I discovered Boxboarders! (yes, the exclamation point is part of the official title) when I was scrolling though a list of films that were recently added to Netflix's online streaming service. The film tells the stories of two "surfers" (who will not once be seen surfing during the entirety of the film) Ty Neptune and James James (not a typo). During a moment of boredom/genius, James decides (for reasons left unexplained) to take a refrigerator box and strap it to the top of a skateboard. He then sits inside the box and rides it down a hill. He crashes. This is essentially the point of the whole film. The rest of the 90 minutes are filled with your typical archetypes of the rich boy who wants to steal the idea, the stuck up girl who taunts our heroes, the down-to-earth girl that we should have been with all along, a tormented younger brother, and two other guys who says "gnarly" a lot. The entire movie is pretty standard fare for the early 1990s, or at least it would be if it wasn't made in 2007. You owe it to yourself to check out the trailer on IMDB.
Based on that description, you would probably assume that I didn't like Boxboarders!, but that was actually not the case. Don't get me wrong, this movie definitely has its flaws. A number of the moments are so cliche that I was quoting the dialog along with the characters (even though I've never seen the movie), the plot takes certain turns that seem to have no basis, entire subplots are created and then forgotten in a single scene, and the shakey-cam could rival Michael Mann's best (and I don't think that's done intentionally).
All of that being said, this feels like exactly the kind of movie that I would make if someone gave me a few thousand bucks and a video camera. Maybe that's why I found it so endearing. You can't help but feel like these people enjoyed the hell out of themselves as they made the movie. You won't recognize any of the main characters in this one (although the "villain" looks exactly like Mitchell Goosen from the 1993 film Airborne) but a few of their parents are played by actors you might recognize. The two most recognizable are The Office's Melora Hardin, and the always unbelievable Stephen Tobolowski. Not sure how Tobolowski found his way into this movie, but his role as the quirky, therapist Dad was pretty funny. He once again proves that he can be entertaining and likable in absolutely anything and everything he's in. If this guy isn't your favorite character actor in Hollywood, then you just clearly haven't seen the fantastic documentary Stephen Tobolowski's Birthday Party (and shame on you for that).
Boxboarders! is not a great movie, but in the right frame of mind, it can be really enjoyable. I watched the movie with a few beers and a few friends and found that I rarely stopped laughing. The laughter was a mix of intentional and unintentional on the part of the film, but I can't say that I wasn't entertained. If you and a friend are ever sitting around one night, bored and looking for something to do, keep Boxboarders! in mind. Might I suggest the drinking game we tried:
Take one drink every time:
1) Someone says "dude"
2) A challenge is thrown down
3) Someone crashes in their boxboard (take a shot if that crash takes place in water)
4) A main character fantasizes about the popular girl
5) A pun is made using the word "box"
6) "The Lizardman" appears on screen
7) The little brother screams
In short, Boxboarders! perfectly walks that line of "so bad it's good" and "entertaining enough to be watchable while I laugh." This is the exact quality that used to make films perfect fodder for the guys at MST3K, and I think you will find yourself doing the exact same thing as you watch this movie yourself. I would have hated this movie if it tried to take itself too seriously, but instead it seemed like it was just a small group of people trying to have a good time, and you can't knock that. I wont cheapen our rating system by inflating this movie's score, so I think I can only offer to buy it two drinks were we to cross paths at a bar. If you watch this movie with friends and make a night of it, you can easily add another drink onto that total.
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