Stretch: An Eventual Cult Classic With a Confident Personality

Stretch will be an eventual cult classic. The film may have missed a theatrical release but it will garner a following via its bonkers plot, memorable performances and a scene involving death via Norman Reedus crossbow.

It is a low-budget film that has director Joe Carnahan’s (Narc, The Grey, A-Team, Smoking Aces) fingerprints all over it. In a Grantland article he had this to say about it:

Carnahan says he wanted Stretch to be a “market shifter” or “proof of concept” to convince studios it was possible to do a “Hangover-style comedy for one-tenth the price,” much as The Blair Witch Project had done for the horror genre.

The final result plays like a mixture of Holy Motors, Running Scared, Cosmopolis and The Hangover. Whatever can go wrong will go wrong and it is a blast to watch. Stretch has the one thing that will guarantee a devoted following. Much like Big Lebowski, Evil Dead and Boondock Saints the film has a personality that make its bumps and bruises endearing. It is weird yet self-assured. There is a method to the madness and wears its tiny budget like a badge of courage. It also features David Hasselhoff saying this:

I once forcibly sodomized a Vietcong colonel with a stick grenade because he placed an ancestral curse on me while I was interrogating him and I don’t even believe in ancestral curses but that’s how deep I roll.

Patrick Wilson continues his trend of popping up in quirky indies. He has a romantic comedy lead face yet shows off his eclecticism in movies like Barry Munday, Space Station 76, Insidious, Let’s Kill Ward’s Wife and Home Sweet Hell. He isn’t afraid to jump into strange films and his all in performance is subtle yet loud. The transformation his characters makes is endearing which makes the ending feel earned.

Carnahan brought back prior film alums and you can tell they love playing such outlandish roles. Ray Liotta (Narc), James Badge Dale (Grey) and Chris Pine (Aces) indulge in bad accents, beards and uber self-awareness. Chris Pine is the standout as he plays a cocaine addled madman billionaire named Roger Karos. Pine went full bonkers in Carnahan’s Smoking Aces and he does it once again in Stretch. He has foursomes, skydives and rocks a sweet beard. He springboards the movie into some weird territory and facilitates in some great exchanges.

The film revolves around a limo driver having a very bad day. He is broke and needs to pay off his gambling debts by midnight. He is still in a funk after being dumped by the love of his life played by the very likable Brooklyn Decker. He is close to being fired at his job where the only saving grace is the very very likable Jessica Alba. Stretch is constantly haunted by the ghost of former co-worker Karl (with a K) played by Ed Helms. Karl was the best limo driver in LA until he shot himself in the head during a routine drive. Now, the mustachioed Karl pops up during the worst moments reminding Stretch of what he could become.

.

Stretch is absolutely worth the watch and hopefully will develop an audience. The thing I appreciate most is its personality. It feels like a personal film and stands out from other paint by the numbers movies. It is confident in its debauchery and has something to say amidst and the blood, drugs and boobs.  Watch it and let me know what you think!