Lake Michigan Monster

When I discovered the guys behind Hundreds Of Beavers had another movie, I was intrigued. While I didn't love Beavers as much as everybody else -- its shotgun approach to jokes resulted in a wild hit/miss ratio for me, and the movie's length exceeded its viable content -- I appreciated the singular nature of the movie. The weird blend of Looney Tunes, the slapstick of the silent movie era, and Terry Gilliam's animations for Monty Python resulted in a movie that was wholly original, visually striking, and undeniably charming. How could I say no to more of that? Like Beavers, Lake Michigan Monster has a plot -- probably more so than Beavers, but, like, only by 15%. A sea captain hires a sonar expert, a Navy veteran, and a weapons expert to help him hunt and kill the sea monster that murdered his father. Hijinks ensue. Like Beavers, LMM's principal purpose isn't telling a story, or having themes, or exploring topics. It is madcap, unadulterated insanity. It is about making the viewer laugh through unrelenting weirdness. But the execution in LMM is different, and I'm not just talking about it having dialogue (although we'll discuss that in a moment). Beavers stands as a loving tribute to silent era movie stars like Buster Keaton and Charlie Chaplin, to Wile. E Coyote and Bugs Bunny, and to Monty Python. Key word is TRIBUTE. There is a very real sense of affection and admiration for those sources in Beavers. The infectious madness of Beavers wouldn't be possible without the creators wouldn't be possible without having grown up watching Saturday morning cartoons and old film strips. LMM, on the other hand, owes a debt to 50's B monster movies and Monty Python's live-action sketches, but most of all, Adult Swim and 2000's era internet comedy like Homestar Runner. Again, key words to pay attention to here are OWES A DEBT. LMM doesn't pay tribute, it borrows. It doesn't craft a love letter, it copies their homework. It apes the style very, very, very well, for sure, and if you like that 00's-era style of humor, this will land with you. But the influences here (Python and old monster movies) feel like set dressing for a style of humor that is still to prevalent for this to be a tribute. It just feels like more of the same. Whether you want more of what you can get anywhere dressed in 50's clothes is going to be entirely up to you. That's not to say LMM isn't funny; there are plenty of laugh out loud moments, and with this having dialogue, there is an extra vector for which the movie can deliver jokes that Beavers couldn't (although Beaver's ability to deliver comedy without dialogue isn't a weakness). It's just humor you've probably seen before. That kind of humor also excels mostly in shorter form. There's a reason why Homestar Runner cartoons tend to stay under 10 minutes; because their charm gets lost the more you see of them. It's designed to be consumed in short bursts. 78 minutes of it is a lot, and LMM gets saggy in some points trying to stretch things out to fill a minimal run time. I do have to commend the realization of the vision, though. According to Wikipedia, LMM was made for an estimated $7000. Director Ryland Tews and his partner Mike Cheslik make the most of this with some original choices. They don't hide the low budget whatsoever (cardboard signs that say "SONAR STATION", a toy machine gun that may have been bought at a dollar store), which is part of the charm. But they also frame the movie with stylistic choices that both play into the humor and give the movie a much more expensive feeling. The use of some Gilliam-esque animation, shooting in black and white and a filter with artificial film grain, unusual camera angles, it all adds up to giving the movie a look that is part cartoon, part real-life, part surrealist fever dream, and never looks like its incredibly low budget. How do you pull off a story about a captain battling a sea monster if you can't afford a boat rental? Simple, the monster appears only six feet out from the coastline. How do you make a room full of demonic ghosts but don't have the money for costuming? Crumple up some paper, open it back up, cut out eye holes, and stuff it inside a hood. There is a lot of creativity in LMM to get around the microbudget, and unlike, say Velocipastor where they leaned into the low budget as part of the joke, or Jesus Christ Vampire Hunter where they just didn't try any harder, LMM finds creative end-arounds. And where it counts, hey, this world is so abstract and zany, rules and consistency don't matter. It's fine. I did enjoy LMM, and I think if you liked Hundreds Of Beavers, you'll enjoy this. Just not as much. Both come from the desire to make unique art, both go for assaulting the audience with a never-ending barrage of humor, and both are uncompromised visions of the artists involved. LMM is just more prototypical than Beavers. The influences feel less heartfelt and fun and more straight-forward and of-the-time, which dulls its impact. I'm still interested to see where these guys go, but I definitely hope its more in the vein of Beavers.