Welcome to the Jungle (2013)

Alright first of all, this movie is dumb. Let's just get that out of the way first. You're looking for an intelligent, movie? Look somewhere else. OK now that that's covered, this movie is hilarious. It's not a serious, realistic, or high-budget movie, and it knows that. Definitely doesn't take itself seriously at all, which just compounds the humor exponentially. This movie is very self-aware that it's an exaggerated caricature of the trope it's based on. If you don't like swearing, poop jokes, or you're looking for a cerebral, deep story line, don't watch it. If you're planning on doing some lighthearted laughing for an hour and a half, put it on.

"Welcome to the Jungle" was a fairly average run of the mill comedy, that offered very little of new material to the comedy genre that haven't already been seen in other movies.Don't get me wrong, I am not saying that "Welcome to the Jungle" is bad, nor was it super great. It was a mediocre movie that delivered what was expected from it, and the movie itself was entertaining enough for what it was.The story is about a group of workers sent out to a remote island for a survival course to improve efficiency back at the office. Of course things go awry and run out of control within a short time after arriving to the island.The comedy aspects of the movie were fairly subtle, and it is hardly the type of comedy that will have you laughing hard while tears streak down your cheeks. The comedy was well used at the right moments, and that made the movie worth sitting through.As for the characters in the movie, well, they were adequate. No one, aside from perhaps Phil (played by Rob Huebel) stood out as particularly memorable. But the people hired for the various roles were doing good enough jobs with their given characters and given the limitations of the script.I picked up this movie because of Jean Claude Van Damme, but weren't impressed with his role, nor with the screen time he was given."Welcome to the Jungle" is good enough for a lazy afternoon on the couch, but it is hardly a movie that you will make a return trip to watch multiple times over.

Let's put van Damme in the Jungle, pair him with Adam Brody and some other comedians and see what happens. That seems to be the motto of the movie. But while that might not sound that appealing, I thought it worked. Not always, see also some of the awkward lines van Damme has to deliver, but often enough.The movie is more than predictable, you can outright guess when what is coming and who will be getting what (or whom). But that is not the point. And while there is a journey, it's the isolation of the Jungle and the characters (used to work in offices), that make this movie funny. Is there potential for more? Sure! But that doesn't mean this is a bad movie. It's just a inferior one to what some might have expected ... still funny though

'WELCOME TO THE JUNGLE': Three Stars (Out of Five)Jean-Claude Van Damme tries his hand at comedy with this workforce island retreat slapstick adventure film also starring Adam Brody, Rob Huebel, Megan Boone, Kristen Schaal and Dennis Haysbert. Brody plays an insecure office worker who is always being bullied by his co-worker (played by Huebel) and dreaming of a better life. Van Damme plays an ex-marine wilderness guide who takes the office on a 'work team adventure'. It was directed by Rob Meltzer and written by first time film writer Jeff Kauffmann. I found the movie to be pretty poorly written and directed but I did admire the effort put in by all of the cast (especially Van Damme). Brody plays Chris, a bullied office worker who is constantly fantasizing about impressing his boss, Mr. Crawford (Haysbert), and co-workers; especially an HR manager named Lisa (Boone). Huebel plays the man who's always taking advantage of Chris, named Phil, and recently stole a successful idea of his. Chris finally has the chance to stand up to Phil, and prove his worth to all of his co-workers, when the entire work team is stranded on an island during a retreat. Their instructor, an ex-marine named Storm Rothchild (Van Damme), is attacked by a tiger and decommissioned.This is Van Damme's first venture into comedy and he does a great job; I'm becoming more and more impressed with him (as an actor, athlete and entertainer) as years go on. It's just a shame he didn't have a better script and director to work with. I'd still much rather watch a movie like this than something like 'THE GAME PLAN' (with The Rock) or 'THE PACIFIER' (with Vin Diesel) though. Brody and Huebel are always good in comedies like this and it's great to see Haysbert stretching and doing comedy as well (and he's funny in his few scenes). I just didn't like the story or most of the jokes very much (and thought it was pretty poorly directed). Grade A for acting and effort though.Watch our movie review show 'MOVIE TALK' at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b5TT6LZ7cFI