Delayed Reaction: Search Party

The Pitch: The Hangover meets We're the Millers

There's this type of low budget comedy movie that pulls from the same pool of actors. Movies like Get a Job, Joshy, and Someone Marry Barry. For all of them, I feel like some form of the phone call "Let's get the gang back together. See who's available" happens. Search Party is another of those movies. Luckily, I'm a fan of this group of actors. So, when I see a trailer with TJ Miller, Adam Pally, Thomas Middleditch, and Alison Brie all in a movie together, I'm looking for a release date*. Then I find out that Shannon Woodward, JB Smooth, Lance Reddick, Krysten Ritter, Rosa Salazar, Jason Mantzoukas, and John Glaser are in it too. Even the names that don't fit with the others sound like fun.

*I've also noticed these movies have trouble getting released. Search Party was filmed in 2013, almost a year before Miller and Middleditch teamed up for Silicon Valley. It wasn't released in the US until 2016.

I've said before that these Delayed Reactions aren't meant to be reviews. Sometimes, that's what they end up being. Normally, they are some thought I had about the movie. Without a doubt, the most remarkable thing about this movie is getting the full Middleditch. The man is naked a lot in this movie. Full frontal. I wasn't expecting that.

Now, I have a complicated opinion about male nudity. I have nothing against it in principal. There's a massive imbalance between male vs. female nudity in movies**. That's undeniable. As a matter of equity, there should be more male nudity (or less nudity overall, if you want to go in that direction). If you sat me down and said "there's going to be nudity in the movie you are about to see. What kind would you prefer?" My pick would be 'female' in most cases, just as it would be 'male' for other people. So, I can't sincerely say that I'm bothered to see more female nudity than male nudity in movies. Then again, I admit that there's entirely too much male gaze in nearly all visual media, and much of the nudity feels more than a little exploitative. And, there's also the fact on the other end of things, the only acceptable male nudity is when it's used for comedy, because the MPAA is dumb and  puritanical. I'm only touching the surface of this discussion, but what I'm trying to say in regards to Search Party, is "good on Thomas Middleditch for committing to the part". The role requires that he be naked in Mexico and he is naked in Mexico. No clever camera angles. Just a lack of clothing.

**Even then, there's debate. For women, it's boobs or vagina. For men, it's penis. That means there's a lot more that counts as female nudity. I still see more vagina in movies than penis, but the imbalance isn't as crazy in that - pardon the pun - tit for tat comparison. Is there a male equivalent for boobs, really?

The movie itself is decent. TJ Miller is toned down enough. Adam Pally plays the straight man well. Middleditch commits to whatever is asked of him. The rest of the cast is underutilized but not used poorly. I saw it alone and I get the feeling that the jokes land much better in a group setting***. I would love it if we could get to a point when a movie with a cast like this could get a major theatrical release that wouldn't bomb in theaters. Until that happens, I'm just happy they are all willing to work on these pet projects.

***Side thought: I see far too many comedies by myself. I need to remedy that.

Verdict (?): Weakly Don't Recommend