I liked it.
Ok, of course I'm going to say more than that. You could clearly see the words after the gif above. And I've never just done a short little review. Plus, I got some interesting things to say about this one.
Rapture-Palooza is about the rapture. Well, actually it is after that. It is about life in the world after the rapture. With all the crappy stuff that happens and the anti-Christ and all of that. But much like a Seinfeld joke, the entire thing is observed through a lens of "Really? Really?" A girl and boy, Anna Kendrick and John Francis Daley, are just trying to live their lives and continue. But the Beast wants to have all the sex with Kendrick, so they have to find someway to save her from all the terrible things he is going to do to her.
This is a comedy. And it made me laugh. I liked it quite a bit. There are some interesting themes in it as well, that even I as a Christian can enjoy from this clearly non-Christian comedy. It doesn't offend, or even try to offend. It is just trying to tell a simple story as our heroes try to just keep their life together.
This film has two major sins, and both are surprisingly similar. Firstly, the budget isn't great. They do a lot, and the scope is a perfectly fine size for this kind of tale, especially the way it is told. But a lot of the costuming and make up are very cheap. The camera work is very standard, and the color tinting in post is very obvious, at least for me, but that's become a thing that drives me bananas. The script is filled with little improv breaks, and most are ok, but some are noticeable, and that's not the kind of thing you want to notice. They work best when they are seamless.
Second, and this is a writing thing: our protagonists don't really ... do anything. They don't grow or change. They have obstacles, yes, and they get over them, but they do it in the same way a Seinfeld episode wraps up. This ... Ok, I got a better way to describe it.
Let me talk about Dogma. That is a Kevin Smith film that is brilliant. Hilarious, heartfelt, great characters, interesting problems, shot wonderfully, huge scope, lots of philosophical questions about not just religion (Christianity in particular) but the little bits and quibbles and what it all really means. Rapture-palooza does a LOT of the same thing, except it doesn't have that drama. It doesn't have the real characters or skilled director. It has all the hilarious, and lots of the creative. But it is missing the thing that takes a movie another step. It is a very shallow film, as opposed to the depth that Dogma has. And that ... isn't necessarily bad, but it keeps it from reaching higher heights.
Honestly, I think this is a worthwhile watch. Clever, enjoyable, with a very interesting point at the end about reality. But it isn't great.
Grade: B+
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