Director: Ben Rood
Writer: Ben Rood
Starring: Shawn Knox, Andy J. Carlson, Annalese Poorman, Sé Marie, Chaney Morrow, Grant Kennedy Lewis, Grant Brooks, Jeremy Farley, and more.

Special thanks to Sé Marie and the whole “Movers Ultimate” team for having us!

The Intro:
Quite an exciting one for me to put out for ya’ll here. Abby and I were hired on to photograph the premiere of “Movers Ultimate,” a small independent film to be released on streamers in August. As an added bonus, we got to watch this project ourselves, and here I am presenting the world with the first of reviews for the movie. Let’s see how the comedy from the mind of director Ben Rood holds up on the Oberrated scale.

IMDb Summary:
“Two best bros must get off work in time to make it to their 10 year high school reunion and reconnect with the girls that got away.”

The Oberrating:
I am not joking when I say that this was one of the funniest experiences I have had in theaters all year. Hell, even in recent years. Sure the MCU movies are funny, and we’ve had the likes of “Jackass Forever,” “The Bob’s Burgers Movie,” “Massive Talent,” and “The Lost City” this year within the comedy genre, but “Movers Ultimate” legitimately had me laughing out loud on multiple occasions throughout its hour and a half long runtime. It’s a quality raunchy comedy starring two buddies. Much to the likes of the classic vibe of an “Animal House” or along the lines of the Jump Street series, “That Awkward Moment,” and maybe even some “Neighbors” vibes. If you love a quality raunchy comedy, let me tell you this independent flick can hold its own with best of them.

A movie is nothing without it’s actors, and comedy is nothing without the individuals cracking the jokes. This cast is so damn good and I want to start with our leads, Shawn Knox as Ryan and Andy J. Carlson as Chad. These two had perfect chemistry with each other and nailed home the buddy bro relationship while delivering zingers for quite literally the entire duration of the movie. My man Andy J. Carlson had this permanent pissed off face that had me dying without the man even saying a word, and then he decided to crack his jokes and I was in my grave by those points.
Not only was it our two stars delivering the comedy gold, but many of the other cast members were on point too.
Annalese Poorman played Meredith, the mother and client whom hired the Movers Ultimate company. Her “extra-ness” was on full display as she essentially played the over demanding customer that essentially anyone who ever worked in the customer service industry has experienced someone like Meredith. While being quite a handful for the movers, she brought her performance to a dramatic peak once the guise dropped and Meredith’s true feelings of her current life situation were presented.
The characters of Spooner and Lance were absolute scene-stealers.
Grant Kennedy Lewis is the loveable punching bag new guy at the job that we have all experienced once in our lives.
Lastly, Sé Marie keeps this hilarious movie grounded with sweet, serious, and heart-warming moments that humbles the comedic storyline and pushes the theme of self-actualization forward.

Now for the part I hate to do, critical analysis. I’m going to keep it short and sweet because I really do have a limited amount of criticisms for “Movers Ultimate.” The most glaring point was the shaky cam for me. For many of the tracking shots where we see our actors moving, the camera shakes quite aggressively. These moments took me away from focusing on who is in frame and what was being said.

The Wrap-Up:
“Movers Ultimate” is the little independent comedy that could and can. I had such a great time watching this movie and I am not kidding when I say it holds up with the big comedy releases of the year. Getting me to laugh out loud is all I could ever want because as I say in so many reviews, we should all be at the movies to have a good time. Now remember, this is a raunchy comedy with plenty of cussing and vulgar jokes so that type of comedy sub-genre is not always everyone’s cup of tea, but for me? You bet your sweeet ass I love this stuff! Showing up on streaming platforms (Amazon video, Google Play, Apple, and VUDU) on August 19th. I’ll solidify my recommendation that this will be well worth an hour and a half of your attention for some damn solid laughs and stellar performances from this ensemble of a cast on the grounds of a small independent film basis.

Other Takeaways:
We also attended the Q&A with the executive producer Jackson Hollstegge, Writer/Director Ben Rood, and actors Sé Marie, Andy J. Carlson, and Annalese Poorman. Some awesome notes that I took away were:

• A rigorous and detailed search for available and affordable shooting locations.
• The cast and crew literally stayed on the shooting sites like two big ole Airbnbs. I’d say this fact really aided in the chemistry very evident in the ensembles performances.
• Andy J. Carlson packed on about 15 lbs of muscle to play master Movers Ultimate employee, Chad.
• Despite difficulties occurring beyond their control, the cast and crew were able to keep their focus and accomplish shooting in a short timeframe.

Rating: 3.5/5

References:
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt11395630/?ref_=tt_mv_close
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt11395630/fullcredits?ref_=tt_cl_sm
https://moversmovie.com/


Edited by Abby McNatt




No copyright infringement is intended.