Okay, so, wow. How exactly does one go about reviewing a movie like Tim & Eric’s Billion Dollar Movie? It’s certainly not an easy feat, if only because such a film is, in its nature, pretty damn alienating. I feel really bad for everybody who decides to go see this film on a whim. It will not end well. In fact, those people will probably walk out of the movie. But for those who understand Tim & Eric‘s humor, the movie is perfect fan-service, and, if one is open-minded enough, a great introduction to their work.

See, I’m pretty much an outsider to Tim & Eric‘s work—I’ve seen an episode and a half of their show, along with some of the more memorable clips here and there (for those of you who don’t know, these are the strange gentlemen behind “Spaghett!” and Dr. Steve Brule, also known as the “sweet berry wine!” guy—look it up, it’s great). So, going into the film, I knew it was going to be weird, and off-putting, but that it would probably be pretty funny. And honestly? It was. It was really flippin’ funny. I definitely want to see more of their stuff, and I can, in good conscience, recommend the movie to non-fans. It’s fun.

I’m not sure how to analyze it, though. It doesn’t exactly lend itself to the classic analytical form in any way. Everything that you would criticize a regular movie for, you reward T&EBDM for. It’s just…that’s the point. It goes against convention. It uses really crappy sets, lo-fi equipment, a barely-palatable storyline, and truly disturbing characters in order to destroy convention, and in that way, it utterly succeeds. The “Billion Dollar Movie” in question is actually just the first 3 minutes of the film, which Tim & Eric were supposedly given a billion dollars to film. It involves a really cliché first-person, narrated walking intro, a Johnny Depp impersonator, and preposterous amounts of diamonds. In other words, they’re in perfect, ridiculous form. The motion picture executives at the Schlaang Corporation naturally don’t approve of the results, and tell them to make the billion dollars back, or else (something bad? Never really clarified).

In answer to their prayers, the duo sees a commercial featuring Damien Weebs (Will Ferrell), who is looking for a few good men to come run his mall in scenic S’wallow Valley, calling it a billion-dollar opportunity. Deciding to seize the opportunity, Tim & Eric form their own business, called Dobis PR, and literally run to S’wallow Valley Mall. And…well, it sort of descends into lunacy from there (as though it hadn’t already). There are a lot of narrative-related jokes, but more prevalent are the ridiculous, one-shot jokes that just make absolutely no sense whatsoever, the type that made them famous. Honestly, it’s sort of a clusterf**k of a movie, but it’s pretty damn enjoyable,

too.

Even though it does a lot of things right, there are a bunch of things wrong with it. Like the show the two write and direct, the film has a few jokes throughout that really miss the mark, and it can be really, really awkward for long stretches, although the payoff is usually worth it. There are parts that are quite literally physically revolting, and it’s not…easy to watch. But it does come through at the end, in ridiculous fashion. There are also some great cameos and bit parts: besides Ferrell‘s amazingness, John C. Reilly is disturbingly good as the depressingly-ill Taquito, and minor parts from Zach Galifianakis, Jeff Goldblum, Will Forte, and Ray Wise are all worth their weight in gold.

But most importantly, it’s weird. And it’s fun. And it’s disturbing. See it.