Ass Backwards

source: Ass Backwards

Modern society is about competition: the winner takes it all, forget about the loser. Well, that's inhuman. This movie deals with some of the extremes of that herd mentality which is enforcing its standards on everyone, labeling them 'winners', 'losers', 'nerds', 'jocks', or whatever. So what is 'success', really? Always putting a smiling face? Despite its silly start and its premise so similar to 'Romy and Michelle's High School Reunion' (duh!), this is a much darker version of your regular 'female buddy flick'. The two main characters are so delusional and dumb (who has made and kept them as such?), that they actually don't resemble Romy and Michelle at all. The movie has a couple of laughs, but its dark side overrides its comedic side. Many people were misled by its 'comedy' label, expecting hilarious situations or lines, or maybe even a silly or zany entertainment (you know, ass jokes, dumb and dumber, and so on). So of course it's not hilarious, but that's really not that bad as they'd expect. It's a different type of a film, even cruel at times (and almost unreal, to match the two girls' delusional state). This is what competitiveness makes to people.

Kate and Chloe receive an invitation to a beauty pageant's anniversary celebration that as children they tied for dead last. The best friends decide to redeem themselves and take a roadtrip back to their hometown and win the crown. Silly, stupid and crass as a male counterpart to Dumb and Dumber or Planes, Trains and Automobiles. Spoiler - they still don't win.

This movie is a very terrible , unfunny knock-off on Romy & Michele's High School Reunion! It's like someone got stoned, watched that movie then woke up and wrote ASS Backwards thinking they had some kind of prophetic dream or something. 2 loser 30 somethings go on a road trip back to where there from to make people from their past think that they "made it" in life. At least in Romy and Michele they were kinda lovable ditzy characters. These 2 are just annoying. They should burn this film!

This is (almost) exactly what I wrote on Facebook right after watching it, and can't think of anything more honest....parenthesis is where it has been edited somewhat. Just watched Ass Backwards. Save yourself the trouble and don't bother. I thought it was going to be some sort of mix between Romy and Michelle's High School Reunion and Drop Dead Gorgeous - not even close. No plot, no comedic relief....it was just two stupid bitches (edited out.) The best part happens in the first MINUTE, and past that it's just mind-numbing stupidity. *shakes head* I'm ashamed that I asked (my husband) to get it for us to watch.

I'm not sure why films like "Dumb and Dumber," "I Love You, Man," or "The Hangover" find heaps of praise when a film that is just as goofy, just as over the top, and just as (intentionally), stupid as "Ass Backwards" Doesn't. It's just as funny, inventive, and all out ridiculous. I worry it might have something to do with the gender of the leads. For some reason, I think women aren't "allowed" by the mainstream to be as reckless as their male counterparts. Bridesmaids did it, yes, but I still think mainstream cinema has a long way to go. Written by the two stars, June Diane Raphael and Casey Wilson, we follow the two ridiculously stupid and blissfully ignorant Kate and Chloe - two beauty pageant rejects who have never quite gotten over their loss. When a reunion event for the pageant that ruined their childhood pops up, the two see it as a redemption for their pasts. Part road trip movie, part farce, all buddy comedy "Ass Backwards" is a primal scream of comedy that seems to state "women can be stupid too." And that's all the film wants to do - make you laugh and have a great time doing it. If you're a fan of films like "Dumb and Dumber", "MacGruber", or "Dude, Where's My Car?" Then "Ass Backwards" will be right up your alley. However this film succeeds where those others didn't - while the main characters here may be dumb, they've also got a lot of heart, and a friendship that's deeper than family. Here's hoping Diane-Raphael & Wilson team up again - because "Ass Backwards" is an absolute riot that got lost in the constraints of a society unwilling to let women loose to do something these two do very well - make us laugh.

You have to wonder how this film happened. I'm sure I've seen a few that were worse, but none come to mind. Save yourself the time and watch paint dry. It will be a lot funnier, and you won't find yourself at the end saying, "What in the world was the person who made this paint thinking?" Really, really lame film. So in posting this review, it looks like I need to go on for ten lines to get it posted. If I were to list things I hated about this film, I could go on for volumes. But if I focused on what I liked, I'd be limited to a big round of applause for whoever did the trailer, which put the best possible face on a really dismal film.

As other users have said, there's an obvious Romy & Michelle vibe (nothing wrong with that) - but where that film had heart, likable characters, and actual jokes, this one has absolutely none of that. The two main characters are abrasive, unlikable and interchangeable - their motivations and intelligence level seem to change from scene to scene. This is an almost Andy Kaufman-esque piece of anti-comedy - scenes drag on and on with awkward silences and nothing resembling jokes or even attempted jokes. I might have laughed once - it's an absolute chore to sit through. I like Casey Wilson and June Diane Raphael in other projects, but after this and Bride Wars, they need to take a break from screen writing. This makes Orci-Kurtzman scripts look like Charlie Kaufman or Tarantino. The only way this can be redeemed is if Raphael does an episode of "How Did This Get Made?" (the bad-movie discussion podcast she co-hosts) devoted to this movie. She's usually the most likable, level-headed person on the show, who seems to actually want to discuss the shortcomings of the movie instead of just crack easy jokes; any insight into how this movie went so, so wrong would be fascinating to listen to.

I must admit that I had initially expected just a bit more from this movie than what it turned out to be. So I can't really claim to have been overly impressed with the end result. The story is about Kate (played by June Diane Raphael) and Chloe (played by Casey Wilson) who were competing in beauty pageants as young girls - and lost. Having grown up together, living together and doing everything together, the two women are side by side through thick and thin. They receive an invitation for a 50th anniversary beauty pageant in the town of Neptune. Getting there proves to be some ordeal for the two women. That was basically the storyline wrapped up in a few lines. For a comedy, then "Ass Backwards" was really tame and you have to look far for the laughs. I think I laughed but one time throughout the entire movie, and that was when they were driving in their van and singing along to a scratched CD with the "take on me" song by A-HA. That was the highlight of the entire movie. The jokes were non-existent, and there was just an all-through complete lack of comedy throughout the entire movie. That being said, then I will say that the people in the movie were doing good jobs with their given roles, they just had next to nothing script-wise to work with. And the two lead actresses June Diane Raphael and Casey Wilson really carried the movie well and had great on-screen chemistry. Perhaps I wasn't particularly in the target audience, as I am 38 years old and male, but still, this movie came and went without leaving any lasting impression at all, aside from two great performances by the lead actresses.

There are movies that I refuse to watch again after watching it, but this is one of the movies I can watch again. The plot is OK, acting is good, and funny moments are really funny. Two girls who became friends through their childhood pageant is just so adorable. This is a story of a true blue friendship. It is not a laugh out loud movie, but it is very humorous and I find myself shaking my head while smiling. If you are like me who just want to enjoy a movie then you should give this movie a chance The scenes are good and the ending is something I really enjoy, This is a movie that you I like from beginning to end.