Buddy Hutchins (2015)

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buddyhutchinsStarring Jamie Kennedy, Sara Malakul Lane, Steve Hanks, Sally Kirkland, David Gere, Richard Switzer, Remington Moses, Nicole Alexandra Shipley

Written and directed by Joel Cohn

Released by Uncork’d Entertainment


Whenever someone presents a movie that centers around a lead character snapping under massive outside pressures, movie fans automatically go back to Michael Douglas in Joel Schumacher’s unforgettable Falling Down from 1993. And rightfully so. Falling Down is a fantastic film that’s been stuck in the minds of audiences for over two decades now.

Buddy Hutchins, a new man-has-massive-breakdown movie, is not quite as impressive.

The film’s star, Jamie Kennedy, is no stranger to the horror genre. He was, of course, the reciter of the infamous “rules” in the original Scream movie and would go on to be featured in two sequels. But as much as Buddy Hutchins is no Falling Down, it’s no Scream either.

Kennedy plays Buddy, an unkempt, down on his luck sad sack who’s got nothing going for him. After a series of unfortunate events, Buddy finally decides he’s not going to take everybody’s shit anymore and goes off the deep end on a murderous rampage that is certainly the highlight of the film.

As you would expect, Kennedy carries the show, and he does a pretty good job of it. The rest of the cast members fill their spaces adequately, but the difference in acting quality between them and Kennedy is quite glaring at some points. Veteran actress Sally Kirkland appears as well, and her acting is spot-on, as would be expected; however, she’s shackled with a very distracting problem: The make-up job that’s done on her gives her an almost zombie-esque greenish face (and just her face, not her neck or chest… come on, guys!). This totally detracts from her performance as you find yourself wondering just what the make-up crew was thinking when they applied Kirkland’s questionable cosmetics.

Cohn’s direction must also be called into question as he makes some really curious decisions. At times the direction is smooth, but at others you’re almost forced to face palm yourself at the ridiculousness. The most glaring instance is a scene where Kennedy (who pretty obviously is no guitar virtuoso) plays the guitar. And the ineptness of the scene is laughable. To see Kennedy “playing” a guitar solo (which consists of him simply sliding one finger up and down the neck of a guitar that’s not plugged in while some odd music plays in the background) while most of the instrument is out of the frame and to hear his brother pour over how wonderful he’s done (“Buddy, you’ve still got it!”) after he’s done playing is actually laugh-out-loud funny.

So, Cohn left some serious blemishes in Buddy Hutchins, but all that being said, the picture does manage to pull it together for a pretty awesome bloodbath in the finale. Kennedy really steps up his game for Act 3 and, combined with some brilliant special effects, manages to salvage Buddy Hutchins from the brink of disaster. Once the chainsaw blades start spinning, everything gets better. No, it doesn’t fix all that’s wrong with this movie, but it takes it from an “I just wasted an hour and a half of my life” movie to an “Ah, that wasn’t too bad” movie.

With Buddy Hutchins you’re getting a low-budget, horror version of Falling Down. It doesn’t have the social commentary that Falling Down had, but it does have some pretty gnarly chainsaw action so we’ll take that. The movie is very hit and miss with some impressive scenes and some that really leave a lot to be desired. Jamie Kennedy is solid throughout, however, playing the disheveled lump that is Buddy before he snaps. And it’s Kennedy’s performance that holds the film together until the big blood-letting begins in the climax. You can enjoy the F/X work and even get some entertainment out of the weaker scenes (you’ve gotta see that guitar solo). Buddy Hutchins is far from perfect, but it’s worth a look.

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