--Chad, Tucker & Dale vs. Evil
"I just think that so many of the major problems and conflicts in the world are caused by a lack of communication."
--Allison, Tucker & Dale vs. Evil
Handled correctly, comedy is far more than its cheap, shallow overuse in modern films tends to be. Released in 2010, Tucker & Dale vs. Evil is like the earlier Kung Fu Panda and the later Ready or Not: it is a damn excellent movie where the humor is not utilized at the expense of the themes, the story, and the character development. It is used in a very natural, tonally coherent way that does not crowd out any of the other aspects. A very well-acted comedy with great jokes, an organically developed romance, and a great examination of how erroneous and hurtful stereotypes are, it also gives viewers a chance to see the face of Alan Tudyk, better known for providing the voice for non-human characters like the droid in Rogue One or the chicken in Moana. Fellow lead cast members Katrina Bowden and Tyler Labine and even the whole of the supporting cast do a phenomenal job as well. Tucker & Dale vs. Evil is also notable for being a mild horror film of sorts for people who might not normally watch the genre, but still want to sample a less intense version of it. Moreover, it is only fitting that a movie about how stereotypes are irrational sidesteps making its male leads unable to function in front of an attractive woman that spends a lot of the film with them and having the black male student be the first to die in a series of random accidents. So much is executed so flawlessly that this film genuinely reaches cinematic perfection in many ways.
Production Values
Not a single actor or actress is wasted on even the more minor roles, and the nature of the story allows the emphasis to fall on them. The woods and cabin where the story takes place, along with the blood and dirt, are all handled as well as practical effects could have been used in this kind of story, but they are really only there because the actions of the characters call for them. Fairly relentless comedy is also for once rooted in the characters and the story. Not only is the acting itself splendid, but Tyler Labine's Dale enjoys a full arc towards becoming a confident person. An early scene where Tucker telling Dale he needs to stick up for himself when the latter offers the former the last beer, only to swat Dale's hand away when he actually reaches for it, exemplifies how the comedy and characterization go hand in hand, as Dale does become the kind of person Tucker suggests. Tucker himself is played to wonderful effect by Alan Tudyk, who is right at home in a horror comedy with his sharp timing for humor, his "country" mannerisms, and his flashes of personality. Katrina Bowden matches their skill as Allison, a college student that they rescue from a lake, only to be misperceived as kidnappers by her mostly asinine, terrible friends. Without ever refusing to be autonomous and helpful, her character is sweet and kind, getting the chance to put her dream career skills to use as the movie unfolds. While they are not as prominent, the other characters still nail their performances to their final moments onscreen in the rare film with no squandered cast members.
Story
Some spoilers are below.
A West Virginia trip takes a strange turn for a group of college students when they almost hit a truck with some hillbillies named Tucker and Dale, only to run into them at a gas station. The pair intimidates them despite being neither malicious nor aggressive. As it turns out, the two friends were on their way to repair a new country vacation home, more of a dusty shack than the typical building that comes to mind at the phrase. The college students find a lake by their camping grounds, which happens to be the very lake near the vacation home Tucker and Dale are visiting, and once they start swiming, one of the women, Allison, falls into the water and doesn't come up to the surface. Tucker and Dale save her, but calling out to the rest of the students that they have her is misunderstood as the taunt of kidnappers and murderers. The students strategize to "free" Allison as Tucker and Dale get to know their guest better, and she begins to relate to them as people.
Intellectual Content
The humorous examples of misperception and stereotyping start very early in the film, part of which involves Dale approaching the college students at a gas station holding a scythe, smiling and laughing to be friendly, which makes him seem to the students like a potential murderer. After Tucker and Dale legitimately save Allison from drowning while unconscious, one of the students says that it looked like Tucker and Dale "might have been eating her face off," a rather pathetic exaggeration that does not come close to the events onscreen. Once the other students find the vacation home, one clarifies that their log cabin does not make the duo "psycho killers," but the delivery and context is used for comedy. One of the most clever ways this humor is utilized, though, is when after winning a board game against Allison, Dale tells Tucker that he was "beating the crap out of her," to which Tucker says, while the other students are secretly listening, that he "beats the crap out of everybody" because there is "something wrong with your brain." Soon after, Allison volunteers to help Dale dig a hole for the outhouse, but her friends just assume that he is making her dig her own grave.
Dale even stereotypes himself as someone who struggled through early grades in school. He says he is stupid because of these problems he had with his education, and Allison says he sounds smart because he can recall various historical information, but both are wrong! Intelligence is the grasp of reason, which every has to some extent, although having the bare minimum, inescapable reliance on the laws of logic does not make a person rational in the sense of intentionally, directly aligning with reason. It is neither the same thing as having a strong memory or doing well in an educational setting. Even Allison says that "there is a difference between education and intellect," though not even the intellect is the same as the laws of logic it grasps. Since it does not logically follow from having a country background or a lack of education that someone is irrational or cruel, the true stupidity is on display every time any of the characters make assumptions. Perception only means by necessity that the perception exists--moral feelings, sensory perceptions, aesthetic preferences, memories of events are all nothing more than subjective perceptions as well, no matter how strongly they see valid.
Conclusion
A masterpiece of humor and acting with a very sincere condemnation of stereotypes, Tucker & Dale vs. Evil is practically a flawless movie. What it needed to accomplish, it succeeds in accomplishing. There is no weak link with the performances. Not once are the story, characterization, dialogue, and delivery not in harmony with each other. In an age of superficial cinematic comedy only popular because of stupidity on the part of general audiences and greed on the part of film executives, the genius of this film stands in stark contrast with the direction that movie comedy as a whole has gone in. What a grand example of how to blend very clever comedic circumstances with themes that are about more than just entertaining people! At its best, this is exactly what comedy can do. It can brilliantly capitalize on the human capacity for humor as it holds a mirror up to a certain kind of person, leading them to laugh at the very things they believe or do despite realizing how irrationalistic it is in the moment. Comedy has so often been used to encourage the stupidity of stereotypes of men, women, people of various races and nationalities, and people with disabilities or unusual physical appearances. Here, it is used to expose the fact that stereotypes can only be believed on the basis of assumptions and contradictions.
Content:
1. Violence: A machete is thrust into a throat onscreen as blood leaks out, and once the college students start stumbling into accidental deaths, impalements and other wounds with plenty of blood are shown.
2. Profanity: "Fuck," "shit," "goddamn," and "bitch" are used in dialogue.
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