Netflix Rating: 2 stars

Personal Rating: 2.7 stars

Movie Rating: R

Run-time: 85 minutes

Content/Trigger Warning: Review contains profane language, drug references, and sexual references. Review also contains brief discussion of sexual assault. Proceed at personal discretion.

Hell and Back is a 2015 animated movie that follows three friends after they get sucked into Hell. After making a seriously arbitrary blood oath, the three find themselves facing the (occasionally lame, occassionally stupid as hell) horrors of the Kingdom of Darkness. This experience proves to be a turning point in the lives of all three friends. Remy (Nick Swardson) learns the power of friendship, Augie (T.J. Miller) finds love, and Curt (Rob Riggle)…well, I don’t want to completely spoil the movie. Because I do suggest watching it. Just…tread carefully.

If you’re someone who appreciates crude humor, Hell and Back definitely delivers. About 83% of the humor is reliant on crass sexual references, which I didn’t totally have a problem with. I like obnoxious, immature sexual humor just as much as the next obnoxious, immature co-ed, and for good reasons. By being able to joke about sex, we demonstrate the ability to talk about it at all, which is progress in a culture that shuns open conversations about carnal embrace. I’m not saying this movie is the savior all sex-positive individuals have been waiting for, but it’s got a lot to offer in the department of blunt sexual fun.

That being said, I have to draw some lines. Sexual humor is good and fun, until you cross into rape territory. Once there, the jokes get sketchy. Once again, being able to discuss rape is important. Hushing it up doesn’t do anyone any good. But then, how much good are we doing by treating rape as a plot device? While it’s nice to be able to put lighter spins on horrible situations, I often wonder: Where do we draw the line? Should we condone having a character who frequently and humorously brings up being raped as a child? Should rape be used as a “just desserts” for characters who “have it coming?” I am not a sexual assault survivor, so I can’t speak with as much authority on this as someone who is. However, that doesn’t quell my concern on how sexual assault is treated in the media.

Another “grey-area” in the humor is the amount of fat jokes. Augie is a fat character, and there’s nothing wrong with that. What I take issue with is that most every other character’s interactions rely heavily on putting him down for being fat. Augie frequently combats these comments, which really just seems like the movie is trying to justify its fat-shaming. “I know we’re throwing a lot of shade at fat people here,” it says, its metaphorical eyes shifting from side to side, its just as metaphorical hands wringing one another, “but look! This character can still handle himself. He’s fighting back. He’s important and loved. He even got a hot girlfriend. See? We’re fine. Don’t worry, we balanced out the scales.”

Bullshit.

Honestly, this entire movie seemed like a couple friends sat down, got fucked up on who-knows-what, and decided, “You know what sucks? Censorship. Fuck censorship, man. Let’s make a movie where we offend everyone we can. Immigrants, Christians, sexual assault survivors, old people, women in general, and uhhhhh oh, fat people, definitely them. ‘Cause like, if we offend everyone, they can’t get mad. They’re just being oversensitive, we’re just in it for the laughs.”

Bullshit.

I know people like this, people who use humor as an excuse to take shots at groups they don’t like/feel uncomfortable with. Humor is a great thing, and yes some humor can be shocking AND clever AND funny. But in this movie, half the time, this isn’t even clever humor, or humor with a purpose at all. It’s humor just for the sake of shocking the audience. You know, I get the R-rating gives you a lot of freedom, but there should be some kind of clause that prevents the script from becoming a group of friends playing “Who’s Got the Most Offensive Joke?”

Honestly, this movie had a great premise. Hell itself was pretty awesome and funny, with punishments like going to a Pizza Hut/Taco Bell and finding out they only serve Taco Bell. Hell was lame, and Satan and his minions were rambunctious and dynamic characters. That was the good part of the movie; I just wished I’d been allowed to enjoy it. Instead, I was constantly being shocked by whatever ear-sore the lovely screenwriters shot at me next.

I do want to get a word in about Deema (Mila Kunis). Deema is a half-demon, half-mortal who’s been searching for Orpheus her entire life. She happens upon Remy and Augie who are looking for Orpheus as well. United in their common goal, they become a dysfunctional, but pretty effective team. What’s great about Deema is that she’s a strong, female character who doesn’t let herself be hampered by her sex. Sure, she’s hypersexualized throughout the entire film, but she turns that on its head and uses it to her advantage. Great example: she throws panties at horny demons to distract them. This works marvelously, and the demons fall to their deaths attempting to find some kind of sexual gratification.

Deema gets shit done. She has a goal, doesn’t let Remy and Augie distract her from it, and when she gets what she was after, she figures out how to move forward with her life. She’s also a complete badass, the panty-throwing scene being just the tip of the iceberg.

So yes, you should check this movie out. If you can look past the shock-for-the-sake-of-shock humor, you will really enjoy this movie. If you can’t, don’t worry. There are plenty of other movies to check out on Netflix. Like The Overnight. Or, Punch-Drunk Love, if you’re into that (I have been told, contrary to my review, that the latter movie is worth watching. My source is pretty credible, so I suppose it’s worth a look).

The post 2-Star Review: Hell and Back appeared first on KRUI Radio.

Friday night 37 year-old actor, screenwriter, producer, and more importantly, stand-up comedian Nick Swardson came to Iowa City for his sold out show.

The CAB comedy show was originally scheduled to take place on Friday December 13th, 2013, but due to unspecified conflicts, the show took place Friday January 24th in the Iowa Memorial Union Main Lounge at 10 pm.

Swardson is best known for his writing and roles in films and TV shows like: Grandma’s Boy, Malibu’s Most Wanted, Benchwarmers, Reno 911!, Just Go With It, and I Now Pronounce You Chuck & Larry. Nick started out doing stand up comedy at the very early age of 18 and began making a name for himself in the Minnesota comedy scene.

But before Mr. Swardson graced the stage with his new material, comedian and opener Josh Mann took the stage. While Mann truly did make me laugh on multiple occasions, his material overall lacked originality. It seemed as though the less rehearsed the jokes were, the better the reaction from the audience, (Such as his jokes involving the Ped Mall). His stage presence was awkward at best, mainly due to his incessant sipping of an unidentified Starbucks beverage. His demeanor was somewhat off-putting and definitely did not help the delivery of his material at all. All in all I have to say I wasn’t impressed with Josh Mann.

As disappointed as many may have been with the opener, that quickly changed for the better when Minnesota native Nick Swardson took the stage. Greeted by a roar rather than applause, Swardson took the stage with his classic funny man swagger. Dressed in a Young & Reckless t-shirt and snap back, along with neon Nikes and blue jeans, he greeted the audience by shouting, “What the fuck is up Iowa City?!”.  If such language is bothersome to you, then Swardson’s act was definitely not for you. Like many stand up comedians, most of his jokes were somewhat vulgar and profanity saturated. I say that in the most complementary way possible, because literally he had me in tears. His material covered a wide range of topics. Anything from cats, to the first man to experience a brain freeze, to ice skaters with diarrhea, were all fair game. The material was relatable and original in every way possible, and the crowd loved it.

Check out a pic a UI student snapped at the show by clicking on the Tweet below. Nick then retweeted it to his 500,000+ followers:

“@nellym2011: First row in Iowa City! @nickswardson Throw me a retweet. #IOWA pic.twitter.com/O1axpZyGmd” am I albino? Wtf? Haha

— Nick Swardson (@NickSwardson) January 25, 2014

Like any comedy venue, the IMU Main Lounge had it’s share of hecklers, which Swardson handled like a real pro. One young woman, got irrationally upset when Swardson was a telling a joke involving a woman performing oral sex. She yelled from the back of the room in a moment of silence, “Women are not objects!”. To this Nick responded jokingly with “No, you’re just alcoholics.” and then proceeded to tell more jokes aimed at women to make a hilarious point. Again, those sensitive to such topics are advised to avoid Swardson’s shows, because he is crude and fully proud of it. I completely enjoyed his set, along with the hundreds of others in the IMU Main Lounge. He had the crowd in the palm of his hand, and delivered much more than our money’s worth.

Swardson seemed to return the pleasant sentiment with the Tweet following the show you can read below:

Iowa U was dope. Such a fun crowd w/ great energy and some hammered folks. Love ya! Driving out to Des Moines tonight. Rain check the party

— Nick Swardson (@NickSwardson) January 25, 2014

To keep tabs on Nick, like him on Facebook and follow him on Twitter.

The post Nick Swardson Brings Colossal Laughs to IMU appeared first on KRUI Radio.