"Bad Trip" Review: A Mixed Bag Of Hilarious & Familiar Bits
We could all use a good laugh these days. Netflix’s Bad Trip is a blend of scripted narrative with real pranks. For me, I’m not a huge fan of Jackass or Borat, but I get a huge kick out of people’s natural reactions to pranks on shows like Punk’d or IG channels. So if any combination of things I just listed appeals to you, this film will too!
The basic storyline of this film follows friends Chris (Eric Andre) and Bud (Lil Rel Howery), who take a cross country trip to unite Chris with a high school flame he thinks he has a shot with. Like, Dumb & Dumber, “so you’re saying there’s a chance” type deal! In order to get to New York, they decide to drive Bud’s sister Trina’s (Tiffany Haddish) Pepto Bismol colored car while she’s in jail. Only she’s not in jail, she just escaped, and she wants her car back!
With a thinly knit storyline, the entertainment is really in the various pranks along the way. Some are lighthearted, like Chris’ character breaking into song and dance about love in the middle of the mall. Others are extremely raunch like Chris being “violated” by a guerrilla at the zoo. With Trina hot on their tail, it’s funny to see the buddies enter a place and then her enter not to long after. What’s priceless are the faces and reactions of the bystanders at each of the prank locations that capture a slice of America from Florida to New York!
The film focuses on Eric Andre’s ability to be a shameless, mixed bag of emotion, hopeless romantic. While Andre is a “I’ve seen that guy before” actor that isn’t as famous as his co-stars, it also helps sell the story that he could go in to different places and get people to believe he’s an everyday individual. Lil Rel and Tiffany Haddish get makeup, different hairstyles and tattoos to help make them a little less recognizable. While Lil Rel plays the straight man in this comedy, Haddish is able to let loose with her character as she’s done in another movie with trip in the title, making for hilarious moments.
The blend between cinematic shots and reality tv setups can take you in and out of the film at times. It’s clear that in order to sell the prank, certain shots- like a drone flying over the main characters to capture him hanging over a building- would have to have been done at a separate time. However, if you just go with it, you’re guaranteed to laugh out loud more than a few times! The film ends showing the reveal of the pranks to the people involved, so stick around for the end credits.
Rating: B-
