Read Time:2 Minute, 2 Second
Every summer, music lovers from around the world pack their bags and camp out at their favorite music festivals. Though celebrity gossip magazines tend to show them as glamorous getaways, the outrageous comedy The Festival shows just how messy and uncomfortable and bizarre they can be.
The Festival stars Joe Thomas as Nick, a recent college grad whose entire world collapsed on him when his girlfriend, Caitlin (Hannah Tointon), decided to break up with him on graduation day. After making a scene during the ceremony, Nick took to his room, refusing to leave his bed. But then Nick’s best friend, Shane (Hammed Animashaun), shows up to drag him off to the music festival that they’ve been looking forward to attending. And despite Nick’s objections and general gloominess, Shane is determined to make sure that they both have a good time.
As you might expect, nothing goes as planned for these festival-going friends. They start their adventure by getting kicked off their train, and they end up hiking to the venue with chatty festival regular Amy (Claudia O’Doherty). And once they finally make it, their quest for the perfect campsite causes them to run right into Caitlin and her friends (including the obnoxious new guy who’s caught her eye).
Of course, to add to the general discomfort of camping in a field with thousands of strangers, a quick rain shower makes everything (and everyone) muddy and disgusting. And while the music plays out in the background, Nick and Shane end up encountering lots of weirdoes and kooky festival goers who are inevitably under the influence of all kinds of different substances. And, as if that weren’t strange enough, Shane and Amy also get lost in the woods and stumble upon a bizarre Druid ritual.
This festival adventure is random and haphazard and loaded with cringe-worthy adult situations. And while it does offer some over-the-top humor and some fun comedic cameos, Thomas’s Nick is crabby and miserable enough to take away from the comic energy. And that makes the whole thing awkward and bizarre and not nearly as much fun as it could have been.
If you’ve ever camped out at a music festival, The Festival could very well bring back some wild and crazy memories. But the generally flat characters and their awkward adventures make it a forgettable film.
Listen to the review on Reel Discovery:
Kristin Dreyer Kramer has been writing in some form or another (usually when she was supposed to be doing something else) since the ripe old age of ten—when she, her cousin, and their two Cabbage Patch Dolls formed the Poo Authors’ Club. After a short career in advertising, Kristin got sick of always saying nice things about stuff that didn’t deserve it—so now she spends her days criticizing things, and she’s much happier for it.
Since creating NightsAndWeekends.com in February of 2002, Kristin has spent her life surrounded by piles and piles of books and movies—so many that her office has become a kind of entertainment obstacle course.
As if her writing and editing responsibilities for N&W.com weren’t enough to keep her out of trouble, Kristin also hosts a number of weekly radio shows: Reel Discovery, Shelf Discovery, and On the Marquee. She’s also a proud member of the Broadcast Film Critics Association (CriticsChoice.com), the Central Ohio Film Critics Association (COFCA.org), the Online Film Critics Society (OFCS.org), and the Women Film Critics Circle (WFCC.Wordpress.com).
Kristin lives in Columbus, Ohio, with her husband, Paul, and their daughter, Anna. She welcomes questions, comments, and fan mail at kdk@nightsandweekends.com.
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Kristin Dreyer Kramer has been writing in some form or another (usually when she was supposed to be doing something else) since the ripe old age of ten—when she, her cousin, and their two Cabbage Patch Dolls formed the Poo Authors’ Club. After a short career in advertising, Kristin got sick of always saying nice things about stuff that didn’t deserve it—so now she spends her days criticizing things, and she’s much happier for it.
Since creating NightsAndWeekends.com in February of 2002, Kristin has spent her life surrounded by piles and piles of books and movies—so many that her office has become a kind of entertainment obstacle course.
As if her writing and editing responsibilities for N&W.com weren’t enough to keep her out of trouble, Kristin also hosts a number of weekly radio shows: Reel Discovery, Shelf Discovery, and On the Marquee. She’s also a proud member of the Broadcast Film Critics Association (CriticsChoice.com), the Central Ohio Film Critics Association (COFCA.org), the Online Film Critics Society (OFCS.org), and the Women Film Critics Circle (WFCC.Wordpress.com).
Kristin lives in Columbus, Ohio, with her husband, Paul, and their daughter, Anna. She welcomes questions, comments, and fan mail at kdk@nightsandweekends.com.
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