The other night I was browsing the DVD selection at my usual video store when I noticed Immigrants (L.A. Dolce Vita). At first I just looked over the film, as it looked like a children’s flick at first glance.
Upon closer inspection though, I caught a line front and center, right above the title that stated;
A zany cartoon feature for EVERYONE who loves The Simpsons.
As soon as I read this, I knew I had to give the film a second look. Upon further investigation, I noticed that this was not your average low budget flick. The film featured Hank Azaria (The Simpsons, Futurama, Year One), and Dan Castellaneta (The Simpsons, That 70’s Show, Hey Arnold), and was directed by Gabor Csupo (The Simpsons, Rugrats). The fact that the cast have all been associated with The Simpsons had me hooked and ready to buy.
So I rushed home, popped Immigrants into the good ol’ Blu-ray player, cracked open an ice cold beer, ripped into a bag of chips and sat back for what I thought was going to be a very entertaining film. Boy was I wrong.
On the plus side, the film did have some entertaining moments. In the beginning of the film I found myself somewhat amused by the way the characters were portrayed. It pretty much hit every stereotype hit right on the head, which I found somewhat humorous. There is just something about a Russian chugging vodka, and trying to fit in, in California that put a smile on my face. I also found it humorous all of the different stereotypes thrown together in an apartment complex, interacting together, all searching for the American dream. The film even had the typical pissed-off land lady that hated all of her tenants, except for one (whom she likes WAY too much).
Immigrants - DVD Release
However, I was quick to realize that Immigrants was not going to be entertaining, and in fact was down right annoying. The film follows two immigrants that are trying to live the American dream (illegally) and start a new life. Of course many jokes are centered around race, and politics, which is to be expected. However, the film seemed more like a failed TV series than a movie. It honestly seemed like the creators were trying to pitch a new series with this flick. A series that wasn’t sure if it was going to be a cartoon for children, or an animated sitcom for adults. It was almost as if they took a failed pitch for a children’s cartoon, smooshed three episodes together, added large breasts to the female cast, threw in a few truck loads of vodka and called it a movie.
Immigrants played the same jokes over and over, beat character slogans to death, and was more than predictable. I was very let down by Immigrants and it saddens me that Castellaneta and Azaria would settle for such a product.
If you have seen the flick, what did you think?