Rating summary

Movie		2.5
Video		3.5
Audio		4.0
Extras		0.0
Overall		2.5

Impractical Jokers: The Movie Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman July 20, 2020

Imagine slightly older and (sorry) paunchier versions of the Dude Perfect guys, only substitute tricks on each other for trick shots, and you have the gist of the general zeitgeist of Impractical Jokers, a “reality” series that has perhaps been an unlikely staple of truTV since 2011. Impractical Jokers was born out of the improvisational antics of four lifelong friends who started performing as The Tenderloins, and there is an appealing improvisational aspect to the jokes (practical, impractical, or otherwise) that make up the series, and indeed this feature film adaptation. The basic setup of the series (and the film) is that the quartet, Brian “Q” Quinn, James “Murr” Murray, Joe Gatto and Sal Vulcano, basically dare each other to engage with the general public in various embarrassing ways, with hidden cameras and microphones picking up the resulting chaos. While obviously owing quite a bit to well remembered shows like Candid Camera, Impractical Jokers adds a “layer” (in a manner of speaking) by not just focusing on the prank at hand, but also showing the “backstage” shenanigans of the Jokers not interacting with the public. These behind the scenes guys are frequently giving instructions to the guy out there in the wild (via an earpiece he wears), urging him to do ever stupider, more embarrassing, things. It’s obviously completely silly, but it’s often surprisingly funny. If Impractical Jokers: The Movie had stuck solely to the template established by the television series, it might have registered a bit more consistently. However, the powers that be may have inadvertently “punk’d” (to purloin the title of another hidden camera show of yesteryear) the Impractical Jokers crew themselves by also including an actual storyline, which rather improbably involves Paula Abdul.

The film begins with introductions of the four Jokers, but it’s kind of hilariously done in the context of being a flashback to their high school days, with bad wigs and not very convincing makeup sufficing to render them “youthful”. The boys end up crashing a Paula Abdul concert where of course they wreak havoc (albeit without a real “joke” being fostered). Years later, as stars of their television show, they remeet Abdul, who doesn’t put two and two together as to whom the guys are, and, as a fan of the show, she invites them to a private party she’s hosting in Miami. Unfortunately, the guys figure out after she’s left that she only gave them three tickets, meaning one of them won’t be able to attend. That then sparks the idea of a contest in the same general vein as the television show, with each of the guys being forced to do some ridiculous feat, with the loser (meaning someone unable to complete their task, or with the most "thumbs down" votes from the other guys) being the one left out of the planned for celebration in Florida.

The guys set off on a road trip from Staten Island to down south, albeit with at least one kinda sorta detour to Georgia (there’s that “Georgia Peach” logo at the end of the film advertising that part of the film was shot there), with a series of sometimes funny, sometimes not so funny, pranks piling up as they proceed. Some of the jokes are at least intermittently funny, and some, including a “summer Santa” in a mall that ends up both confusing and delighting kids, are actually kind of sweet. But others, like a Bengal tiger chained in a hotel room one of the guys is “desperately” trying to get out of it, just seem ridiculous and overly contrived (if the tiger is chained, which is obviously is, how is it supposed to be dangerous or frightening?). The funniest bit for me personally was a prank involving one of the guys dressed up as what might be termed an "adult Gollum" who accosts people in a cave, saying he's been lost there for years. His questions to passers-by ("Did Mondale get a second term?") are arguably the comedic highlight of the film.

At least some of the actual practical jokes in the film will almost certainly appeal to longtime fans of the television series, but the attempt to “dramatize” the story and provide the whole linking situation of a “quest to get to a Paula Abdul party” just seems almost quaint, and isn’t particularly funny or effective. That said, Abdul herself is rather spunky in the film and manages to deliver a couple of good punch lines. The film opened just as the Coronavirus was hitting, and evidently fell victim to theaters closing in the wake of the pandemic, but that may have actually been a blessing in disguise, as I’m not sure what the general critical consensus, let alone word of mouth, might have done for its reputation. Fans of the series may want to check this out, but my advice is for newcomers to sample the television series first to see what they think.

Impractical Jokers: The Movie Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Impractical Jokers: The Movie is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Warner Brothers Home Entertainment with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer (mostly) in 1.85:1 (as can be seen in some of the screenshots accompanying this review, supposedly "archival" video is presented in narrower aspect ratios). This is frankly a kind of weirdly disparate looking presentation that I'm assuming was captured at various resolutions, but there are also clear moments when either natural or digital grain is in evidence (the opening flashback material is one such sequence), so I'm frankly not sure if some of this was actually shot on film, though I haven't been able to find one whit of technical data online about the film (as always, if anyone knows, shoot me a Private Message, and I'll happily update things). The best moments here looks nicely clear and sharp, with nice detail levels prevalent even in less than optimal lighting conditions. But some sequences look noticeably softer, and some look downright ragged (see screenshot 19).

Impractical Jokers: The Movie Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Impractical Jokers: The Movie features a fun DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track that has fitful but noticeable engagement of the surround channels, especially when music (Abdul or otherwise) is filling the soundtrack. Some of the outdoor sequences, notably a silly "car repair" prank, do have nice placement of ambient environmental sounds. Dialogue, including the back and forth between the guys, is delivered well for the most part, with an understanding that they sometimes communicate through relatively lo-fi technology.

Impractical Jokers: The Movie Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

No supplements of any kind are offered on this Blu-ray disc.

Impractical Jokers: The Movie Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

I really think Impractical Jokers: The Movie would have been considerably more consistently funny if the guys had simply ditched the whole Paula Abdul premise and just gone on a road trip, pranking people as they went. They in fact could have even included Abdul in a variety of gags, which frankly could have been hilarious. As it is, some of the stuff that fans might have liked in any given episode of the series provides the film with at least a few glimmers of humor, but some of the other bits, and most of the whole "on a quest to party with Paula Abdul" material falls pretty flat. Video has a pretty widely variant quality, as can perhaps be gleaned in some of the screenshots accompanying this review, but audio sounds fine. Warner has not included any supplements on this release, which may be a real disappointment for fans, but otherwise technical merits are reasonably decent for those who are considering a purchase.