KO Review Honey Buddies

A KO Review by Emily Mody

Honey Buddies is a narrative film and is the first feature film directed by Alex Simmons. This film follows David (played by David Giuntoli) and his best friend, Flula (played by Flula Borg), while they backpack through the mountains of Oregon. The hiking trip was originally supposed to be David’s honeymoon with his fiancé Frankie but just days before the wedding Frankie called it off. Flula decides that the trip would be the best way for David to get away from his complicated life and relax for a week. The film looks at the diary entries from William Clark that were recorded during his expedition through the Oregon mountains while he was with his friend Meriwether Lewis. William Clark and Meriwether Lewis were adventurers who crossed the same terrain and the film utilizes this as a means of comparison to David and Flula’s trip.

 I have just one word for you, Flula. If you have been a lucky individual who has seen this film, you know exactly what I mean and if you have not, well boy! You are in for a treat. He honestly makes this film so funny and fun to watch. You never know what is going to come out of his mouth and I often found myself laughing out loud. David’s character offers a calm and composed counterpoint to Flula’s outrageous antics, which makes Flula seem all the funnier. Besides the performance, which I felt was pretty well spot on the cinematography was also truly stunning. If you were going to see Honey Buddies just for the scenic shots I promise it would not disappoint.

Upon some reflection, I did find this film hard to classify. Perhaps that is that beauty of it. At times, specifically when the narration of Clark’s diary entries ran over the stunning cinematography of the mountainous region I felt a warmth and growth to the characters. I think this would typically be more characteristic of a coming of age story. While at other times I felt like I was watching the movie, Road Trip (directed by Todd Phillips). I mean, don’t get me wrong, I love Road Trip but it just has a very different feel then say, The Bucket List (directed by Rob Reiner). So I did definitely have a hard time fitting this film into a genre but I think that is a minor issue when compared with how much I actually really enjoyed Honey Buddies overall.

If I had to recommend Honey Buddies to someone I would suggest it to anyone who enjoys a buddy comedy. Honey Buddies was also the winner of the Audience Award at the Slamdance Film Festival 2016. In terms of content, there is some drug use and language but for the most part I would say this film is appropriate for most audiences. If you are interested in going to see Honey Buddies it will be screening as a part of the Calgary Underground Film Festival (CUFF) at the Globe Cinema Upstairs on Tuesday, April 12that 7:00pm. The run time is 78 minutes.

For more movie listings check out www.calgarymovies.com