Bad, Bad Men (2016) Reviews

• the director has a real knack for subtle comedic moments

  pz-721652019-01-23

  Classic high school nerd fights back against the bully story. Only difference is the nerd is all grown up and so is the bully. Very funny, great characters lots of bits that make you laugh out loud. The cast is solid, the director has a real knack for subtle comedic moments. Sound track works very well with the tone and humor of the film. Two enthusiastic thumbs up. This is a film for anyone looking to laugh.

• Creative, interesting and funny

  ruddycarpio2019-02-17

  Did Bad, Bad Men predict the #metoo movement? It did certainly open up the conversation around the Toxic Masculinity and treats it as a problem. This film offers a humorous look at this often overlook subject. Director Allen Gardner is able to properly showcase this issue and executes it in a beautiful creative way. This film is full of great funny moments thanks to the great chemistry between all characters, allowing us to relate to the story and to delight us with great entertainment and laughs. This is a must see indie gem.

• Cheeky on Top, and Brilliant Below the Surface

  ben-363332019-02-03

  I really liked Bad, Bad Men. The writing was as unique as it was genuinely funny. And between laughs there was a (somewhat) subtle poignancy about "bro culture." Tonally, Bad, Bad Men doesn't take itself too seriously, which is almost indicative of the dangers of "toxic male culture." These guys are flippant--about women, children, their jobs, the future, and each other. Its almost as if the film was satirically produced by a shallow man who wants to tell the story about how shallow men behave in the world. What makes it work is how self-aware it is. It also works as a lighthearted male-centric comedy that felt close to films like "Extract" or "Hall Pass." There were so many great moments (and lines) that had me in stitches. One scene that I thought nailed it involved a father entering his home to take money out of his children's "dream fund" to use as a last resort for a ransom exchange. He encounters every member of his family tenderly reminding him about how sweet, innocent, and full of hope they are. The writing and performance of that moment was perfect. If you're in the mood to laugh at "boys being boys" in a way that highlights just how awful boys (and people in general) can be, don't miss this one.

• Witty, Fun, Unpretentious

  mikitarianlisa2019-02-02

  Was not prepared to love this unpretentious, endearing (in a totally macho, cool-dude way) film. The chemistry of the characters/actors, with the fun/fresh plot kept me hooked (and laughing) to the final frame. Indie writing/filmmaking at its best right here.

• Takes The Toxic Male to Class

  TheAll-SeeingI2019-01-29

  Allen C. Gardner manages to pull off double-duty as the co-director and male lead in the somehow prescient Bad, Bad Men, a film that leverages and then debunks the long-standing idiocy of the Toxic American Male with a retro-freshness predating the formal identifications of the #MeToo and anti-bullying movements. Jerry is our prototypical over-masculine ass-hat, and Josh is our unsuspecting Everyman unsure of what to do when the emotional brutality of a heckler unsuspectingly shames his world. Josh doesn't have the physicality or the thuggish inbred mindset to beat Jerry black and blue, or to engage him in lowbrow psychological warfare; instead, he seeks out his cohorts in a safety-in-numbers, Buddy Movie play. What subsequently ensues is knowing laughter, and in no shortage of volume. In real American life when human sensitivity and the plight of the individual's well-being is given center-stage, it can then be difficult and even taboo to treat these wounds with comedy while they're still fresh. But Gardner succeeds in exactly that, allowing us to laugh at shame without undercutting the severity of its impacts. Bad, Bad Men applies light-heartedness to a deep wound, and the resulting laughter is authentic and indeed helps us to heal.