Just Grab a Macro and Enjoy Eric Andre’s ‘Bad Trip’
Don’t think too hard about it.
The Movie: Hidden camera road trip – buddy comedy / 2021 / Orion Pictures – Netflix
The Beer: An easygoing macro beer of your choice (I’m going with Coors Light, and that is by no means an insult to the movie)
*Mild Spoilers*
If you’ve seen The Eric Andre show, then you are already familiar with the brand of humor in Bad Trip. Following the story of Chris (Eric Andre) and his trip from Florida to New York with his buddy (Lil Rey Howery) in a car they stole from recent fugitive Trina (Tiffany Haddish), the hidden-camera movie dumb, surreal at times, juvenile, and tons of fun. Oh, and many of the people involved don’t appear to be in on the joke.
With the exception of the Borat movies, the hidden camera / prank movie genre doesn’t get much respect from Hollywood. After all, nobody likes to feel like they’re missing the joke or that they’ve been duped in a similar manner to those onscreen. The obvious choice for avoiding such accusations is to jump into instant criticism and tackle the inherent “childishness” of pulling pranks.
The thing is, the best pranks are those where the person being fooled is merely the observer. Eric Andre and his cohorts are always the people put into embarrassing or dangerous situations. What’s truly remarkable about is that these antics tend to bring out the goodheartedness in the unknowing members of the public. Most people try to help the cast members with their various predicaments while others are genuinely amused by the bizarre hilarity of the situation.
Are there gross moments for pure shock value? Oh yes, especially when it comes to a guy in a gorilla suit. Did Sacha Baron Cohen do it better? Absolutely, but making important social statements isn’t really what Bad Trip is about. This movie is about having a good time more than anything else, and at that it superbly succeeds.
Easily the weirdest thing about the movie though is the fact that the cast appears to go unrecognized in their multi-state exploits. In addition to the The Eric Andre show, which has been airing since 2012, Andre has held a wide range of roles in TV shows and movies. Lil Rey Howery is no small fry either, especially after his major supporting role in 2017’s hit thriller, Get Out. Then there’s Tiffany Haddish, who is, well, TIFFANY HADDISH!
Aside from a very amusing White Chicks-inspired scene, the three main cast members are very minimally disguised throughout the film. And yet, nobody throughout the Southern or Mid-Atlantic United States appears to recognize them. It’s very possible that any scenes where the actors were called out never even made it post production. Regardless, it’s still pretty fascinating that so many people seemed to have no clue who any of them were.
But no matter – the important part is that it’s fairly hilarious throughout, and the good-natured reactions from many members of the public are downright heartwarming at times. So, with this one, I’m grabbing a Coors Light because I don’t need to think that much about it. But just go with whatever macro beer speaks to you (c’mon, be honest; even all diehard craft beer fans have a macro beer of choice!) and enjoy the ride.
Yes, a macro beer! Trash them if you will, but there’s something to be said about beers that have stayed so darn consistent over the decades. In fact, many craft brewers have great respect for macro brewers because of the exact science involved in achieving the same flavor and clarity every single time.
There’s something to be said for something that might not be held in great esteem by the quality police, but it makes a lot of people happy nonetheless.
