A working comedy that’s committed to its job.
The poster for “Code 3” makes it look like a cheap, under the radar action comedy. But on the inside, it’s a funny and brutally honest movie about the life of a paramedic. Rainn Wilson (Dwight Shrute on “The Office”) plays a paramedic named Randy, who is at the end of his rope with his job. The people who may die, the crazy junkies who stab used needles in him, and just the whole money system. He knows the game inside and out, and apparently, not many people appreciate paramedics the way they would if they were doctors.
It’s the kind of movie where the main protagonist drops FUs towards everyone, who all look unfazed, as he’s breaking the fourth wall and no one notices that. “F the fakers,” “F the doctors,” “F the drunks at 2am who think they know the law,” he says. I would consider this a sign of freedom, and I didn’t think it was mean-spirited at all.
As the film begins, Randy, his partner Mike (Lil Rel Howery), and their new trainee Jessica (Aimee Carrero) are all on a 24 hour shift. Overworked and underpaid, they drive the van around, and taking reports on injured or sick people, and they’re always driving Dr. Serano (Rob Riggle) up the wall with their patients.
I spoke to the director and co-writer Christopher Leone and the writer Patrick Pianezza about “Code 3.” Pianezza used to be a paramedic for 12 years, and both he and his brother Paul “Pizza” Pianezza conceived the premise as a short film, which got extended into a feature film. I complemented their film for the way it goes for realism and uses the cursing in an honest sense. It’s about how anyone would react once they reach their breaking point.
I was thinking back to “Clerks,” which was also an independent comedy about a miserable guy in the work place. And yes, we also had “Office Space,” where the main character hates his job so much that he misses out on work. And in “Code 3,” Randy is so thrilled to be offered a new job that already has his letter of resignation all set towards his boss (Yvette Nicole Brown).
This movie is on a much smaller scale, but it’s also strong in how it resonates with realty. People are going to die in the ambulance, and the movie makes no joke about that. And people are going to be miserable with their jobs, but this film is not against the workers. It speaks for the overworked and underpaid individuals.
If “Code 3” looks more like an action comedy, then it would be flipping off “The Pickup,” which was about two armored truck drivers dealing with a young thief trying to settle a score with a system. In fact, I think if we switched things around, “Code 3” should be on Amazon Prime Video, while “The Pickup” should be released by Wayfarer. But we can’t switch them around, so all I can do is share my review on this movie.
Some of the jokes have to resort to vomiting, but others speak about the challenges of reality and how Wilson and Howery comment on them is really funny. And Carrero is also charming when she handles the wisecracks and vulnerabilities within her character and how she speaks with Wilson on them.
“Code 3” doesn’t curse to be funny; it curses to be honest. And it couldn’t be more honest about paramedics and their realities. And for those of you who don’t know what “Code 3” means, it’s signifies a high-priority emergency requiring immediate response with emergency lights and sirens.
In Select Theaters This Friday
