Mother Schmuckers is a Belgian comedy film directed and written by Harpo Guit and Lenny Guit. The film stars Claire Bodson, Maxi Delmelle, Harpo Guit, Yannick Renier, Habib Ben Tanfous, and Mathieu Amalric. The film had its world premiere at the 2021 Sundance Film Festival Midnight Section on January 30, 2021.
Issachar and Zabulon, two brothers in their twenties, are supremely stupid and never bored, as madness is part of their daily lives. When they lose their mother's beloved dog, they have 24 hours to find it - or she will kick them out.
***SPOILER ALERT***
K: Today we have the Belgium version of "Dumb and the Dumber" - Mother Schmuckers, the debut film by Harpo and Lenny Gruit. Seeing that the action begins with scenes of coprophagia, I decided that nothing good would come of it. As a result, the film came out quite well - very energetic and provocative. A nonsense film, and a prank film.
F: Hey Krasnaya! I thought the same about that opening scene. Cooking dog shit was not a good sign and I was very reluctant about this movie up until the market store scene. I was not convinced by the 3rd grade type of humor, amateur acting and strange editing gimmicks. But, after that scene with the gun and the pigeon, shiiiiiiat, it felt like I had reached the drop of an extreme roller coaster and there was no stopping. I was finally convinced by the 2 brothers, who looked like Beavis and Butthead or Loyd and Harry on STEROIDS. From that moment on I would tear up laughing just looking at them.
Today, when I think about Zabulon's (Harpo Guit) photo session or his romantic scene, I can't help but laugh out loud. The same goes for Issachar and his drawing talent, his famished eyes, or his little red hat.
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| Poor boys. |
K: I really liked the duet Harpo Guit and Maxi Delmelle; there was a chemistry between them, like between real brothers who quarrel over food, have serious fights, and sincerely miss each other. Constantly running and very hungry brother-idiots turned out to be very funny with those shabby costumes from the 80s and all of their extreme ridiculousness. The musical accompaniment and camera work are cool, they set off all the absurdity of what is happening.
F: That duet is simply beautiful together. Their running scenes to classical music (Boris Asafiev) are memorable and this movie will become a comedy cult classic. If you can't see through the rough, simple and childish jokes, then absurdism isn't for you. These kids are hungry; they aren't able to eat. That's the biggest joke present during the whole movie. You have to remind yourself of that every second. Go one day without eating and then watch this movie if you don't find it funny. Just look at their clothes? Where do you even find a Nike shirt like that? (laughing stupidly as I write).
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| This scene is just pure cinematic poetry. |
K: The film came out very rebellious and offensive, so I can not recommend it to everyone and it is strictly forbidden to dog lovers!
F: There are some extreme comedy bits that aren't for everyone. Yes, I'm talking about the human and animal bacchanalia and the necrophilia hobo line. Those ideas aren't funny per se. But the absurdism that wraps all of it? Yes, it's brilliant in my opinion. If you can't find it funny, the fact that the father of the dumbest Brusselian duo is a PEZ dispenser collector, then we just can't be good friends . This movie is only 70 minutes, but so many things happen in this small Brussels world that it seems longer. It kind of reminds me of Martin Scorsese's "After Hours" where everything can happen during just one night.
I'm going to leave some of my favorite clips from Mother Schumckers below our ratings. Oh, and make sure you go over the final credits. The character Choukri (Habib Ben Tanfous) will reveal to you the movie that he was making and it's reeeeaaally good. π
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| Handsome fella. |
Freddy's Score: 95/100
Krasnaya's Score: 70/100
FINAL SCORE
MOTHER SCHMUCKERS - PIGEON
MOTHER SCHMUCKERS - ROMANCE
MOTHER SCHMUCKERS - DANCING CLIP
This movie is really bad... what are you guys talking about??
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