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The Movie: "Reality TV" currently dominates the airwaves, populating nearly every channel with some sort of talent competition or - in a recent example, girls trying to be picked by a guy who doesn't know that she has the choice of a million dollars or him (let me predict the ending: she picks him, they still get money anyway and the show's producers get an "awww" happy ending). However, one bright ray of hope has emerged out of "Reality TV": CBS's "Amazing Race", a show that has teams racing across the globe completing challenges and seeing what the world has to offer, is a show that's beautifully edited and produced, exciting and actually has some educational value about the world around us. It's amazing that Jerry Bruckheimer Television is actually the production company behind "Race". "The Real Cancun" is an attempt by "Real World" co-creators Mary-Ellis Bunim and Jonathan Murray to deliver some trashy fun. Despite my annoyance with "Reality TV", there is a place in this world for trashy fun and (moreso) T & A. The problem is that most of these shows bring the trashy, but forget the fun. "The Real Cancun" continues that streak, promising sleazy silliness and instead offering a mess of dull characters who often seem so intoxicated they were probably surprised when they receieved tickets to the film's premiere ("I was in a movie?" and then, "I was in this movie?" and then, "I have to go on TV and promote this?"). Much like Bunim and Murray's "Real World", "Cancun" pulls together 16 people, all of which are carefully selected (and in this case, personality-free) types. Unlike "Real World", "Cancun" has 90 minutes to introduce us to 16 people, while "World" has an entire season to focus on 7. The result makes generic people (in one of the cast member's bios, when asked about her favorite book, she responded with the answer, "I don't really read.") look and seem even more dull. There's even the one token guy (Alan) who's never had a drink before - guess who's completely wasted and yelling, "I wanna see boobies!" (in reality, any girl within range would have punched him) before long. The remaining cast members spend most of the rest of the time somehow intoxicated or fooling around with each other. Remind me - why do I want to watch other people get drunk during a free, all-expenses-paid trip to Cancun? Given that these people have nothing remotely interesting (or even funny or entertaining, for that matter) to say (representing the further deevolution of the "Real World" series, whose cast mates actually did have something to say a long time ago when the show first started), it all turns into flirt, drink (and nobody vomits - or even worse - on-screen, either, despite all the drinking), try and sell the song on the soundtrack. Given the near-complete lack of any conflict or interesting dialogue, whether one watches this with the sound on or off won't really make a whole lot of difference. Does the film offer T & A?. Hardly. The film's wet T-shirt contest, despite showing a few considerable moments, is pretty much poorly edited into near-nothingness. There's a real bizare moment where one of the girls gets stung by a jellyfish after a bungee jump into the water. She's told by one of the doctors that she has to pee on her leg. When she can't do it, she gets assistance - the scene that follows, for some ridiculous reason, is played in slow motion with a sappy tune on the soundtrack, as if the filmmakers were trying to turn it into a "romantic moment". Despite the fact that she obviously wasn't expecting the bite, the film edits in shots of the jellyfish as she's climbing up the ladder. The audience, meanwhile, is wondering what the hell one has to do with the other until it happens. The film's editing is terrible, but that's not surprising, considering that this rush job was thrown together (the film wrapped about 30 days before the movie went into theaters) to beat another, similar film (which I believe was called "The Quest") to theaters. Given the failure of this film at the box office, I'm guessing audiences will be spared from the other one, whatever it's called. "The Real Cancun" isn't good for anything much, aside from those who will likely figure out drinking games (if you're going to drink, unlike the kids in "Real Cancun", please drink responsibly) out of it (don't take drinks every time someone whines or talks about who they want they're not getting or the game will be over quickly) or those who will have fun insulting the idiocy on display, "Mystery Science Theater 3000"-style. The DVD VIDEO: "Real Cancun" is presented by New Line in 1.85:1 anamorphic widescreen. Despite being shot on video, the picture actually looks moderately good, with decent clarity (although it's pretty inconsistent at times, depending on the light). A tad of edge enhancement appears, but otherwise, the picture looks pretty good, with solid colors and black level. SOUND: "Real Cancun"'s Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack is focused purely on the music, which bumps and thumps (and even spins around the room a few times) from all speakers throughout much of the movie. Sound effects are minor - there's some slight ambience thrown in here and there. Dialogue seems like even less of a concern than the music; there's points where it's difficult to hear. EXTRAS: 11 minutes of deleted scenes, 25 minutes of cast interviews (called "cast insights", which is hilarious in an annoying way), highlights from the theatrical premiere (where formerly drunken Alan, before seeing the movie, actually says, "I hope they portrayed me in a good light.") and the film's theatrical trailer/TV spots. Final Thoughts: "The Real Cancun" is a chance to watch, for 96 endless minutes, shallow people looking to become instant celebs party and drink. Everything about it seems calculated and, after some unintentional laughs early on, the minutes began to drag by even more slowly. The DVD offers fine audio/video quality and a few supplements. Not recommended. 
Film Grade The Film Zero * DVD Grades Video 86/B Audio: 88/B Extras: 75/C |