SXSW Review: Immature Humor Impedes ‘Drunk Bus’
Bucking a failed relationship can be tough to do. For Michael, it means staying in the same routine he’s had for the last four years. His ex-girlfriend left him years ago for New York, but he hasn’t moved on, continuing his much hated job as the driver of the ‘drunk bus,’ a late night commuter shuttle that transports college students home after a night of partying. On one route, Michael gets into an altercation, and for his protection, the transportation department issues him a body guard named Pineapple. Reluctant at first, Michael eventually warms up to his new passenger. Pineapple’s existential wisdom proves insightful, and with each passing night on the drunk bus, Michael learns more about life, himself, and how to finally move on.
Drunk Bus plays itself first and foremost as a comedy. Pooping on the bus, aggressive sex moans, and getting girls to kiss are just a handful of the film’s comedic beats that characterize an immature narrative of motivational discovery. As if written in a frat house, Drunk Bus likens itself to raunchy teen comedies of the early 2000s. Moments of gravitas are periodically sprinkled in to hit home deeper moments of development, but the issue is how often that tone can be muddied by obtuse humor and odd tonal choices.
There is a moment in Drunk Bus where a reoccurring supporting character dies inadvertently by the hands of Michael. At first, its taken as a serious turning point in the film, but shortly there after, it’s played off like a speed bump, dismissed by Pineapple as a happenstance of life and creating a disconnect between what happened and what Michael should be feeling. Plus, it doesn’t help that later on, someone fakes their own suicide as a joke, which I found to be in particularly poor taste given the prior death. There is just a tonal mismatch between the humor Drunk Bus wants to deploy and how serious it wants us to take it.
A few moments of sincerity work though, namely coming from Pineapple, played casually and tenderly by Pineapple Tangaroa. Covered in tattoos, piercings, and leather clothing, he is the typical “big guy is a softy” character. He frequently imparts genuine wisdom about care free living that not only Michael adopts, but so do we. He and his character are the most endearing factor in Drunk Bus, which is a shame, because the plot clicks on paper.
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