Netflix’s Bad Trip – The Film You Never Knew You Needed

It only takes 2 1/2 minutes for Bad Trip lead, Eric André, to get fully naked in front of a complete stranger. And that’s when I knew I fell in love with this movie. But that also leaves one pressing question –

How does one even begin to describe this movie?

Despite its appearance as a prank show-turned-movie, Bad Trip does attempt to have a storyline. The movie focuses on Chris (André), who while stuck at his dead-end job runs into his high school crush, Maria (Michela Conlin). After a casual conversation that ends with a friendly invitation to visit her in New York someday, Chris decides to go on a road trip to confess his love to her at last. He recruits his best friend, Bud (Howery), who uses his sister, Trina’s (Haddish), car while she is in prison. Naturally, Trina breaks out of prison and pursues the duo as they make their way to New York.

Meanwhile, that narrative is a necessity to check the box on the “why” Chris and Bud are on this journey, however, where Bad Trip‘s strength lies is in the various places Chris and Bud choose to stop along the way which always results in hilarious moments that range from a drunken misunderstanding in a cowboy bar, a zoo debacle that leads to a non-consensual encounter that many are likely to have burned in their retinas long after the credits have rolled all the way to a very different version of how much panic a Chinese finger trap can cause. What further elevates this ridiculous comedy is that the wild moments are not just reserved for Chris and Bud. As Trina is hunting the duo down, she engages in just as many crazy and unpredictable confrontations with unsuspecting people. Her journey takes her from breaking away from a prison bus in front of a conflicted community service worker to stealing a police car outside a donut shop while in pursuit of Chris and Bud. In short, it’s the best role Haddish has ever played in anything.

With such a paper-thin premise and hilarious gags, Bad Trip should easily wear out its welcome in the first 30 minutes, however, the film never comes close to feeling reheated or overdone. It sticks the landing during its finale where without giving anything away, it goes so far as to pay off on a joke that is made very early on in the film and referenced several times throughout. Beyond this, there’s not much more to say about the film. It is the kind of film that needs to be approached with tempered expectations in order to fully appreciate the experience it has to offer.

Bad Trip is an entertaining film from start to finish and is just long enough to be a solid watch without overstaying its welcome. This year may still be in its early stages, but it wouldn’t be that big of a stretch to say that it will be the hardest many will laugh this entire year. For viewers looking for an escape or just 90 minutes or so to unwind and laugh, look no further.

still courtesy of Netflix

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