Fubar

This movie is truly an original. There have been many lower budget movies created featuring mullets, beer and heavy metal. But this Alberta local, is a classic! Deaner and Terry are sincerely oblivious to some basic facts of life. The movie focuses on their way of life and follows them through a variety of mishaps and drunk shenanigans. The suck is definitely turned down in this film. Other movies try way to hard to achieve what was done naturally in FUBAR. There is no comparison and I feel it has filled a void in my life. I can now die a happy man for having watched it. I would recommend this movie to people that can withstand a bit of out of context cursing and a hungover lifestyle. Just Give'r

As everyone else on this site has acknowledged, Fubar is an eerily accurate portrayal of the headbanger life and mind at its most marginal. The portrayals by the two leads are definitely very funny, as are some of the typical situations they get into. However as a movie, Fubar is like watching a man slip on a banana peel 150 times; the same joke--stupid people acting stupid--gets a little tiring after a while. The use of cancer seems initially like a cheap attempt to introduce depth into the movie, but the pathos is mercifully small and most of the cancer plot is turned into humor. The only problem is that the humor is still repetitious and limited. Although the characters aren't real in Fubar, it's hard not to compare it to American Movie, which although real was far more varied and engaging. The "losers with a dream" theme was far more believable in that movie.

There were a couple of drunken character moments early in this film that gave me some good strong belly laughs but the longer the film went on the less I laughed and the more I just winced, sighed and eventually bailed 30 minutes before the end. I very rarely stop watching a film mid-way, it has to be an especially cringeworthy - almost embarrassing experience for me to turn off early - strangely the last film I watched to provoke an early exit was MacGruber - perhaps it's the mullets. In my opinion, the Fubar producers' choice to inform the audience in the opening credits that the film was a fictional documentary was a bad error on their part and ruined any opportunity they had to successfully dupe the viewer into believing this could possibly be a 'real' documentary. Perhaps there was legal reasons for this admission but even if it had been omitted, the woeful performance of Gordon Skilling as the straight man Farrel would most likely have raised most viewers suspicions as to the truthfulness of what they were watching. The longer I watched this film, the stupider I began to feel, whether it be through some strange osmotic character/viewer transmission or just for the fact that I was continuing to watch a film that proclaimed itself to be a fictional documentary still painfully attempting to pretend to be a documentary. Overall, the whole experience felt like being back in late primary school with a bunch of filmmakers who only had three fingers and yet were still trying to give me a decent Chinese burn. All a bit lame.

I remember it was the summer of 2002 when I first heard of this mockumentary, reading something about it in a Canadian magazine. For a while, I didn't know much about it, other than the fact that it was comedy movie produced in my country, and didn't get around to seeing it until about four years ago. I may have been reasonably impressed during my first viewing, but I'm not 100% sure. I definitely wasn't sickened by it, which some people obviously would be, but it wasn't exactly what I was expecting. I've seen it twice since then, and still think it's a little weird, just like I did the first time, but with my second and third viewing, I had seen it before and knew what to expect, which made it a bit better. Dean Murdoch and Terry Cahill are two headbangers who have been friends for a long time and live in Alberta, Canada. They love beer, heavy metal, and hockey. A documentarian named Farrel Mitchener has decided to follow them around with a camera, documenting their everyday lifestyle. Terry works at a furniture factory, assisting in delivering furniture to houses, and Dean is a wannabe rock star. The two of them are caught on camera doing what they love, which includes getting drunk and causing a ruckus late at night! Farrel also interviews family members and friends of the Alberta headbangers for his documentary. Eventually, Terry tells Farrel and the camera that his friend has testicular cancer! Dean has been keeping this a secret, but the word gets around, and he cannot ignore his condition any longer! The first time I watched "Fubar", I expected it be more about a rock band, and didn't think it would be as weird as it turned out to be. However, after watching it three times, I certainly can't say it has never made me laugh. The two main characters are stupid but reasonably likable, and a lot of the humour comes from the stupid things they say, such as Dean thinking Merlin is a real historical figure. Drunken rampages and getting into fights (a fight with Farrel at the campsite, for example), can also really stand out. It can be hard to pick up all the jokes, which I don't think I've ever succeeded in doing. Some parts didn't impress me, such as Dean talking about putting his testicle in the microwave, but most of the film isn't that disturbing. Aside from the humour, I also like Dean's positive attitude during his treatment process. Paul Spence and David Lawrence play the starring roles convincingly, and it's not surprising that the doctor, S.C. Lim, is a real-life physician playing himself here, as his scenes look like they're from a real documentary with a doctor speaking. Apparently, F.U.B.A.R. is an acronym meaning "F%$#ed up beyond all repair/recognition," and that's probably a fitting title for this movie. It's extremely silly, crude, juvenile, and insane, so much so that the acronym is a good way to describe it, but that's not always a bad thing. It's rated R, which obviously means adults only, and I'm sure the film would make many adults cringe as well, but for some adults, however, probably mostly male, it's pretty funny, even hilarious to some. Around the beginning, I could have easily given "Fubar" an 8/10, but the two idiots can't carry the film for 76 minutes consistently enough for that, and could have really gotten tiring if it were that much longer. Still, this mockumentary is often very funny (for certain tastes), and very Canadian. I'm still not sure if I fully get it, but when it comes to crude, juvenile comedies, you could certainly do much worse.

A great little bargain-bin film. The two leads are totally believable as your average clueless neighborhood headbangers. We've all known guys like this, and their dubious exploits resonate even as you double-up with laughter. Oh, to be able to join these clowns in turning off adult responsibility and "just give'r", if only for a moment. Great improvisation based on a three-page story outline. With over 50 hours originally shot, I hope the film does well enough to allow a DVD with additional footage. I saw it opening night in Toronto with the theatre about 1/3 full. For now, I'm off to get the soundtrack.

This movie was perfect. Bangers on 10speeds carrying a case of Pilsner in one hand, talking about the murals they'd paint on a black van ("there'd be a lady, with a big f**kin' laser just, y'know, protectin'"), shotgunning beer, and looking like dirtbags. Banger culture at its best. If Christopher Guest and Eugene Levy had a propensity for RATT and incest, this is the mockumentary they would make.

This movie is a hilarious low budget look at what makes mullet wearing headbangers tick; namely beer, violence, and rock and roll. While much of the film is devoted to mocking and/or worshipping the "banger" lifestyle, it does have a profound sub plot running throughout regarding the nature of friendship and the way people deal with personal tragedy. With classic one liners such as "Plan B is pretty much to giv'er", and a filming style that will remind you of your high school social studies project, this picture is not to be missed. Filmed mostly in Calgary, it is a must see for anyone who wants a glimpse into western Canadian counterculture.

Although filmed in Calgary, any Canadian can identify the unique cultural phenomenon of the aging headbanger. This movie is a brilliant little mock-umentary that is funny and quirky enough to become a cult classic, and is definitely worth seeing. We are taken into the world of Dean, a wannabe bass player, and Terry, a swamper in a furniture factory. The two buddies give the audience a candid look at their lives, captured by documentary filmmaker Farrel Mitchner, whose accidental death is captured on film. The actors fool anybody who isn't aware into thinking that this is a genuine documentary, so it's fun to watch with an unsuspecting friend. A Canadian comedy accessible to any open-minded North American viewer.

Opinion - Ferral Mitchner may he rest in peace. To exploit a death on film and to have the Telefilm of Canada fund it, it's a shame, what does the family think of showing his death to the world? I just saw it on TV last night and was shocked they showed his death and shocked that these guys are even.... trailer park boys was scripted but this to be funded all because they show a man dying, appalled. Opinion - Clearly he was distressed before going into the water, all others seem to be going in feet first, why was he encouraged to dive in? Clearly rocks below...little suspicious. Opinion - I do hope that it is the last of this documentary exploiting these poor fella's. Please reconsider.

I was sold with the tagline: GIVER. These guys are so genuinely into their lives that you can't help but admire them, even though they are like, the quintessential lowlifes, complete with illegitimate children and sordid tales of fingerbanging cousins (eww..). Either way, they are having the best time with what they have, and it's great fun to watch, even though it's all fake. I have never been in a theatre with a movie playing that brought down the house. It was awesome. I can shotgun better than Farrell (although that doesn't seem very hard to do). His cake was priceless. 10/10