy, American Mythology has done the unthinkable- paired the two iconic comedy teams together for the very first time! EVER! 

For fans of these zany characters, this is a dream come true! Writers James Kuhoric and S.A. Check along with artist Diego Tapie pit the two comedy teams together in the ultimate comedy comic! Laurel and Hardy had a series of films in which the two were bumbling furniture movers who ended up breaking everything they touched. A very heavy piano or safe was always a gigantic obstacle to move. The Three Stooges had a running gag in which they were house repairmen who would wind up destroying the house rather than fixing it! In this one-shot crossover, a couple make the ultimate mistake hiring all 5 goof balls to help them move into a run-down home!

I laughed so much at this book. The writing duo of Kuhoric and Check were  masters at crafting Laurel and Hardy's very deft dialogue. S.A. Check captured the Stooges in their cartoon forms perfectly and illustrated some hilarious sight gags. Laurel and Hardy and the Stooges were known for being the kings of physical comedy. You'd think that a comic book couldn't capture their fluidity and yet this book does! I was extremely pleased!

Laurel and Hardy Meet The Three Stooges is rated for all ages. I agree that this is an appropriate book for kids of any age level. But it may be mom and dad or the grandparents who enjoy this book the most. The Stooges have had a minor resurgence in the past decade or so with a 2012 reboot that included a comic book series and a live action film that starred Sean Hayes. As for Laurel and Hardy, they are a big unknown to youngsters. It doesn't mean that today's young readers won't enjoy this comic book. They just might need an adult to help make  some of these figures of early Hollywood relevant. 

I'm a big fan of American Mythology. They've been bringing back a ton of classic franchises from my youth and that of my parents. They did an awesome job with this team-up and I am eager to see what comes next! Could we possibly see the Marx Brothers getting into mischief with Larry, Moe and company? That would be epic if they did! And I'd be first in line for my copy of it!

DC's Crimes of Passion #1

You gotta love DC Comics. They might take 3 years to complete a 12 issue miniseries or cancel a title before it even goes to print. But the House That Superman Built never forgets a holiday. Crimes of Passion is DC's Valentine's Day offering for 2020 and it was a wild ride.

Featuring 10 stories starring the good, the bad, and the ugly of the DC Universe, Crimes of Passion is an 80-paged mixed bag. There's some really good stories here. There are a couple of stinkers. Plus, you've got some stories that are 'meh.' Thankfully, the majority of this special was very well done. 

My favorite story involves the lesser known character of Slam Bradley. Though he did not create the character, the late Darwyn Cooke is who I most link to Slam Bradley. A grizzled private detective, Slam is tasked to find a cat burglar stalking the rich of Gotham. For once, it's not Catwoman and it was a beautiful tale that made me miss Darwyn even more!

Speaking of Catwoman, she pits a feuding husband and wife against each other for a special heirloom. In other words, the trinket is worth a lot of money and both ex-lovers want it! As the couple are both estranged leaders of a Russian mob and passionate haters of each other, this story was quite humorous. 

I was also a fan of the Batman story. It had elements of Batman Year One and Batman: The Animated Series that made for a very noir romance story. I really liked Bruce's love interest and would really like to see her again. 

The Nightwing and Batgirl story was okay. I still haven't figured out where Barbara Gordon fits into the post-Rebirth era. There also seemed to be a page or two missing from this story as some things just didn't gel right with the plot. 

The Pied Piper story was another story that I was alright with. The ending was great. But the journey to get to that twisty last panel was long and tiresome. 

The story starring what I am assuming is the Vic Sage Question and Plastic Man were just plan awful. If there were other stories in this special that I neglected to mention, it was because they were forgettable. Now that I think about it, that Wildcat story rocked!

One thing that was quite unusual was the lack of heavy hitters. Batman does appear in 2 tales. But where's Superman? Wonder Woman? Aquaman? And no Harley Quinn? She's like the darling of DC Comics. It was really odd not having her appear in a DC special about love and romance. 

Overall, I enjoyed DC's Crimes of Passion. It was a good read to get in the mood for Cupid. You don't even have to have a Valentine to enjoy it. 

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 7 out of 10 stars.

Lords and Ladies by Terry Pratchett

The Wyrd Sisters have returned from a lengthy trip abroad. Much has changed since Granny Weatherwax, Nanny Ogg and Magrat Garlick were last in Lancre. The King has decided to marry Magrat. Magrat just doesn't know it yet. Nanny Ogg's son Jason has been perfecting his craft as an ironsmith. And a new generation of witches have been going up the mountain to perform some spells much to Granny's dismay. (They haven't been wearing any drawers!)

It's the dancing that's the real problem for Granny. (When it comes to prancing around without your drawers on, if you got it, flaunt it) No, it's the mere act of dancing so close to the circle of stones called The Dancers. See, this area of the mountain is very close to a weak point in the dimension that Discworld occupies. For the stars are lining up just right and when that happens it will allow the elves to enter Granny Weatherwax's domain.

Elves are not those cute little sprites we all love. They might look all sweet. But, they're actually cruel and mean. And they once tried to imprison Granny Weatherwax when she was a wee lass. It's a sort of personal history that makes Granny hate elves.

The witches stories are generally not my favorite Discworld tales. I didn't like Equal Rites that much. And I hated Carpe Jugulum. But I'm trying to read the entire series and due to how much I enjoyed Unseen Academicals, starring the Wizards, I was in the mood for some magic.

Lords and Ladies was one of the best out of this entire series of Discworld. It was extremely funny with some awesome quotes that I don't think I'll ever forget. Plus, there were some moments that were darn right scary. And it's pretty hard for a book without pictures to scare me.

One issue that I have with the Discworld books are how metaphysical that they can get. The floating planetoid has a unique magical field that has been established all the way since the opening chapter of the very first novel, The Colour of Magic. While this element allows for some hilarious moments, I feel that Terry Pratchett relied on this too much as a crutch. The late author never seemed to run out of ideas. Yet that creativity would get to the point that Pratchett had trouble putting his stamp on the final product.

 Lords and Ladies doesn't fall into that trap. At less than 400 pages, this is one of the shorter Discworld novels. The pacing felt right. The plot didn't drag. And everything seemed to wrap itself up in a tiny little package.

I've got 16 Discworld books left to read. Two of them focus on the Wyrd Sisters. If they are as good as Lords and Ladies was, I will jump at the chance to own them immediately! I just got to find an affordable copy.

A must for fans of comedic fantasy!

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.

Far Out Fairy Tales: Snow White and the Seven Robots: A Family Comic Friday Extra!

If you thought you knew everything there was to know about the Fairest One of Them All- GUESS AGAIN! We take a look at Capstone Press's awesome line of Far Out Fairy Tales; featuring Snow White and the Seven Robots in this Family Comic Friday Extra!

Far Out Fairy Tales: Snow White and the Seven Robots

Written by Louise Simonson
Illustrated by Jimena Sanchez S.
Published by Capstone Press
Pages: 40
Retail: $5.95

This version of Snow White takes place on the planet Techworld which is inhabited by a race of green skinned people. Our princess is specifically bred by Techworld's top scientists to be the planet's new Queen. But the current ruler of Techworld messes with the genetic structure of the child and instead, her skin turns as white as snow!

Now an outcast, Snow White is sent to work in Techworld's sanitation department. The Queen hopes that the sight of the young girl will make people hate and fear Snow White. But Snow's ability to fix broken robots and her gentile nature make her a valued member of the planet's community.

Enraged, the ruler of Techworld orders Snow White to be murdered. But Snow manages to escape to a mining colony which happens to be occupied by 7 run down robots. I think you can see where this is going...

Far Out Fairy Tales has been on my radar for quite some time. The first run of sci-fi and superhero influenced graphic novels debuted in 2015. A new line just dropped within the last month. I'm happy to say that thanks to this new run, my library finally picked up the complete run of Far Out Fairy Tales. Unfortunately, I only saw the January sticker on the spine. I didn't realize that I choose one of the older titles. But that's okay because I thought this book was great.

Snow White and the Seven Robots was written by a living legend. Louise Simonson has crafted literally hundreds of fantastic comics and graphic novels in a career spanning over 4 decades. My most beloved run of Simonson's was what she did on Superman in the 90s. Simonson gave the Man of Steel such a whimsical touch during her time as the master of Metropolis. It's something that she manages to do here with this intergalactic take on Snow White. The artwork of Far Out Fairy Tales regular artist Jimena Sanchez S. added to that fanciful style established by Louise Simonson.

I really enjoyed this retooling of the Brothers Grimm iconic fairy tale. Readers aged 6-10 should love these books too! And so will parents. Each book has added features like discussion questions, terms to know and more cool inside stuff about the history of each fairy tale featured. With new releases such as Peter Pan in Mummy Land and The Silver Spurs of Oz plus several more new titles dropping later this fall, fans of Snow White and the Seven Robots will have lots of Far Out Fairy Tales to enjoy for future readings!

Far Out Fairy Tales: Snow White and the Seven Robots is available now in print and digital formats. An all Spanish edition will debut in August.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 10 out of 10 stars.

Brina the Cat #1: The Gang of the Feline Sun (Family Comic Friday)

Hey there, cat lovers! Family Comic Friday is proud to introduce to you Brina the Cat! This Italian import is the newest feline superstar to come your way from Papercutz!

Brina the Cat #1: The Gang of the Feline Sun
Written by Giorgio Salati
Art by Christian Cornia
Published by Papercutz
Pages: 88
Retail: $14.99

Brina is a city cat. She has traveled to the mountains for a holiday with her people, Sam and Marge. Brina enjoys some minor freedom, roaming the backyard to the cottage her masters have rented. But when she meets a one-eyed wild cat name Vespucci, Brina begins to hear the call of the wilderness.

Running away from home, Brina learns what it means to be independent. This freedom means scrounging for your next meal, fighting off predators and angry humans, and trusting in the other members of your new family. In this case, it's Vespucci and his followers; the Gang of the Feline Sun! But is this truly the independent lifestyle that Brina yearns for? 

Brina the Cat is a new series brought to you by Papercutz. Brina's debut first saw print in 2018 in her creator, Giorgio Salati's native Italy. Now Brina and her owners come to you in this fantastic English translation! 

The interesting thing about this story was how evenly balanced this story was between Brina and her human owners. Lots of these type of stories about a pet's desire to live 
unencumbered usually focuses on just the pets. You might get a scene or two in which the humans are quite sad over the disappearance of their beloved animal. But the story is mostly from the eyes of the pets. Not here!

Giorgio Salati shows the reader the anguish of owners Sam and Marge as they desperately try to find Brina. This really helps the reader to  desire that Brina and her family ultimately reunite. Showing the story from the human's perspective adds a layer to depth to the story. Just as Brina meets an assortment of animals on her venture, Sam and Marge meet some interesting characters as they search for their missing sweetheart. Showing both the pet and owner sides of the story make for a very satisfying ending!

(Speaking of which, read all the way to the very back cover for a much needed and appreciated secret final scene to this adventure!)

I wish I could say that this was the purr-fect graphic novel starring cats. But there were a couple of scenes of animal cruelty that really stung. I understand that the writer felt that he needed to add those scenes to help make the reader more sympathetic to a couple of the characters. However with a suggested readership of ages 8-12, those scenes could be considered too intense for young readers

If the young reader in your life can't stand to view those ASPCA commercials in which Sarah Mclachlan sings while showing images of mistreated puppies, then this book may not be right fit just now. Or you could use this book as a teachable moment to teach about the proper care of a pet. Maybe Brina and company will even inspire you to adopt a kitty or doggie in need of a forever home!

Papercutz has introduced families to a variety of cats over the years. From the pusses in the work's of Smurfs' creator Peyo to the meatloaf known as Sushi in the adventures of Cazenove and Richez's Cat  and Cat, Brina the Cat is the newest star of the Papercutz family. With a second volume debuting in stores this Summer, be sure to make Brina a part of your graphic novel family today!

Brina the Cat #1: The Gang of the Feline Sun debuted in print and digital formats on January 14th, 2020.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.

Moon Knight, Volume 1: Lunatic

Marc Spector awakens in a mental hospital. It seems that his life as the vigilante Moon Knight has been just a delusion of decades of psychosis. Yet no matter how hard Spector tries to see life through the eyes of a sane person, the man keeps running into fellow inmates who seem just like those who have fought along side him in his mission against evil and injustice. 

I think after numerous tries, I can say without a doubt, I am just not a Moon Knight fan. There's too many alter egos and confusing Egyptian gods. Oh, and violence. Lots and lots of mindless violence. 

I won this book, along with 3 other books, in a drawing during a comic book event. That's why I read this. I figured free is free. Plus, it has the great Jeff Lemire (Black Hammer) as the writer. So I thought that I would be in for a treat. 

This volume contains the first 5 issues of the 2016-17 Moon Knight series. The first 3 issues were pretty good. But the concluding pair of chapters were just a hot mess. Now the artwork overall was superior. It's a mix of different art styles by Star Wars: Vader's Greg Smallwood with help by Francesco Francavilla (Archie Horror), Michael Garland (King Thor) and others. And I just loved those covers. I'n not sure who did them. But they really were awesome. 

I know that Moon Knight has a cult following. He's just not my cup of tea. Someone might be a huge fan of this book. But that person isn't me.

 Hey- at least it was a free book!

Rating: 6 out of 10 stars.