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Beerfest
Warner Bros. Pictures

Beerfest reviews
Critic Score
Metascore: 46 Metascore out of 100
User Score  
6.3 out of 10
based on 25 reviews
Read critic reviews
How did we calculate this?
based on 45 votes
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MPAA RATING: R for pervasive crude and sexual content, language, nudity and substance abuse

Starring Erik Stolhanske, Paul Soter, Jay Chandrasekhar, Steve Lemme, Kevin Heffernan, Philippe Brenninkmeyer, Will Forte, Ralf Moeller, and Cloris Leachman

The Broken Lizard comedy group returns to the big screen in a new comedy that proves revenge, like beer, is best served cold. (Warner Bros.)


GENRE(S): Comedy  
WRITTEN BY: Jay Chandrasekhar, Kevin Heffernan, Steve Lemme, Paul Soter & Erik Stolhanske (as Broken Lizard)  
DIRECTED BY: Jay Chandrasekhar  
RELEASE DATE: DVD: December 5, 2006 
Theatrical: August 25, 2006 
RUNNING TIME: 110 minutes, Color 
ORIGIN: USA 

What The Critics Said

All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...

83
Entertainment Weekly Scott Brown
Beerfest panders shamelessly to the 15-year-old in this 30-year-old... without assuming he is a 15-year-old. It's R-rated puerility for actual immature grown-ups.
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75
Portland Oregonian M. E. Russell
It's fun-dumb and definitely not everyone's cup of tea -- I don't want to oversell it -- but Broken Lizard keeps it interesting by refusing to color inside the lines, creating their own silly little universe.
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75
The Onion (A.V. Club) Scott Tobias
Random silliness rules the day, but the gags are frequently surprising.
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67
Seattle Post-Intelligencer Sean Axmaker
The guys of the Broken Lizard comedy troupe (of "Super Troopers" fame) are neither subtle nor especially ingenious. But in the age of gross-out gags and high-concept gimmicks, they throw themselves into the raucous, rude style of '70s film comedy with shameless glee.
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63
TV Guide Ken Fox
Funnier than you might imagine.
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63
New York Post Kyle Smith
Ach, Klaus, das ist funny! But Beerfest goes on too long. Take out 20 minutes of nonfunctioning jokes, and it would have given you a comedy buzz like four tankards of Lowenbrau.
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60
Empire James Swanwick
Fans of Broken Lizard's previous work will enjoy this beer-fuddled effort; for anyone else it has its moments, but is best watched through beer-goggles.
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60
Film Threat Pete Vonder Haar
Granted, you'e going to enjoy it a lot more if you spent a healthy chunk of your late teens/early 20s playing Bullshit and doing keg stands, but it's far from the worst comedy of the year.
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50
New York Daily News Elizabeth Weitzman
Among the cast, Chandrasekhar is easily the funniest of the Lizards, though in fairness, each has his moments. The movie does, too; just expect them to shrink exponentially depending on your level of sobriety.
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50
Chicago Reader J.R. Jones
This gets off to a pretty good start, with most of the laughs coming from beefy Kevin Heffernan and nerdy Steve Lemme. But at 111 minutes, the movie is too slackly paced to build up enough momentum; like the characters they play, these guys don't know when to call it a night.
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50
Wall Street Journal Joanne Kaufman
Ok, so maybe you don't absolutely have to have a Y chromosome and be 14 years old (or have the mind of a 14-year-old) to appreciate the freshmanic humor that is Beerfest. But, oh, does it help.
50
The New York Times Jeannette Catsoulis
The five comedians known collectively as Broken Lizard have created a frat-house staple for the ages.
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50
Chicago Tribune Michael Phillips
Beerfest is one sloppy comedy, but the lads of the comedy troupe Broken Lizard don't know when to say when in their pursuit of the idiotic laugh, and persistence certainly counts for something.
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50
Variety Brian Lowry
Such fare plays better on DVD, where the best moments can be absorbed in bite-sized bits and the debris easily bypassed.
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50
Salon.com Andrew O'Hehir
Mediocre raunchy comedy.
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50
San Francisco Chronicle Peter Hartlaub
To enjoy it you almost have to be stoned on marijuana.
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50
LA Weekly Scott Foundas
Beerfest bubbles with the cheeky irreverence of early John Landis and David Zucker. Yet, like just about every other American screen comedy of the moment, it's far too long in the tooth, with a scattershot final half-hour that seems the work of an editor battling a bad hangover.
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40
Washington Post Stephen Hunter
What's funny to Broken Lizard? Let's try: What's not funny? The answers are, everything and nothing. They'll do anything for a laugh, no matter how puerile, silly or offensive.
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38
USA Today Scott Bowles
Ultimately, Beerfest plays like a party that's gone on too long, when the buzz has worn off and the hangover starts to set in.
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38
The Globe and Mail (Toronto) Jennie Punter
Beerfest is safety-by-numbers comedy. A troupe, as opposed to a single comic star like Adam Sandler, shares the comic load and, well, at least the film is funnier than "Click."
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30
The Hollywood Reporter Kirk Honeycutt
Beerfest is tedious and, at 112 minutes, too long to sustain a sophomoric, one-joke comedy even for the presumed target audience of older male teens and the college-age crowd.
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25
Miami Herald Peter Debruge
Sober, this kind of material is an acquired taste at best and downright unbearable in stretches. And yet, the movie has the makings of an instant cult classic, sure to grow funnier among its devoted fans with each successive viewing.
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25
Philadelphia Inquirer David Hiltbrand
The script is a stupid mix of Teutonic tongue twisters (say hello to Herr Schniedelwichsen), hoary German cliches (from phallic sausages to U-boat spoofs), and bad slapstick.
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25
Boston Globe Ty Burr
Making a comedy that celebrates binge drinking and cretinous behavior isn't a crime against nature. Making one that's as brutally unfunny as Beerfest is.
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20
Austin Chronicle Toddy Burton
The vulgarity is so over-the-top and the decent jokes too few and far between.
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What Our Users Said

Vote Now!The average user rating for this movie is 6.3 (out of 10) based on 45 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.

Jamie K. gave it a10:
Very funny, good acting from Oktoberfest to Beerfest! Great movie!

Rob P. gave it an8:
I think Beerfest is a really funny movie, so long as you are familiar with the rest of Broken Lizard's films. It really does take the right sense of humor like some of the others have mentioned before me in their reviews. This is definitely not a movie to watch if you did not find any humor in Super Troopers (or Puddle Cruiser, Club Dread, etc.).

Mark J gave it an8:
All it takes is the right sense of humor. And this movie is very very funny. Much better than Super Troopers IMO. Its just not everyone type of comedy. Its not like 40 Year Old Virgin or Little Miss Sunshine. Its not meant to make sense. Its meant to be viewed with a bunch of drunk and or sober friends on a Saturday night. Enjoy!

Keith C. gave it an8:
Great movie. It's so funny I couldn't believe it. I thought that it was just going to be okay but after watching it all I could do was quote the movies funny lines and parts. I guess it is a movie for people with a particular sense of comedy and could see why some wouldn't like it. But I enjoyed it.

Dylan S gave it a7:
Not the end all of comedies, but if you enjoy complete ridiculousness then Beerfest will do just fine. It's down right hilarious at some points and other times it's just goofy -- which I found very easy to get past in the long run. It's Broken Lizard, just take everything with a grain of salt and enjoy the ride. Oh, and I assure you, you will.

Irfan B. gave it an8:
Great movie! Sort of a Super Troopers meets Dodgeball. The entire cast is hilarious!

A gave it an8:
Beerfest is a movie that spoofs college-type drinking just as Super Troopers spoofed state troopers. If you drank in (or out) of college (or from age 18-23) you will recognize the games, the characters, and the comedy. Some bits seem inititally stupid, like the over-acted German accents, but they work - and you will be having trouble breathing due to excess laughter. Trust me, see it or rent it with friends who you drink with - they'll get it.

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