20140604: Comedy Review--The Starving Games

The Starving Games

1. Fundamentals, reception.
1. American live action feature length film, 2013, rated PG, 87 minutes, comedy, satire.
2. IMDB: 3.2/10.0 from 8,287 audience ratings.  Estimated budget, 4.5 million USD.
3. Rotten Tomatoes: 0% on the meter; 22% liked it from 1,950 audience ratings.
4. Written and directed by: Jason Friedberg and Aaron Seltzer.
5. Starring: Maiara Walsh as Kantmiss Evershot, Cody Christian as Peter Malarkey, Brant Daugherty as Dale, Diedrich Bader as President Snowballs, Lauren Bowles as Effoff.


2. Setup and Plot


1. The overall level of the humor is really low.  The pinata sequence, for instance, was stupid beyond belief.  The multiple references to excrement were not all that clever, nor were the endless product placements, nor were the face slaps to other movie franchises.  The obnoxious 12-year-old competitor who wanted to form an alliance with Kantmiss seemed more like a target.  The clip where the unarmed Kantmiss kills five armed opponents was ludicrous.


2. 'When are they going to kill each other? I'm getting bored,' was the line that summarised the film for me.


3. Will there be a sequel to this satire?  Let us hope not.


3. Conclusions
1. One line summary: Brings new depth of meaning to the word inappropriate.
2. One star of five.


4. Scores
1. Cinematography: 6/10 Hand-held sequences were irritating as always, but most of the camera work was fine.


2. Sound: 3/10 Besides the many leveling problems, the musical accompaniment was odd at best. 


3. Acting: 2/10 


4. Screenplay: 2/10 Well, it was a satire, so there was not much to expect.  I suppose the hundreds of continuity errors were intentional.  Finishing the film with a long set of bloopers just completed the implementation of 'who cares?'