I Hope They Serve Beer in Hell Reviews

In Tucker Max's best-selling novel I Hope They Serve Beer in Hell, the author is pretty upfront:
"My name is Tucker Max, and I am an asshole. I get excessively drunk at inappropriate times, disregard social norms, indulge every whim, ignore the consequences of my actions, mock idiots and posers, sleep with more women than is safe or reasonable, and just generally act like a raging dickhead. But, I do contribute to humanity in one very important way. I share my adventures with the world."
When it comes to Max's book, you either go along with the ride and laugh at his hilarious adventures, or you condemn the man as being a misogynistic, thoroughly unlikeable asshole (a perfectly reasonable response). Perhaps unsurprisingly, a similar principal applies to the movie adaptation. That said, however, it's highly unlikely that even fans of the book (myself included) will overly enjoy this flick, even despite Max himself having co-written the script. The problem is not with the cast or the morally reprehensible nature (as the critics would have you believe), but rather that Max's stories - which are comic gold - are utilised within an exceedingly generic narrative, and Max's wit is in shockingly short supply here. Imagine The Hangover minus the crazy fun and constant laughs.

I Hope They Serve Beer in Hell is primarily an adaptation of the Austin Road Trip story from Max's novel, with a few bits & pieces of Max's other stories thrown into the script for good measure. This denotes problem #1: failure to select the most interesting story as the basis for the film. Problem #2 is the doctoring of the story to turn it into an unbelievably formulaic narrative. In a nutshell, the story follows Tucker Max (Czuchry), who decides to take an impromptu trip to a strip club in Salem (250 miles away) with his friends Dan (Stults) and Drew (Bradford). The occasion? It's Dan's bachelor party. The trip requires lying to Dan's fiancée (Pratt), however, and it's gradually revealed that the trip was just a chance for Tucker to pursue his own interests.

Of course, Dan's relationship with his fiancée is bland and predictable. Predictably, said fiancée doesn't trust Tucker, and tells Dan that he shouldn't trust Tucker either. Of course, too, the trip proves detrimental to Dan's upcoming marriage. Of course, also, touching moments are included wherein the three central characters are forced into a huge revelation or life experience. Drew, for instance, detests women on account of a harsh break-up, but eventually meets his match and falls in love. Tucker, meanwhile, realises he's too sociopathic, narcissistic and arrogant, leading to an epiphany, an ultimate decision to change his ways, and a redemption. Thus, a sympathetic figure is made of Tucker. Did the real-life Tucker Max seriously write this stuff?! Max's book, at least, was honest and never attempted an uplifting arc or a hopeful conclusion.

(The one standing up...that's the real Tucker Max)

Fans of the book and fans of Tucker Max in general will be disappointed by the lack of the author's distinctive voice. Because the book is told entirely from Tucker's perspective, his asides and commentaries are constantly the source of the humour. What he says and he does is amusing as well, of course, but this film is short on those moments. There are a few mindless laughs to enjoy, granted, but the dead spots are at times unwatchable, and there aren't enough laughs to warrant a recommendation. Jesse Bradford as Drew is about the only consistently amusing constituent of the flick, and his verbal battle with a sassy exotic dancer is uproarious. This is about the only time the trademark Tucker Max wit is in evidence.

Tucker Max's I Hope They Serve Beer in Hell novel is so brilliant because it's written skilfully and humorously. Any idiot can recount their drunken episodes and sexcapades, but it takes real talent to make it a bestseller. Alas, hardly any of that talent is evident in the film version. You may think it's impossible to make a decent film version of the book, but you'd be wrong. Here's how you do it: eschew a generic plotline, tie together as many of the funniest stories from the book as possible in the form of a "slice of life" narrative, add Max's insight into the world around him via a constant narration, and for God's sake don't water down the content of the book.

3.9/10