Hey gang, Valkor here. This week I'll be attending PAX East 2013 in Boston, MA after about 2 years of skipping out on the show; it looks like it'll be quite the event and I'm very much looking forward to it. With that in mind, here's a MediaView treat that's totally related. The film is called "Noobz", which stars Jason Mewes of Clerks, Jay and Silent Bob Strikes Back and a host of other films *cough*Shoot the Hero*cough*. I really thought the film would suck… thankfully I was wrong.
Noobz centers on four gamer bestfriends – Cody (Blake Freeman), Andy (Jason Mewes), Oliver (Matt Shively), and Hollywood (Moises Arias), as they embark on a road trip to LA to take part in a Gears of Wars 3 competition held in the midst of a gaming event known as Cyber Bowl. Each player brings a little something "extra" to the table such a Cody, who is in the midst of getting a divorce and has anger issues. Then there's Andy, who looks to meet the girl of his cyber dreams, Ricki (Zelda Williams), for the first time – slight problem is she's also in the tourney and on an opposing team. Finally Hollywood has health issues and no one knows whether Oliver is in or out of the closet… though the consensus says that he's clearly in. Yet no matter what the issues, no matter the odds, the guys are dead set on winning that 400K prize. But only their true rivals, The Black Assassins lead by Chommama (Skylan Brooks) stands in their way… or do they? Along the way, the guys get into a host of mishaps, which include Cody being targeted as a pedophile, discovering Hollywood isn't who they thought he would be, and a near death catastrophe with a stripper named "Milkshake".
Running parallel to the gents trip/adventures, but coming together in the end, we're introduced to Greg "ArmaGreggon" Lipstein (John Gries), who is a direct parody to Billy Mitchell from "King of Kong" complete with mullet, his favorite coin op (Frogger as opposed to Donkey Kong) and instead of being the "Hot Sauce King", Greg is the "Snow Globe King". He's looking to attend Cyber Bowl to get back in the spotlight and regain his title as champion of Frogger, taking part in the coin-op tourney.
Noobz also injects a nice dosage of cameos, which includes Bill Bellamy as Emcee Brian "Bankrupt" Simmons, Adam Sessler and Casper Van Dien who play themselves, Lin Shaye plays Hollywood's mom and lover to Casper Mrs. Theodore, and Rick Overton plays a referee (again King of Kong reference complete with uniform). Also there's lots of Gears of War 3 gaming footage. And now it's game on as we dive into the TOV Breakdown!
The Good:
Noobz is a simple comedy that was way more entertaining than I had expected – and believe me, my expectations were pretty low going in. But with the mix of comradery, the hijinks, the cameos, plus the gaming, it all meshes together quite well for some light-hearted fun in a film that gamers and non-gamers can appreciate. The jokes are mostly visual, with a host of obvious gay jokes and subtle racist humor, i.e. the Indian store clerk who talks like a white guy – hilarious! The acting is the films strongest suit and I thought the group performed well all around; however Mewes was an unexpected surprise; outside of his Jay persona in other films, he usually appears nervous or uncomfortable (Shoot the Hero), however in Noobz he seems well in his element and looked to be having a great time. Zelda Williams gets a special nod, not only for being PerfectView gorgeous, but I was also surprised to learn that she is the daughter of comedian/actor Robin Williams. Noice! Oh and the ending… you guys! That was pretty funny! In the end, Noobz is a total winrar in my book!
The Bad:
The film has a runtime of 100 minutes, but I think several minutes could have been shaved off of a scene or two, to smoothen things out and tightening the pacing, such as the dialogue between Cody and the little girl at the gas stop; that went on way longer than it should have. Next, the cuts between game footage switching back to the players were too quick at times. It would have been a treat had the film used a picture in a picture set up as Gears is graphically beautiful to be wasted on quick edits.
The Ugly:
Greg in those 80's inspired tight shorts, riding an exercise bike, workin a shake weight. *mind explodes*
The title might be called Noobz, but these guys are anything but. And the film? Well, if you're looking for a light comedy that's gamer-centric and loads of fun, then you need not look any further, Noobz is the one; it's definitely the type of film you'd enjoy on a lazy afternoon, especially when you're not in the mood to game and you just wanna mellow. So out of TOV 5 stars, I've got Noobz locked and loaded at 3.5. And I'm kinda hoping there's a part two in the works.
Just because...