The Maladjusted

I have not always been the biggest fan of independent films and often quickly lose interest as the plot wavers. However I was pleasantly surprised when The Maladjusted kept me laughing throughout the whole movie. Often very raunchy comedy, I found it to be of the humor that only I and some of my closest friends appreciate, but often would not repeat outside of our group. Rarely do you find that type of humor outside the closed circles of a group of guys. Equally surprising was the reaction of my date who laughed unwittingly at some of the more graphic scenes that I would have expected her to gag at. It is a rare form of quality to evoke laughter from a woman that would sooner slap me across the face for the same joke. Well Done!

I had a great time with The Maladjusted. It's a raunchy comedy about a bunch of 30somethings that are coming of age - maybe way to late. But hey, better late than never, right? The characters are familiar enough that we quickly feel like we know them, but fresh enough that there is still more to discover and some surprises to be had. The movie strikes a nice balance between the light and the dark, though the gross-out humor might cross the line for some here and there (I had no problems with it). For the most part the cast does a really solid job, my favorite being Clayton Meyers whose endearing oddball (Carl) was always fun to watch. This almost felt like the sequel that should have been to the American Pie movies; where the guys that partied throughout their teens and twenties have hit the proverbial wall and need to man up or be doomed to the sad existence of desperately trying to be a twenty year old when you are so obviously not. In that sense I felt like John C. Bailey's character of Yon served as almost a Ghost of Christmas Future to the guys - showing them where they are likely to wind up if they don't change. Anyway, good cast, good laughs, lots of fun and gasps (and tons of music), check it out if you get a chance.

First-look at the dates on the previous reviews, all in July 2013. That should be your first clue. Unfortunately the production value of this film is very low. For example the camera is too close in close ups, cutting off the actors' heads. Constantly. It is almost like it was shot using an iPhone. The apparent age discrepancy between the make/female actors makes this story feel "off". Besides that the movie is just boring. You can't follow who is who because they just sit around drinking talking about relationships, no one stands out. Because there isn't any character development you aren't invested. Which is a shame because I have such high hopes for films like these and really root for indies, but skip this one.

I was fortunate enough to see the premiere of The Maladjusted recently, a proper summer time comedy. I should probably qualify "proper" to mean, all the stuff you want to see in a raunchy comedy. This is a great summer time movie for adults. Leave the kids at home for this one, but as we all know, the best comedies are for the older audiences. There are some genuinely funny performances and quotable lines of dialogue. A personal favorite was the brief discussion about a good massage vs. a bad massage.

I do wish the three main characters would have been a little less two dimensional. I felt like the character of Nikki was the most developed but her appearances only bookend the movie. However, let's be real, do you go see this kind of comedy for deep character development? Probably not. This minor complaint did not diminish my enjoyment of the movie at all. The Maladjusted is definitely worth seeing again.

You know how sometimes you watch a film (Could be an Indie or Hollywood film) and they have comedy/humor that almost in a way tries to tell You (the audience) what's "funny" and what's not...Well, this film doesn't have to tell you what's humorous. I genuinely cracked up tons of times. The character development is very good. The dialog, everything each character said was necessary to the story/relevant.

The Maladjusted was way better summer comedy that I've seen this year even compared to a couple recent Hollywood "comedies" that I felt just relied on big names/cheap humor that wasn't really humorous to get seats filled. This one has genuinely great actors and a story everyone can follow.

Def check it out.