Quasi, 2023.
Directed by Kevin Heffernan.
Starring Kevin Heffernan, Steve Lemme, Jay Chandrasekhar, Paul Soter, Erik Stolhanske, Adrianne Palicki, Michael Yurchak, and Gabriel Hogan.
SYNOPSIS:
Follow a hapless hunchback who yearns for love, but finds himself in the middle of a murderous feud between the Pope and the king of France when each orders the hunchback to kill the other.
Comedy troupe Broken Lizard are taking their juvenile shenanigans to medieval France with Quasi, which is their spin on The Hunchback of Notre-Dame. It’s a take involving Quasimodo stuck between the warring king of France and a horny Pope, each giving him orders to murder the other so they can rule freely. Within that framework, Director Kevin Heffernan (with the entire Broken Lizard group serving as screenwriters) has packed in several jokes about how it sucked to live in France back then, incorporating everything from torture devices to rampant sexism to encouraged incest.
No one expects maturity from a Broken Lizard movie, so that’s not the issue. What’s frustrating and consistently prevents one from laughing or getting involved with Quasi is that most of these jokes are lazy and dated. Other attempts at humor (such as one about a selfie) are groan-worthy. It’s a shame, considering the characters are all appropriately cast. Broken Lizard appears to appreciate Monty Python and the Holy Grail (as most of us probably do) since the core group here each plays two characters, just like the cast in that classic medieval parody. They are unsuccessful at re-creating that imitation, with nowhere near as many laughs as that movie or memorable dialogue.
Jay Chandrasekhar is the misogynistic king that has entered into a strategically arranged marriage with Adrianne Palicki’s queen, having a blast playing a raving lunatic (one of the funniest scenes here sees him bringing in another guard to kill a guard because he is too lazy to do it himself, which only reads to more chaos and disarray). Paul Soter is Pope Cornelius, irritated that he has to visit France for a coronation, although it quickly becomes apparent that he and the King are longtime friends that went to the same university, who now happen to have grudges against one another.
Then there is Quasimodo (Steve Lemme, nailing the goofy facial expressions and the hunched-over posture), working inside one of the local torture chamber facilities alongside his best friend/hut-mate Duchamp (Kevin Heffernan). Naturally, Quasi is the cynical one, unsure of what to look for, whereas Duchamp obsessively buys papal lottery tickets in bulk, hoping to receive the winning numbers and when an audience with the Pope, theoretically skyrocketing his popularity among the townspeople.
Whether it’s humor regarding townspeople finding employment as test dummies for torture devices such as the torture rack that Quasimodo is consistently adjusting, quips about chicken-fuckers, the king’s sexism, and most of everything else here, the jokes often feel half-baked. The performances are fine (despite how cheap the movie looks, which is also meant to be part of its charm), but there is no liveliness or energy to the proceedings here, and that includes the inevitable incestuous sex scene.
The story’s elements are oddly sweet and endearing, such as the bumpy road to Quasimodo and Duchamp realizing how deep their friendship goes. A running gag involving oysters is also 100% Broken Lizard humor and fun to chant along to (you will understand when you see it). And once again, Steve Lemme is simply hilarious to look at portraying Quasimodo and has the line deliveries down. So it’s a shame that everything else about Quasi comes across as an unfinished rough draft that comes nowhere close to the height of its comedic potential.
Flickering Myth Rating – Film: ★ ★ / Movie: ★ ★
Robert Kojder is a member of the Chicago Film Critics Association and the Critics Choice Association. He is also the Flickering Myth Reviews Editor. Check here for new reviews, follow my Twitter or Letterboxd, or email me at MetalGearSolid719@gmail.com
