It is incredibly difficult to play a dumbass. It requires a certain skill set and comedic timing that doesn’t always click with audiences. DUMB AND DUMBER worked, as did BILL & TED, because there was still a heart and soul behind the talented acting of the stars. The next potential film to add to that shortlist may very well be ASS BACKWARDS.
Stars and writers Casey Wilson and June Raphael are well regarded on the stand-up comedy circuit and may be recognizable from their various roles on television. Wilson starred on SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE and the recently cancelled HAPPY ENDINGS while Raphael has made appearances on NEW GIRL and co-stars with her husband Paul Scheer on Adult Swim’s hilarious NTSF:SD:SUV::. Both ladies are adept at writing their own material and ASS BACKWARDS marks their big screen debut together.
I can see some watching this trailer and passing it off as another forgettable movie, but with a great supporting cast featuring Alicia Silverstone, Jon Cryer, Vincent D’Onofrio, Brian Geraghty, Bob Odenkirk, Paul Scheer and Sandy Martin, this movie is worth a look.
Kate (June Diane Raphael) and Chloe (Casey Wilson) are two childhood best friends who met when they placed dead last in their hometown beauty pageant. Now they are all grown up and living in New York City, where Chloe works as a “girl in a box” at a nightclub and Kate is a CEO….of her own one-woman egg donor “corporation”. Lost in delusion, they believe they are living large until an invitation to their hometown pageant arrives and their past comes back to haunt them. Join these two loveable losers as they take an ass backwards journey home to reclaim their crown, stopping off at a women’s separatist commune, an amateur strip club competition, and meeting their favorite reality TV star along the way.
Much like Jim Carrey and Jeff Daniels, Wilson and Raphael are not shy about mocking themselves for a laugh. If this trailer is remotely hinting at how raunchy ASS BACKWARDS will be, we may be in for a nice comedy treat.
ASS BACKWARDS premieres On Demand on September 30th and theatrically on November 8th.