BERJAYA

At times, it's difficult to tell if the Trost Brothers' dystopian parody film The FP is a stroke of cult hit genius or a beyond terrible waste of time. On the one hand, it's super-impressive that someone took the time to build an entire universe around Dance Dance Revolution. But on the other, it's super-depressing that someone took the time to build an entire universe around Dance Dance Revolution.

- 248 Productions

Presenting itself as one, long 83-minute joke, the film tells the story of a relentless turf war between two rival gangs fighting for control over the rural wasteland of Frazier Park ("The FP"). But instead of gunfights and fisticuffs, these hooligans take to the arena of Beat Beat Revelation, a deadly dance-fight video game a la DDR. After local hero BTRO is killed (somehow) on the dance floor, his younger brother and protege JTRO (Jason Trost) goes into hiding as a lumberjack, vowing to never dance again. That is until some old friends call on him to avenge his fallen mentor.

From there, the movie goes into all out Rocky mode as JTRO trains to become the best dance-fighter in The FP. And there's a lot of JTRO meditatively walking to music. There's probably about 20 whole minutes dedicated to JTRO walking to nowhere in particular. Whether this lends to the comedy or comes off as a mark of poor pacing is really up to your sense of humor. But I just thought I'd let you know... lotta walking.

The FP Red Band Trailer

As for the comedic elements, again, that's kind of your call. If you find people that take utterly stupid nonsense 100% seriously, then this s*** is definitely for you. Even if you're not into it, it's hard not to laugh at how intense some of these dudes get about dance-fighting. Art Ksu's character KCDC in particular has some hilarious moments as JTRO's plucky comic relief. You've gotta hand it to these guys, they stay committed to the bit.

However, the actors' often too-genuine performances almost make you feel like they're not in on the joke with you. With it's indie budget of $1 million, it'd be pretty easy to write the film off as a poorly executed student film. There were definitely times when I was laughing hysterically at something only to realize I might not have been laughing for the right reasons. Then at other times, I remained completely straight-faced when the writers were clearly trying to make a joke, usually one that was disgustingly offensive. (Be forewarned that the objectification of women is a prominent ongoing theme, and it is quite distastefully played for laughs.)

- 248 Productions

That said, The FP is by no means the worst thing I've ever seen. It actually had a pretty cool retro vibe going for it. The film kind of harkens back to those old '80s dystopian actioners like The Warriors, Mad Max and The Terminator. The synth soundtrack and grungy set-pieces are actually top-notch considering what the film had to work with. Unfortunately, that aesthetic integrity is pretty much entirely marred by a downright heinous delivery of something that should have been a three-minute sketch on Funny or Die.

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Max Nicholson is a writer for IGN, and he desperately seeks your approval. Show him some love on Twitter at @Max_Nicholson.