The epidemic lockdowns had varying effects on all of us, but writer-director-producer Judd Apatow enthusiastically embraced it, sitting down in the midst of Covid to create a low-budget Jurassic Park spoof as if directed by Mel Brooks.
This is Apatow taking a risk, and his Netflix film is, in a nutshell, a “bad movie” within a “bad movie” filmed during a pandemic. To be fair, the gags are hit-or-miss, but it’s weird throughout and adorable, especially when it goes full TikTok on us.
Inspired by being trapped in a “bubble,” whether it’s the NBA playoffs or a film set, Apatow came up with the idea of making a cheap action sci-fi imitation of Jurassic Park, with flying Tyrannosaurus Rexes attacking humanity in the umpteenth sequel to a ridiculous picture.
Cliff Beasts 6 is the film within this film, which is pressed into production by the studio boss (Kate McKinnon physically Zooming in her part), despite Covid’s fury.
As a result, just like Apatow’s genuine cast and crew, this fictional production is limited to a British hotel while making this Grade Z film. After working on many Cliff Beasts films, the cast, or the majority of them, aren’t the most collegiate of bunches, and Apatow and co-writer Pam Brady milk the disagreements for all they’re worth.
Apatow has directed some outstanding human-focused films, most awhile back The King of Staten Island, Trainwreck, This Is 40, Funny People, Knocked Up, and The 40-Year-Old Virgin, but he has never directed an effects-driven film, and the visual effects created by ILM here are constructed to be exquisitely low-budget, making this whole enterprise completely bonkers, kind of like T-Rex meets TikTok.
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But the wacky flying dinosaurs aren’t the only ones having a good time here. The actors, who play a variety of characters, are excellent, and there is plenty of opportunity for humorous jabs at Hollywood and those who inhabit it.
Dustin is played by David Duchovny, the quintessential action star with a lot of opinions on the script as he tries to make this all an eco-conscious film, but he keeps running into the filmmaker (an amusing Fred Armisen), a sort of colossally stupid indie wunderkind who gets the chance to make a popcorn movie.
Dustin has been engaged, divorced, and remarried in an explicit sexual on/off affair with Lauren (the incomparable Leslie Mann), who also appears in this film and has at least one unforgettable gross-out moment of her own.
Keegan-Michael Key enjoys himself as a “spiritual” actor, whereas Pedro Pascal (Wonder Woman) is a recent Oscar winner who appears to be in it for the money.
He gets bored fast, though, and goes on drugs trips that feature unbelievable TikTok dancing sequences. The TikTok angle is pushed in by employing Krystal Kris (Iris Apatow), a social media superstar with no acting experience but an army of followers, and hence a hoped-for box office draw.
The dances that result from all of this are funny, and Iris has a blast playing the role. My personal favorite scene is a hip-hop T-Rex backed up by a game ensemble that features Karen Gillan as Carol, a “difficult” actress who is at the core of most of everything.
Sia video maestro Ryan Heffington and assistant Shala Iwaskow are responsible for the innovative choreography.
Guz Khan plays an actor who provides comic relief in the popcorn flick; Maria Bakalova plays Annika, the hotel’s front desk manager; Peter Serafinowicz plays the film’s beleaguered producer; and youngster Harry Trevaldwyn plays Gunther, the film’s Covid Compliance Officer, possibly a first for any actor in this pandemic era. He’s hilarious.
Apatow appears to be in the mood to throw anything against the wall to see what hooks, and luckily, he’s a filmmaker who understands how to make enough of it cling to give this two-hour-plus comedy free-for-all enough reasons to watch it when it comes out on Netflix on Friday.
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