a review of 歇菜
Bodied is a wide-reaching satire that "bodies" everyone from the overly P.C. crowd who thinks the best way to avoid being racist is to study, discuss, and classify all the different types of racism, rather than just not being racist, to corny wannabe gangsters. It's primary target though is the kind of people who say awful things while trying to hide behind statements like "it was just a joke." Because, yes, anything is fair game in comedy. However, that doesn't make what you said any less crappy or wrong. The movie even savages its own subject, that being rap battles. It really revels in how absurd the entire scene is as the characters get involved with a bunch of weirdos and become mixed up in a variety of ridiculous scenarios. It makes for a hilarious watch complete with some legitimately exciting lyrical duels. Calum Worthy turns in a really great performance that sees him rising above his Disney star roots (a history cleverly referenced in subtle ways multiple times throughout the film). Honestly, is there's one problem with any of this it's that it may actually try for too much. Bodied goes down so many different avenues for critique that it can be hard to pick out a message from it at all. I actually had to take a day to sit down and sift through everything in my head before I could write this review. I also noticed that many get too hung up on the language it uses, as opposed to what it is using those harsh words to communicate. It's hard to really fault it for complexity though. This is a deep and wildly entertaining experience that deals with potentially problematic themes in an intelligent and creative manner. Far beyond what I would have expected from a YouTube original.