Search Party — Blue Fairy Film Blog

I am still unclear why Search Party was shelved, forgotten, and basically ditched by Universal, for such an extended period of time. The internet’s opinion is that this entire film is a hot pile of garbage of awful and needed to be kept away from the general public, but I actually enjoyed the film. Yes, the story is only so-so, and newcomer Scot Armstrong doesn’t know how to reign in a good performance from any of the assembled cast, but honestly I thought a good chunk of this was quite funny. Universal didn’t think so. The film started production in 2011, was finally cast in 2013, only released in Europe in 2014, and finally released in America last year. If HBO hadn’t streamed it via HBO Go I would never have seen this film, let alone known of its existence. I now bring to you a review of the much maligned Search Party.

The main reason I can forgive a lot in this film is because of the great cast, made up of television comedy actors Thomas Middleditch, Adam Pally, TJ Miller, Alison Brie, Jason Mantzoukas, Krysten Ritter, and Shannon Woodward. Though there’s little for them to work with, they outperform time and time again and there are some seriously memorable moments that I think the critics overlooked as pedestrian. The first third is particularly grueling, as we see pothead loser Jason (TJ Miller) breaking up the wedding of one of his best friends, Nardo (Middleditch) because Nardo had expressed doubts about the wedding, while stoned. Their other friend Evan (Pally), who has his life together, doesn’t want to get involved in any shenanigans. Pretty simple plot, no surprises there. After the breakup of Nardo and his fiancée (Woodward), Nardo becomes sad and tries to find her on their Mexican honeymoon, only to get carjacked and his clothes stolen. You know where this is going, I’m sure.

Of course, the premise is boorish and lazy. Most modern comedies are apt to rely on simple structures and lacking payoffs to build sufficiently. While Search Party doesn’t rise to the occasion it is pretty funny in certain parts. Naked Nardo is by far the funniest thing I have seen in a long time. I haven’t seen Silicon Valley yet, but I am spurred to do so now that I have seen the comedy talents of Thomas Middleditch who goes balls to the wall (literally) in his performance. Whether he’s being fleeced for tights by Sarah McLachlan, or getting involved with drug dealers, Nardo is frighteningly vulnerable and timid, which makes it all the more hilarious throughout.

The other funny moments of the film include Mantzoukas’ rough, odd style of humor as Hugo, Pally and Brie’s back and forth throughout, and JB Smoove’s performance as a drug dealer with a heart of…well, definitely not gold. Though you can probably guess every plot point before it happens, it’s a fun and carefree film that doesn’t pretend to be anything but what it is. The actors probably deserved better, but what they did with so little is extraordinary, and honestly that’s enough for me.