Blue Mountain State: The Rise of Thadland (2016)

Plenty to Like, Plenty to Dislike

Good story, Not enough for a whole film

A Major Disappointment

A great movie, one of the best of this year. There was a bit of confusion at one point in the plot, but nothing serious.

As a fan of the show I was expecting more of the same -- low brow humour. With relatively low expectations going in, I have to say the movie exceeded my expectations in how bad it was. The story was over the top. I mean the whole party over football thing is great but I would've liked more football in the movie instead of a ridiculous story-line. Was actually expecting the movie to be about Alex Moran's final season at BMS and not about how the goat house had basically turned into a distopia. The only reason I gave this movie a 2 instead of a 1 is because I was a fan of the show and it was nice to see the characters again. But yeah, this movie just stretched everything too far. That's all I have to say, don't waste your time with it, it may actually ruin the show for you.

Listen, I haven't reviewed a movie on here before but I personally loved the humor in this movie so much that I don't feel its fair a few stuck up people are giving this bad reviews. It's obviously a movie (or TV series) that doesn't take itself seriously and with that in mind I found it to be the funniest comedy I've seen that I can remember. I'm also not generally a football fan, not really my thing but when you watch this movie it doesn't seem like a football movie, its packed with silliness, foul language, nudity, brashness and some very straightforward but well placed and unexpected humor. I can see some people thinking the style of humor in this movie is tasteless or immature but to me personally it was speaking to me. It also has an underlying parody aspect of generally overpaid athletes where the main character Thad is bigger than life which I found to be a nicely written character. Overall 10/10 I'm glad I discovered this I'm watching the TV series now.

This never seemed possible, but The Rise of Thadland is an even worse comedy than The Hangover Part II. It is raunchy only for the sake of trying to be funny, it is disgusting only for the sake of attempting to create shock humor, and there just simply isn't the energy in this movie which the television show had to offer.The premise is so straightforward and simple that it gets to be a bore right after Thadland actually becomes a thing. Moran needs to win over Thad for him to buy the goathouse so it doesn't get taken away for them. Thad's request is simple: throw an awesome party for him and he'll put up enough money to win the goathouse over in the auction. The bulk of the movie is this party Moran agrees to throw, making most of the humor in the movie drug-related. We watch people trip out on drugs for the comedy, which ends up being a bore and not funny at all. Also, it is clear which part of the movie has an extended nc-17 clip in the bonus features, and it is too disgusting to imagine how the nc-17 version would have looked and not funny at all.Of course Alan Ritchson as Thad shines as the star of the movie, though he is not the protagonist. He delivers the same goof ball we are all fond of in the television show, but the script just didn't allow him to shine AS MUCH as he did in the television series. The best moments focus around him, but sadly there are less than a handful of these moments.There is no way that anything released in 2016 will be as terrible as this film.1.0/4.0

Give me a hell, give me a yeah, hell yeah! Because Blue Mountain State is back...sort of.While it's not season 4, it's something better: a film adaptation of the television show. In the past we have seen shows come back as films with the same talent in front and behind the camera, such as Entourage (and Sex in the City and Veronica Mars, but I haven't seen their shows or their movies). But to put it in simple terms, this is a worthwhile wait to see Moran, Sammie, Thad and the gang back.The story is pretty simple. Alex Moran is entering his senior year at Blue Mountain State and what seems to be the year in which he'll control the legendary Goat House. But the new school dean has another idea: selling the goat house so that the football team will concentrate on the field. So in order to save the Goat House, Moran will have to ask the help of an old friend Thad Castle, former BMS football player and captain as well as the number one draft in the NFL. Thad agrees that he will buy the Goat House but on one condition: they have to throw Thad's dream party, including an amusement park known as Thadland.Pretty easy to see where it's going right? NopeWhat I liked:This movie does what some TV shows turned movies failed to do, be a good movie. Look, we don't see Blue Mountain State for it's artistic value or it's compelling drama, we see it for the boobs, drugs, and alcohol as well as it's hilarious moments.Unlike most movies based on shows, this movie raises the stakes for the characters and does stuff that you couldn't pull of on Spike. There is something to lose in the film, the Goat House; something that wasn't in a film like Entourage. Also, like I said above, this movie is hilarious. I don't want to give away any specific moments but there are tons of gut-busting scenes in this movie. There is one sex scene in this movie (out of many) that is so hilarious, that's worth the price of admission (though it was released on digital, so worth buying on your computer?).Another great thing about the movie is the cast, everyone is still hilarious and we get to see some of our old favorites such as Craig Shilo and Radon Randell. And how can I talk about the cast without talking about Alan Ritchson as Thad Castle. He's probably the best thing about this movie. He's hilarious and it reminds you why you loved the character in the first place. The character of Thad Castle will go down in history as one of the funniest TV characters, right there with Stewie Griffin, Sheldon Cooper, and Carlton Banks. Also, this movie is so unpredictable. If anything, there is only one thing you might expect but other than that, it is really a wild ride because you are not sure what the hell is gonna happen at the end.What I disliked:Though there's not a lot to dislike, the main focus of this movie is Alex Moran and Thad Castle, which is great and all but I would've liked to see more of the character moments. Most of the cast appearances, such as those of Harmon, Donnie, Larry, and Mary Jo, are satisfying appearances. But those of Craig Shilo and Radon Randell are a little underwhelming, especially Radon because he just seems to show up without set up and it would've been interesting to see what the two have been up to since we last saw them. But the biggest of underwhelming characters is Sammie. Though he has lots of funny moments, he seems to be demoted to an over-the-top party animal, which is something that he has was in the show (but in the show had more character).Also, what prevented Blue Mountain State from being another shitty American Pie direct- to-video movie was the football aspect of the show, the moments like when the NCAA is doing a drug test or Thad going soft on the football field, something that this movie doesn't have and it's absence is duly noted. The film didn't need a football-centered plot, but are we really going to get only one scene of them on the field?Final Verdict:To put it simply, it's hilarious and it's a worthy successor of the television show. To many it would be seen an awesome party movie, but it shows the Blue Mountain State has stuff to offer still. This isn't the ending of the BMS franchise, it's a brand new beginning (at least I hope), where it can be explored through another season or movie.Also this movie isn't for those who dislike party movies, but why would you see it then? Blue Mountain State: The Rise of Thadland reminds me of why I fell in love with the show in the first place and why I wished my college was like this. Old fans will love this film, newbies will enjoy it. For newbies, I'd recommend binge-watching the show on Netflix and then watch this. Overall Score: B+ (or 7.5/10)