Don’t Shoot The Pharmacist (2008)

Written and Directed By: David Broitman
Staring: Ben Bailey, Godfrey, Steve Byrne, Jayson Simba, Myles MacVane, Roger Anthony, Erik Davies, Kimberly Dullaghan, Ardie Fuqua, Sean Harding, Sabin Lomac, Roman Itkin, Ted Kastenbaum, and Vadim Mantelzak

Review

My question is, why hasn’t this film gotten more attention?  It’s funny, original, completely bizarre, and while thematically not original, it’s characters are completely outside of the box.  I was totally caught off guard by how much I laughed at the outrageous comedy involved here.  Anyone who has spent a day working at a customer service counter, especially at strange hours of the night is going to definitely “get” this movie, but those that haven’t still will laugh.  Raunchy and graphic humor is here for every man and woman.

Dealing with the public is hilarious and actually provoking and messing with the people that make your day a nightmare is fantastic.  All the insane things that could happen in this kind of job are wrapped into one night and happen in “Don’t Shoot The Pharmacist”.  If there were a hundred full moons it just might equivocate the actual full moon that ends up in the store.

There are so many moments that had me rolling over in fits of laughter.  The fitting room scene is deliriously awesome.  It is completely hysterically awkward, which is pretty much in tune with everything that follows.  There are some character moments that are totally unpredictable but relevant and some that are not so much, but the bizarre regulars and the surprising unveilings keeps each moment feeling fresh and exciting.  There were numerous unanticipated laughs, and that is a rarity in the comedy world for me.

More importantly this film has the kind of humor that takes no prisoners.  It  pokes fun at situations dealing with language barriers.  Like people talking loudly to people speaking another language,which as the film points out makes very little sense.  There are a lot of ethnicity stereotypes explored, along with some typical druggy moments, and then as far as dealing with a smelly customer.  Some of this humor is totally crude, but also awesomely executed.

The imagery of flashbacks and daydreams are a lot like the television show Scrubs but not as good.  It was really the only negative moments from the film.  It took away from the comedy within and often felt out of place.  Aside from the occasional distraction, it didn’t put that huge of a dent in the actual storytelling.

A good deal of the compliments go to writer and directer Broitman, but the cast was pretty impressive as well with quite a few New York comedians, including “Cash Cab” host Ben Bailey, who was tremendous.  He carried the film very well, giving it a reputable nucleus for the surrounding events to occur.  Those events and characters were pretty insane, in particularly Myles MacVane had some pretty out there scenes that were difficult to sell, but I 100% bought his far fetched supporting tale, not to mention gut busted out laughter that was many levels of shocking.

This film was well scripted, well acted, and had excellent comic timing.  Don’t Shoot The Pharmacist was a welcome surprise for me.  It’s so hard to really make your mark in the comedy world, and clearly every now and again it’s a good idea to bring things back to basics.  Vulgarity, poop, and sex jokes are never going to get old, and this movie exploits that hilarious side of comedy.  I definitely recommend a viewing of this and encourage anyone who has a slightlylude sense of humor to see it.