The bloody lifestyles of the rich and dumb.
“Bodies, Bodies, Bodies” is an entertaining and wickedly funny wake-up call for those who hated “Very Bad Things” and “Rough Night.” These are dark comedies about people dying at parties. This time, instead of a bachelor/bachelorette party, “Bodies, Bodies, Bodies” has people dying at a hurricane party. This is about about dumb, rich youngsters, who do cocaine, booze, and light sticks, so a lot is bound to happen.
It’s the kind of slasher comedy with an appeal for people who watch “Beavis & Butthead” or “The Real Housewives,” because of the stupidity and behaviors. It’s in the Generation Z genre, and being a person in Generation Y, I understand half the crap they talk about. But nonetheless, I do have fun understanding or not understanding. It all depends on what the Hell they’re talking about.
The half I do understand is how Bee (Marla Bakalova), the working class woman from Eastern Europe, is in a romantic relationship with her rich friend Sophie (Amandla Stenberg), who invites her to the hurricane party at the mansion of her best friend David (Pete Davidson). The other party animals feature his girlfriend Emma (Chase Sui Wonders), the podcaster Alice (Rachel Sennott), her much older boyfriend (whom she found on Tinder) Greg (Lee Pace), the enigmatic Jordan (Myha’la Herrold). They all decide to play a murder mystery game called “Bodies Bodies Bodies.”
How does the game play?
It players being given papers, and if one of them has an “X” on it, he/she is the murderer. Before they play, two people slap each other in the face as hard as they can. Next, they have to turn out the lights, the murderer kills people by touching their back, and then, the victim has lay down on the ground. And finally, they have to shout “Bodies! Bodies! Bodies!.”
Seems all fun and innocent.
But the night of terror becomes real as one of them has his/her throat slit. So, they now have real dead body, real blood, a murderer in the house, the murder weapon, and a lot of mistrust all around. I mean, who can you trust in a nightmare like this?
“Bodies Bodies Bodies” is released by A24, which knows how to release films about Generation Z, like “Waves” or “Eighth Grade.” This one, directed by Halina Reijn, represents them in their darkest hour, as they express themselves in fear and anger, even if some of their moments are a little impatient. I’d take that over the deaths of an Asian call girl and a black security guard and Cameron Diaz freaking out at the end of “Very Bad Things.” “Bodies Bodies Bodies” is miles ahead of that.
Among the actors in the movie that I liked (and there are only a few of them), Bakalova and Stenberg both have chemistry, Herrold explodes with intensity, Sennott has some giggles, and both Pace and Davidson have their moments of interest. You just have to see how everyone’s scenes pay off. It runs for 90 minutes, but they don’t rely on cliches to keep the plot rolling along, but rather, they rely on patience and fears.
I’m also glad that the movie doesn’t make these rich kids jerks that I mostly see in movies, but rather people of different worlds with different aspects. In fact, I did mention that Bee is a working class woman. I know there’s an independent movie coming out this fall called “Triangle of Sadness,” which features rich people suffering from sea sickness on a cruise, and I’ve heard some pretty shocking things about it ever since it premiered at the Cannes Film Festival. I’ll have to see it for myself.
In the meantime, “Bodies Bodies Bodies” is a bloody good time that’s high as kite, dumb as a rock, dead as a doornail, and just plain funny. And the ending makes complete sense.
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