Nerdland

• Directed by Chris Prynoski
• April 14, 2016 (Tribeca Film Festival) / December 6, 2016 (United States)

Voice Cast

• John-Paul Rudd
• Elliot-Patton Oswalt
• Nerd King-Hannibal Buress
• Sally-Kate Micucci
• Linda-Riki Lindhome
• Detective Donahue-John Ennis
• Archie-Mike Judge
• Brett Anderson-Reid Scott
• Old Woman-Laraine Newman
• Marvin Masterson-Paul Scheer
• Cathy-Julie Galdieri
• Friendly Cop-Bob Stephenson
• Mr. Kelly-Brendon Small
• Reporter Sassy-Cree Summer
• Business Woman-Molly Shannon
• Pharmacist-Tommy Blacha
• Timmy-Dave Willis
• Becky-Charlyne Yi

Two best friends whose dreams of fame and fortune in Hollywood have never come to be decide to become famous in one day at all costs.

I found Nerdland one day at my local Dollar Tree while rummaging through their latest shipment of discount DVDs and Blu-rays and figured it was worth a look. You do find occasionally some real gems of known and unknown titles. I will say it is better than I expected but nothing too special.

Nerdland focuses on aspiring screenwriter Elliot and aspiring actor John who are best friends and whose lives have nowhere while living and working in Hollywood seeking fame and fortune who decide to become famous in a day but fail miserably at each attempt until they stumble into their fame and are desperate to get out of it. The world they inhabit is not too nerdy (which could be due to the watering down of the term) and only really touches on nerdiness when our characters get what they want and they are desperate to get rid of it.

The “desperate to get out of it” part was a little more interesting than that the “desperate to get into it” part but the former was much shorter than the latter and that probably would have made for a more interesting film. I really liked the idea of two people trying to pull the Elvis conspiracy for real and disappear into obscurity.

You do not necessarily cheer for Elliot and John but rather feel sorry for them. They are aimless and know what they want but know of no good way to get it. They have two “girlfriends,” Sally and Linda, who are just two girls they bother that work at a local store. Nerd King, whom they seek help from, is a local nerd in their lives that acts like some vague power broker whom is connected in some undetermined way.

Elliot and John spend most of the film trying various social media schemes to go viral and get fame-all failing miserably. It is not until they do not try that they stumble into an opportunity after becoming accidental witnesses to a crime committed by the relative of a member of a member of a Cleveland crime syndicate. Rather than go to the police first they decide to blab to the media causing their issues.

This was definitely a different style of animation. As the film progressed the character designs seemed to get stranger and stranger. Whoever designed them obviously went in order of appearance of the script and as the film moved along their imagination started to play more. Occasionally they can be a bit offputting such as the one design of Nerd King but they are not too bad.

At times Nerdland can be a bit surreal and odd but you never get an actual laugh. This is a comedy where you smile and not one where you chuckle even. I think the term “comedy” is too broad. You should be going for a laugh even if you fail in a comedy. This does not go for the laugh. This film was done by people behind some Adult Swim shows and most of them are not funny. They are like Woody Allen films. They are labeled comedies and if you do not afree that they are humorous you must be a fool. Not all but most. They try to be quirky or weird and are instead just stupid and pointless.

I think the film is trying to make a statement about fame and not wanting it once you get it, yet all the voice actors involved have remained in the public eye for some time and work to continue to do so. I am not sure how one squares with the other. Why would you take a project like this if your income relies on continuing to seek fame?

Nerdland is not a bad film. It is also not great. I would call it mediocre. If you are a fan of animation watch it but otherwise you can skip it.