Pretty Good

Disappointment for a huge fan!

The movie turns out to be a little better than the average. Starting from a romantic formula often seen in the cinema, it ends in the most predictable (and somewhat bland) way.

Strong acting helps the film overcome an uncertain premise and create characters that hold our attention absolutely.

If you check out my review for the Blue Mountain State series, you'll know I was a fan. It was too bad the show got cancelled and I definitely think it could have gone on a little longer. When word of the Blue Mountain State movie came about, I donated to the Kickstarter and waited for the theatrical release. That didn't happen but I checked it out anyway. I'm going to have a hard time reviewing this movie. As someone who loves movies and tries to objectionable watching them, this is not a good movie. But as a fan of the show and someone who has seen the whole series (more than once) I can also say that this movie is pretty faithful to the source material (it was written and produced by the same people who ran the show) and that I enjoyed seeing these characters again.*Minor Spoilers Ahead* Alex Moran (Darin Brooks) is entering his senior year at Blue Mountain State. Most of the crew is still around Sammy (Chris Romano) is still the mascot for the Spirit Squad, cheering with his sister Mary Jo (Frankie Shaw). Donnie (Rob Ramsey) and Harmon (James Cade) are still playing for the team. Marty Daniels (Ed Marinaro) is still coaching, the biggest change is that the team seems to suck now. Thad Castle (Alan Ritchson) went pro after his senior year and went #1 in the NFL Draft. In typical Thad fashion, he's been throwing the money at everything he wants. The new dean at BMS announces to the team that he's tired of their crap and that he's taking the team house (The Goat-House) away from the football team. Alex is the team captain (he also lives in the house) so he won't let the house go but he needs someone to buy it. He goes to Thad to get the money for the house. Thad's not willing to do it immediately, Alex and him were friends but they also were at each others throats more than once. He promises Alex the money if he throws him his dream party, "Thadland". It's a carnival themed party with a mojito hot tub, a room full of different strains of weed and it snows cocaine. Alex gets everything together for The Goat House but he can't anticipate the direction the night will take.If you're not familiar with the show, the show was full of drugs, partying and sex. Some people might have called it offensive but it was meant as a parody of college football and the excess around it. If you're a fan of the series, I'm happy to report that there's plenty more of all those things in BMS: Rise of Thadland. The biggest praise that I can give this movie is that it embraces what people liked about the show and gives you more of what you want. It's crass, non PC and it throws it right in your face. The faithful nature of the movie extends to the characters. There are a couple of differences (I'll get to that later) but for the most part, everyone is well represented. Thad was always the funniest character in the show and the movie wisely centres around him (the law of diminishing returns applies to the jokes but Alan Ritchson still does a great job). They bring back everyone and as a fan, it was great to see everyone again (they even bring back Shilo).This movie isn't without it's fair share of problems though. The show never had Emmy calibre writing or a complex plot-line but even so, Rise of Thadland isn't very well written. It's not as funny as the best episodes of the show, the characters are the same but they pump their eccentricities up way too high (Sammy vs. Billy the Goat 3 was just too much). They can't seem to decide whether they want to have some deeper subplots like the realization that Donnie is gay, which was actually a nice moment in the movie. Or how Mary Jo and Alex really should be together because they set that stuff up and then it devolves into gross-out or extreme jokes. The main plot line didn't even make sense, the movie just criticizes Alex endlessly, why? He's still in college, cut him a break for not having figured everything out. It didn't make me angry, it was nice they tried to add some depth to the characters but it seemed like a case of the movie wanting it's cake and eating it too. It's really hard to do a party comedy and have depth, it's like walking a tightrope and this movie fell off and into the net.If you're a fan of this show, check out this movie. It's not amazing or even as good as the series but you'll get what you want out of it. If you've never heard of the show, this is hard to recommend. Rise of Thadland isn't a good movie, it has little to no plot and it's not as funny as the show. I don't like drawing that kind of line in the sand but I think that's what it comes down to.

Really loved the show. The whole idea was great and there was so much character potential. Too bad they blew it. It seems like the whole main theme in the series was lost. The main point was to do well in football and then all the crazy parties that went along with it. All the drama and thrill of being a football player in college. Alright real life football players probably never did this but hey. But they lost it. It went too far. The plot is loose and introduces way too many new people and a whole new scenario. I love the end plot twist with Thad being broke, that really hit the character of Thad. But the rest of the plot went bongos. Yeah there was some great scenes but they went too far out. The drugs were too many and too much, the feces and pee fumes... I just did not buy it as a real thing, yeah yeah maybe it was not meant to be seen as real but hey they always stuck to reality somewhat in the series. The whole plot just seems as they tried to find a way to shove as many characters from the series as they could into the movie. I like that they brought back the old players but that was not Shilo or Randall. Even coach Daniels is not really coach Daniels, but to be fair it was not as far off. And what happened to Jon-Jon he was a nice guy, gave a good twist. Randall seemed way different and Thad just somehow came off as too pathetic. They should have kept football as the focus. So after a long rant my conclusion is that even though I did not like the movie I still got my fat ass off the sofa and watched it. I still like BMS and what they should have done, really is re-air it. Make Moran train up someone new, bring the Pros into it and show their story, instead of leaving their story as a flap into nothing. Fx what does Shilo do right now other than flashing abs? And when did Sammy stop being funny and started being completely mental? The fun was watching Alex do triple down banging and Sammy trying to keep up with him. See Thad as a mixture of dumb, strict and touchy feely. See coach Daniels go nuts on someone and have Debby being a bitch. Please that was all I wanted... The only part of that I really got was coach Daniels going mental, although again a plot-hole... what happened to Debby and his huge house? It was only just about half a year after the end of the series (in movie time) Did Daniels really get that bad after just half a year (ish). Since when did he start excessive drinking? Okay he didn't seem sober but not stupid either. Well I was happy that more BMS content came out but the quality could have been double and still not near what I had hoped. Try again!

.... in that it gives closure on an awesome TV show in a more entertaining than expected fashion. Fans will love it!Granted it's not all exactly the same. Different Goathouse, not all the cast is there (but more than I expected really) and it's just not the same without Rev Theory, but other than that....DUDE! This is what fans have been waiting for!!! Thad was only a supporting character on the show at first and like Urkel on steroids (or rabies) he immediately became the star of the show and thus the center of the movie. But really Thad is BMS! And his story is our story. Only with more sloots.The trailer only covers like the first half hour of the movie so there is much more to see I promise. We do see what has become of the other characters... Larry for instance. Radon and even Craig Shilo make an appearance. Coach has an interesting little plot line that is pulled from the headlines. Donnie has an arc of sorts... Sammy and Mary Jo are there and I dare say even Alex gets a sort of closure. But remember... This all takes place before the start of the season so there is plenty of room to add future BMS adventures!It's not perfect but it's better than we could've hoped for, waaaaay more graphic than Spike would allow (language, full frontal sloots) and drug use galore!!! If you get past the party scenes the story picks up a bit more and there are even a couple of their trademark film spoofs. Alan Ritchson has made a name for himself doing a variety of film roles but will always be known as Thad Castle. He's a producer on this piece and hat's off to him and the whole team who kept the dream alive and made this awesome film. Watching the behind the scenes stuff on YouTube really makes one realize how limited they were filming; I'm glad they pulled it off. Kudos.THADLAND is a must see for any true BMS fan and gives the characters and this world the over-the-top; egotistical; insane yet cathartic send off that the show never could. God Bless America and God Bless Blue Mountain State!

BMS is back sloots! This movie will please most of its fans who can look past some minor issues it has (like different Goathouse and other replaced places which you've seen in the trailer already, some disturbing scenes and not that much football). People who've never seen BMS TV show can also have a good time with this movie unless they expected some plot-driven or character based drama...this is just a fun movie made for the fans who helped through its kickstarter campaign.Because of its R-rating most scenes are more over the top than usual which I personally didn't have an issue with. Thad, Alex, Sammy and coach almost instantly with their performances and situations they're in give you that BMS feel back. Watching this movie can be described as getting heavily drunk really fast but in a good way - it doesn't take long to hit you, you have (or at least believe to have) a good time, see some f***ed up stuff and then it ends. After waiting for so long, I hoped that this movie will be at least two hours of BMS shamelessness, humor and vices to satisfy me but even though it ends quickly, it delivers and shows you what you want to see as a fan.I had huge expectations from this movie so I can't say it's better than the show or even equally as good but I still enjoyed it very much and will probably rewatch it a couple of times with my friends.!!(possible SPOILERS but not really)!!This is not a closing story to BMS saga, it's like an episode of the show only longer. It is rumored that if the movie succeeds they might bring back the show so the movie doesn't set up a sequel but it doesn't tie it all up neither... GO GOATS!!