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This film will be hated by 99% of critics and shamed off the big screen early. We just have to be honest about it and that’s the truth. Director Kevin Smith was once the Indi film golden boy has never been liked by mainstream critics. Again, to be fair he is not the most deserving of praise. Kevin makes obscure low budget flicks that require a very specific audience. Like I’ve said in the past, “I’m a fan”. I watched the East Coast premier of the film on August 3, 16 in Red Bank New Jersey and loved it for many reasons. Kevin held it on his Birthday at the Count Basie Theater complete with intro and post party Q and A. The best explanation of this film came straight from Kev’s mouth. He said, “This is the film I wanted to see when I was a 15 year old girl”. Granted that wont be on the poster but it is very telling.

This film does what Ghostbusters 2016 tried to do. Yoga Hosers provides a genuine and organic story with strong female leads. “Ghostbusters 16” delivered a contrived story that wedged 4 female leads into a flick that didn’t deliver. The ladies were great but they were working off poor material suffering from the fond memories we have of the past. Yoga Hosers is a unique Sci-Fi experience reminiscent of the early cable videos. Harley Quinn Smith and Lily-Rose Depp appear natural and sell the outlandish plot. Being unique and natural is a big winner in Hollywood. While nostalgia has its place it is a slippery slope to try and navigate i.e. the failure mentioned above.

This will no doubt become a cult classic thus residing with the best of Smith’s work. A very small percentage of his films were generally accepted upon release. The best of his work Clerks, Mallrats, and Chasing Amy all found their success on home video. They became cult classics when the audience could get ready for or grow into the stories. In a world of Netflix and Amazon Prime this film will be the next Tucker and Dale vs Evil. It will be rediscovered sooner rather than later. Moreover, strange movies like Leprechaun, Critters, and Clueless (the last suggested by the director himself) all found their audience after they left the theater.

Here is where it Hits!!!

The nostalgia factor works as Smitty has two young girls essentially take the Clerks mantel if Nazis haunted the Quick Stop. The villain of the film is a cryogenically preserved Canadian Nazi sympathizer. Better than that, the pawns of the main villain are pint-seized killers known as Brat-Zi’s. Yes. They are two-foot tall bratwursts with concentrated sauerkraut for blood. This could perhaps be the most interesting idea in cinema.

Contemporary themes are pitch perfect. The two young girls are overly obsessed with themselves and their phones. In fact it’s only after they look up from their screens that they learn some history and start to experience a little “real” life. It’s fun to watch the unique blend of technology and acerbic wit that Kevin is famous for.

Plot matters. This plot is crazy! That’s what makes this hilarious. Rated PG-13 the whole family can watch and laugh together. Knowing that a Canadian Nazi sympathizer, played by the very funny Ralph Garman creates killer, sentient bratwurst is the stuff of dreams. Remember, mine was the generation that made “Big Trouble in Little China” and “They Live” famous. We love weird.

The final winning element is the Depp of it all. Johnny Depp is in this movie. That should be all I need to say. While I admit Old Depp’ers has missed the mark in the past, no one can say he ever phoned in a performance. His character Guy Lapointe is easily the most fun thing to watch in this flick. It was beyond obvious that he was having a blast acting along side his daughter, freewheeling with no stakes. Depps creates a “phallic nosed” author adventurer with a voice that will be done and redone at parties the world over.

This is a fun flick and a great way to spend two hour. Smitticles delivers some vintage Kevin while showing us something completely original. See and judge for yourself. As a fair critic I’ll issue this, there are several plot elements that are not capitalized on and are frankly unnecessary. That said the positives far out weigh the negatives. Laugh out loud funny!!!

Stay Glued to the Screen

Neil Carroll