When I wrote a review of Game Over the other day, I paid special attention to the movie's opening minutes. Watching Larry the Cable Guy: Health Inspector tonight, I noticed that it featured a similar opening, and I thought that it would be interesting to compare the work of Larry Carrell and Josh Drapehs, Game Over's filmmaking novices, with that of professional director Trent Cooper and star Larry the Cable Guy (Dan Whitney). It's actually Trent's first and only feature so far, but he has done a couple of prize-winning shorts and his budget was considerably larger than Larry and Josh's $2500, even if most of it went for Whitney's salary.
We're talking here about the opening scene in which the hero wakes up in his bachelor digs and gets his day started. It's been done a thousand times.
Game Over (GO):
1:05 f-bomb #1
1:15 modest home, outdoor view
1:20 the word "fart"
1:45 cereal and beer, mixed
2:10 actual fart
2:30 socks with holes, underpants, butt crack
3:35 stream of urine, poorly aimed
4:20 pop tart and sour milk
4:21 sour milk back into fridge
4:50 cat
5:45 hearse
6:15 bird (finger, not feathered)
6:18 overweight transvestite prostitute at the corner of McFarland and Navigation in Houston
8:11 f-bomb #2, bird #2
8:39 poop
9:47 roaches
Health Inspector (HI):
0:20 grappling with and dropping alarm clock
1:01 butt crack
1:15 stepping in pizza
1:35 reusing Q-tip for ear wax
1:50 stream of urine in shower. more yellow, probably due to larger budget for effects.
2:08 using shirt for towel, putting shirt on
2:38 sour milk back into fridge
2:53 modest home, outdoor view, with retarded neighbor
4:12 fly in the cafe mayo
4:37 nose-wiping chef
5:10 roaches
What do we learn?
1. HI is paced twice as fast as GO. Seems like a pro thing. Cut out the cat and the hearse and the cereal and beer.
2. HI went with the bankable special-needs mentally challenged character rather than the in-your-face fat transvestite nymphomaniac. I was ok with either. Might work to combine them?
3. HI holds back on the farts till the second ten minutes. Make 'em wait for it.
4. HI wants the PG-13, so no f-bombs. GO went R in the first ten minutes, so after that they could unlease a righeous torrent of choice dialog.
5. More roaches in HI, but that was just the budget talkin.
6. Cooper put up Iris Bahr (aka Iris Bar-Ziv) against the cable guy. Got the country boy vs urban Jewess mojo working there. GO casting included players of many races but steered clear of ethnic humor, mostly.
7. GO showed its ace in the hole, well out of the hole, which was the poop, right away. Should have held back, not showed it so soon, just have folks reel back in horror at the sight and smell, build the suspense? HI rolled with simple earwax and mucus.
With the seasoned professional, it's slick entertainment. With the beginner you get the joie de vivre.