Tim and Eric's Billion Dollar Movie

Cult comedy figures Tim Heidecker and Eric Wareheim of the US TV series ‘Tim and Eric Awesome Show, Great Job!’ have an alleged following – but it’s hard to believe they’ll pick up more fans on the back of this terrible spin-off. The initial idea is okay, as Hollywood spoofs go: Tim and Eric are given a billion dollars to make a movie and they squander it with outrageous purchases. But the rest of the story, in which the pair take over a derelict mall and try to reverse its fortunes, is shockingly awful. No doubt the intent is to shock with gags about recycled toilet paper, feverishly ill vagrants and treatments that involve being bathed in excrement, but to what end? The jokes are overplayed with relish by the writer-director-stars but you get the feeling they’ll be the only ones laughing, and that includes the mystifying appearances from respected comedy actors Will Ferrell, John C Reilly and even the slightly newer-on-the-block Zach Galifianakis, who looks like an old pro next to these guys. Various articles describe Tim and Eric’s style as ‘avant garde’ but we remain unconvinced.