It's a Wonderful Binge
Stoner Christmas comedy leaves Alec Toombs with bah humbugs and cotton mouth.
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Leaning more naughty than nice, I’m OK with a bit of vice in my Christmas comedies. “A Very Harold & Kumar Christmas” and “The Night Before” are often in rotation at the Toombs household during the holiday season. “It’s a Wonderful Binge” (now streaming on Hulu) attempts to carry on this proud tradition of Yuletide yucks, but it mostly just kinda sucks.
“IaWB” is a sequel to the 2020 stoner comedy “The Binge.” In the world of “The Binge” it’s the none-too-distant future. Drugs and alcohol have been outlawed except for one day per year when folks can legally get turnt. Figuring that citizens need chemical assistance to get through the holidays, The Binge is mercifully moved to Christmas Eve. The Guns & Ammo crowd have “The Purge.” High Times devotees have “The Binge.”
“IaWB” jettisons bigger names such as Vince Vaughn, Skyler Gisondo and “Stranger Things” veteran Grace Van Dien (Casper’s daughter … Rico’s Roughnecks!) and their characters with no mention of what happened to ‘em. We focus instead on Andrew (fellow “Stranger Things” vet Eduardo Franco) and Hags (Dexter Darden of the recently departed “Saved by the Bell” reboot).
Andrew and his girlfriend Kimmi (Marta Piekarz) have consciously uncoupled since her mother Mayor Spengler (Kaitlyn Olson, “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia”) thinks he’ll ruin her reelection campaign. Never mind that Spengler’s brother Kris (Nick Swardson) has busted out of the pen via stolen police car to spend the holiday with his sister and niece.
Andrew’s also got issues at home. The entire family hates the sweet boyfriend (an uncredited Steve Little, best remembered from “Eastbound & Down”) of his volatile mother Deidre (Eileen Galindo). Andrew’s two fathers Hector (Ithamar Enriquez) and Rigo (Alain Mora) fight with one another. Andrew’s dissimilar twin brother Seb (Esteban Benito) and Seb’s girlfriend Dakota (Brittany Garms) incessantly accuse him of ruining Christmas. This prompts Andrew to wish he’d been adopted as a baby and propels an “It’s a Wonderful Life”-esque subplot in which he sees an alternate past, present and future under the guidance of his guardian angel appropriately named Angel (Danny Trejo).
Meanwhile Hags is hoping to ask his longtime girlfriend Sarah (Zainne Saleh) to marry him, but he must get permission from her overprotective father Keegan (Tim Meadows) first. Once consent is granted, Hags is gifted a family heirloom ring by Sarah’s Grandma (Karen Maruyama), which he can present to her when popping the question. Unfortunately, Hags promptly loses the ring and ropes stoner couple Pompano Mike (Tony Cavalero, “The Righteous Gemstones”) and Delray Donna (Indianapolis native Patty Guggenheim, late of “She-Hulk: Attorney at Law”) into helping him retrieve it.
“IaWB” is the feature directorial debut of Jordan VanDina, who penned the first “Binge” picture and pens this one too. It’s not nearly as funny as its predecessor (which wasn’t super-hot to begin with) and hits its highest heights by recycling stylistic devices such as musical numbers and stop motion animation from the previous installment. For every joke that hits, there are probably nine that don’t. When you’ve got funny folks such as Olson, Swardson, Little, Meadows, Cavalero and Paul Scheer as reporter Soup Anderson on-hand some of this schtick will obviously play, but the hit-to-miss ratio is almost inexcusable in light of this murderers’ row of talent.
“IaWB” will likely appeal to youthful stoners. It mostly left this curmudgeonly critic with a case of bah humbugs and cotton mouth.