Lollilove

Title: Lollilove (2004)
Dir: Jenna Fischer
Rating: *** out of 5 stars



I bet you didn't know Pam Beesly has a sick sense of humor.

The Office's Jenna Fischer directed and co-wrote this mockumentary about a narcissistic married couple who set out to help homeless people by giving them lollipops with inspirational messages. Real-life couple Fischer and James Gunn (he directed Slither) play nasty versions of themselves in this Curb Your Enthusiasm-esque film. It was produced by Troma, which should give you some indication of the movie's political correctness, or lack thereof.

Made on a very small budget, this mockumentary follows the yuppie power-couple who wish to do their part for humanity (in reality, they want the attention). They decide that handing out inspirational "art" lollipops to the homeless would do the trick, but their messages meet with some skepticism, including a sombrero'd Mexican mascot who says, "No complain, hombre!" or Osama bin Awesome (you-know-who's much cooler brother) to discourage the homeless from blowing up planes (whoowaa??).

I loved watching James and Jenna play these clueless, selfish versions of themselves. James in particular plays an egomaniacal asshole and that alone is endlessly funny to me. Together, their misguided, politically-incorrect attempts at charity are pretty funny.

I only gave the movie 3 stars because it was not as funny as I'd hoped. Much of the film is improvised, which often shows. It's a bold effort, but it doesn't always pay off. And a small budget comes with the disadvantage of poor production value, but Lollilove is a worthy effort and certainly one of the best movies Troma has ever churned out. I really hope James and Jenna collaborate on another comedy some day. Their sick minds are too wonderful to be wasted.