Go West (2023) User Reviews

Won't be for everyone

[benjaminskylerhill · 6/10 · 22 July 2023]

As is the case with any feature film based upon and written by a sketch-comedy property, Go West is a mixed bag of material.

Some of the scenes really fell flat with repetitive "jokes" that were devoid of any sort of structure that could be construed as comedy.

But the infectious personalities of the cast and the blend of dry delivery and absurd style of humor really worked for me more often than it didn't. The film's finale also had plenty of cleverly-inserted payoffs to jokes that were set up earlier in the film.

These types of movies usually have a few bright spots amidst a total mess, but for me this had some really messy spots amidst a mostly admirable effort from a small studio.

Silly Afternoon with Friends

[jamielucky-82802 · 8/10 · 31 July 2023]

I went with a small group of friends to a matinee performance of Go West and there was a lot of laughter and engagement throughout the theater. It was fun to watch in a larger group in a theater setting.

I enjoyed many of the characters and skits, even if some of them were a bit over the top for me. Overall I thought the writing was fun, but sometimes too silly. I really enjoyed the performances of all of the actors. The sets and locations for filming were really well done. The film was very professional and well made.

I would recommend the movie for any family looking for a goofy afternoon.

Some hits, some misses

[elmocoloco · 6/10 · 26 July 2023]

I wanted to like this movie more than I ended up doing. I enjoyed many of the skits from the original "Studio C" cast, so perhaps I was expecting a bit more. There were things to like and laugh at, others not so much. The packed theater I saw the movie with seemed to get laughs mostly from the younger folks (tweens and teens), not so much from the adults.

Pros: Natalie Madsen and Stephen Meek are good in the lead roles/straight men amid all of the quirky characters. Sean Astin is funny and is good as the narrator. Jason Gray is still the funniest actor in this bunch. No bad language or lewd anything, apart from a veiled reference to a man being attacked in the crotch by a buffalo, resulting in his voice going up a few octaves.

Cons: I was a bit taken back by the puns and jokes about dysentery, polio, skin diseases, etc. Perhaps it's because I have eczema myself, or perhaps it's because I have ancestors who really suffered through these issues while making their way out west, and such ailments were not a joke to them. *Shrug* The cast tries a bit too hard to be Monty Python-esque, with the 10 of them playing multiple characters; it gets a bit confusing at times as to who is who. Sometimes quirky gets mistaken for funny, which is sometimes a downside to both older and new "Studio C" episodes. A few fart jokes.

Overall: good popcorn flick for a Tuesday $6 movie at the Megaplex. If you're a "Studio C" fan, you'll enjoy it. If you're not, I reckon you won't. 6/10.

Not all of the humor lands, but sometimes, the writers knock it out of the park.

[trinaboice · 7/10 · 1 September 2023]

IN A NUTSHELL: The story is about a crazy group of pioneers who braved the harsh elements and numerous mishaps to travel thousands of miles out west to find a place to call home.

The film was directed by Stephen Meek and Jeremy Warner. Writing credits go to Adam Berg, Whitney Call, and Mallory Everton.

The cast came from a group of college students at Brigham Young University who performed in a comedy troupe called Studio C. Since graduating, they're known as JK! Studios. I'm so happy for them and their success. Congratulations on making a feature film together! Their true-blue fans will definitely get a kick out of this campy flick.

THINGS I LIKED: The comedic cast includes Natalie Madsen, Whitney Call, Stephen Meek, Matthew Meese, Jason Gray, Mallory Everton, Jeremy Warner, James Perry, Stacey Harkey, Adam Berg, Ruth Clarke, Matt Moen, and many more. Almost all of them played more than one character, showcasing their versatile talents.

The title has previously been used in a Buster Keaton movie in 1925, then in another movie in 1940 with the Marx Brothers. The 1979 song by The Village People, which was later covered by the Petshop Boys in 1992, is featured in this movie.

I adore Sean Astin and loved him in The Lord of the Rings. (Best movie trilogy ever!) His character in that movie says, "Potatoes...boil 'em, mash 'em, stick 'em in your shoe." Loved it. We hear that same line used by one of the characters in this movie as a sweet nod to Sean Astin as the narrator. Nice touch.

There's a random musical number that's actually pretty funny.

The film was written by JK! Studios themselves, but there are also gems in the film when cast members improv'd many lines, enhancing the script. For example, the "I want to watch a man go over a waterfall..." moment in the campfire scene was delivered by Mallory Everton spontaneously.

Jeremy Warner acted in the film, co-directed the film, co-wrote the film, did most of the editing, and much of the special effects, as well as all of the musical score used in the film.

They filmed in Utah, mostly outdoors, from October 15 to Nov 11, 2022, to get the movie in the can before winter. The weather quickly turned frigid and began to snow halfway through their shoot. Luckily, it was in sequence, so most of the snow worked for them and they ended up with some perfectly snowy backgrounds on set as a result. While the snow was beautiful to look at, it made for very cold filming sessions throughout the production.

Stacey Harkey actually played in a couple of video ads for a dating app my son invented called Mutual.

THINGS I DIDN'T LIKE: Not all of the humor lands, but sometimes, the writers knock it out of the park.

I adore Mallory Everton, so I was disappointed that she didn't get to play more characters and show off her wide range.

TIPS FOR PARENTS: No profanity.

There is a LOT of potty humor and jokes in poor taste Lots of blood, snot, and talk of other bodily fluids.

Far better than I expected!

[williammay-2 · 8/10 · 9 August 2023]

When I first saw the ads and trailer for this movie (showing in Tucson) I wondered if I should go. But I decided it would be nice to see a NON-MARVEL film, since Marvels are all simply terrible now, and also to support a new film from independent film makers.

I am glad I went! This is a film that looks and IS far better than it's modest budget would indicate! The writing is excellent, incisive and hilarious. You will have to watch closely so you don't miss some of the humor, as it moves very briskly along. There are no slow spots in this film. The photography, the music, and the details of the scenes and wardrobes are all top class. It's kind of like "Monty Python and the Holy Grail Go Cowboy" As one woman who was watching it near me commented at the end: "Well, that was just totally cute, wasn't it?" I had to agree about that! This is a film without a message or agenda, just a fluffy movie of pioneer humor, that works from the beginning to the end. They also take the "mystical advice from beyond the grave" that is taken so seriously in everything from Star Wars to Spiderman, and give it a far more funny twist that is probably more accurate, too, if such phantom advice even exists.

It was an enjoyable afternoon!

My honest take...

[Dr-He-Who-Remains · 6/10 · 5 October 2023]

I love the "old Studio C" cast, or JK studios as they are now called. I started watching their content back in 2014, and have been a big fan ever since. From old YouTube videos of Divine Comedy, to Studio C, and finally JK Studios, I have enjoyed their creative talent, friendship, and passion for brightening people's lives with their humor. I was very excited when I heard they were making a movie.

Now I have to be honest with you, I did not enjoy the film as much as I wanted to. I thought the humor was okay, and good at times, but not great. I thought Matt's characters failed to capture the range he has. I would have also liked to see more from Adam, who was hardly in this movie.

It felt like multiple sketches loosely woven together. The overall plot or story just didn't hold that much tension (if that's the right word). It had some good sketches (although not all were great) but lacked overall cohesion besides having reoccurring characters. The attempt was there, but it just was missing something.

The humor was good (sometimes a bit on the gross side) but I think it lacked variety, or maybe they could have developed some stronger jokes that felt natural with the story/plot of the film. Not all of the jokes were bad, but they averaged on ok to good, when I was hoping for more.

If you guys are reading this, I hope you don't take this personally. I don't want to discount the effort you put into this project. Even though I think this wasn't your best work, I sincerely hope you continue making movies, sketch comedy, T-Shirts, whatever, I'm here for it. You have made a great impact in so many people's lives, including mine. I am so grateful that you put yourselves out there again and again. Looking forward to your next big project.

Can't pick an audience

[emp_88 · 1/10 · 21 August 2023]

This movie drags and the editing is inconsistent. For example, they'll show one character who is very obviously in the rain, but when they cut to another person, they're bone dry. But when they show them together they've clearly been rained on. I want to believe this was a running gag, but when every joke is in your face and spelled out for you, I can only think otherwise. The sound mixing is awful and can't decide if it wants to be muffled or painfully loud.

The humor feels like thirty bad skits jumbled into one, with maybe two or three passable jokes. However, they follow the same formula almost every single time, and its predictability just leaves you annoyed. A few of these people are very talented actors, but they threw all of their talent out the window. Making funny faces and using funny voices does not a good joke make.

Every single man in this film is portrayed as weak, babyish, stupid, effeminate, or gross. And they make it clear that they think very little of men. The company captain literally sells his soul to the devil so he can get a pair of thigh-high stiletto boots. Adam plays a grown man who eats alphabet soup, talks like a baby, whines, cries, rides a rocking horse, and snuggles with a teddy bear. Whitney's entire character is solely dedicated to insulting men for being men under the guise of subverting feminine stereotypes. They make a comment about how white people can't wear sombreros or kimonos because of cultural appropriation. And the only "good" character is the main female protagonist, who is smart, brave, strong, and morally superior. They also like to make jokes at the expense of the bible and religious values, which I wouldn't have minded if those jokes were actually funny, and not just used for the purpose of turning faith into a joke in and of itself.

There's so much vomit, spit, snot, and farting. It's toddler humor, but there's a shocking amount of unnecessary blood. They pretend to be family friendly with cute little jokes and repetitive catch phrases, but then they toss in some of the most creepy and bizarrely mature things into the mix. For example, one of the men tells a woman to "keep it in her britches" when he thinks she's hot for someone. Matt is shown torturing the male protagonist with a hot iron, but then they make it all cutesy with farting and silly faces. There's a scene where Jason's character says his feet are sore, so he takes off his boot, and dumps a gallon of blood onto the ground for a solid minute. And even Jeremy plays a literal cannibal that wants to eat someone alive, and implies that he's already eaten a few others in the past, and attacks another character by trying to bite and consume his arm. It's not funny, it's disturbing, confusing, and borders on satanic.

Overall, the movie is egregiously boring, inconsistent, poorly acted, misandrist, unfunny, and obnoxious.

Hilarious movie!

[jkcrump12 · 9/10 · 24 July 2023]

I laughed almost non-stop throughout this movie. I've been a big fan of this cast since their Studio C beginnings and seeing them come up with this much material was amazing. I had tears in my eyes by the end of it.

Know that it is essentially a compilation of skits tied together in an overall story. This actually played out well since they were able to demonstrate a lot of random humor.

This is definitely not for small kids, not due to inappropriate content, but because they will most likely get bored. The humor is intended for older audiences.

A couple of scenes get a little slow, but overall this movie is a lot of fun!

Hilarious but not for everyone.

[AgentPhoenixxx · 7/10 · 8 April 2024]

Go West is an Indie Comedy about the Oregon trail. It's wacky, fun and always entertaining.

Don't go into this expecting a story and you'll get more out of it. The main characters have excellent delivery and lines though some of the side characters fall short. The actors play multiple roles, the most consistent actors are Whitney, Mallory, Steven, Natalie and Matt. A few segments just aren't funny and serve no purpose but these are short thanks to the fast pacing.

Despite its shortcomings the movie is hilarious most of its runtime and the rapid delivery assists when some jokes don't work. The cast is charming and clearly tons of love was poured into the movie.

We laughed once

[thethatcher · 1/10 · 10 August 2023]

The movie just wasn't funny, it was pathetic. The characters are all one dimensional with zero depth. I could tell that the writers were going for a 'Monty Python and the Quest for the Holy Grail' type of movie, but they failed at that. I didn't care about any of the characters and frankly wanted all of them to perish on the Oregon trail- a mercy I was not given unfortunately.

My wife and I legitimately only laughed once through the entire show. Nothing else was funny, and I didn't hear many other people laughing throughout the theater either.

I wanted this show to be good, but it was awful instead. Don't watch this movie unless you are okay being disappointed and throwing away good money and time.

Fantastic first movie from JK Studios and looking forward tontheir bright future.

[todd-05072 · 10/10 · 24 July 2023]

We laughed the whole time. The cast is endearing. So great to have a fun clean movie the whole family can enjoy. There were about dozen moments that we laugh out loud.

Honestly wish there were more movies like this as opposed to the Hollywood junk that just wants spew it's opinions on the audience or just made for gratuitous product marketing. I just want to go to movies to be entertained. Go West delivers on entertaining.

Looking forward to where this comedy group goes from here. There really isn't another Adam Sandler, Vaughn/Favreau, Will Ferrell type group in a while. Those troupes are getting old and there needs to be a fresh young group of funny folks. I think JK Studios is that troupe of the future.

Potty humor and camp skits

[mamabrox · 2/10 · 19 July 2023]

I was so excited to see this movie. After about ten minutes in my friend said its got to get better right? ( It didn't) I wanted to like it but poop jokes were non stop, snot jokes, coughing blood.

There is a woman who wishes she was a man. Another man who prances around in thigh high red sparkle boots. It watched like 8 bag skits from summer camp all clumped together. Very unprofessionally done. Even the weird running dude with bandaids on his nipples was just in horribly bad taste. The main character was a good actress, that may be its only redeeming quality. I was just super disappointed in what I thought would be a funny family-friendly movie. Dont go.

100% best comedy!

[milesjbradford · 10/10 · 20 July 2023]

There is no way to top this! It kept the laughs coming the whole time and I came away happy. Would totally watch again. What a great movie. Makes me want to grab a handcart and start running! The characters were all so creative and expressive that every line packed a punch. You could sit and spend an hour with any one of them, listening to their crazy stories. I hope a sequel comes out!

This movie's comedy really stands on its own legs. It doesn't attack anyone's culture or pick low-hanging fruit by striking inappropriate jokes. It creates a different world where you just feel free to laugh and have some fun with the story and the characters. The drama isn't unwieldy, and it's all perfectly seasoned with breaks for more laughs, then tied together at the end with a fun resolution.

How sad!

[christinavanrye · 1/10 · 24 July 2023]

I really like"Studio C." the sketch based TV show that has run for so long. This is the same cast. And writers. "Go West" is a crummy movie It reeks with poor taste. There is so much talk about bodily functions--I thought the soundtrack would be a foul odor, oozing from the screen.

Charmin Toilet Paper commercials are never this gross!!

It is advertised as a picture "the whole family can enjoy." If all of your family is potty trained, they will not be amused.

The protagonist is a good actor. She cannot save this movie.

For your dollar, you would be better off Going East than squandering your evening on "Go West."

Funniest movie since The Hangover

[dereker-16821 · 10/10 · 19 July 2023]

I wasn't sure what to expect when I received advance screening tickets to this movie, but I was delightfully surprised at how many laughs were packed into just 90 minutes of screen time. I was laughing so hard in several places I was crying!

I was especially impressed with the way they focused on being historically accurate. I actually felt at times like I had been transported into the old west!

You could tell there was a tremendous effort put into the lighting and sound mixing. It was very impressive.

On a final note, the narration by Frodo himself was outstanding! Highly recommend this movie!

Kind of funny but too many flaws

[Tork_D · 5/10 · 22 April 2024]

Some funny stuff, but jokes about bodily functions play way too much of a role in the move (usually bowel movements and farting).

It was kind of a feminist movie (i.e., it likes to man-bash and cry about the oppression of women).

It's basically a compilation of skits thrown together to form a story, and, while some are humorous, many of the skits lack a solid punchline (they just kind of just fizzle out).

Lastly, I am not sure what is included in the content advisory for this film, but there are some aspects of this movie that some audience members will not appreciate. Specifically, the film treats making a deal with the devil as a silly, no-big-deal sort of thing; there is a surprising amount of blood (especially in the blood coughs); and there is a torture scene (that is played for fun but does involve real torture methods).

Hilarious! I couldn't breathe I was laughing so hard.

[gabrielniculescu · 10/10 · 29 July 2023]

SO glad my kids insisted we go see this in the theaters. We had such a fun time and were all laughing hysterically. There were a few times I couldn't breathe I was laughing so hard and had to close my eyes, cover my ears so the jokes could stop and I could regain composure :-) A Must See for any Studio C fan.

SO glad my kids insisted we go see this in the theaters. We had such a fun time and were all laughing hysterically. There were a few times I couldn't breathe I was laughing so hard and had to close my eyes, cover my ears so the jokes could stop and I could regain composure :-) A Must See for any Studio C fan.

So so bad.

[albeebry · 1/10 · 9 March 2024]

Well, this movie was like a bad magic trick - my teenage son promised a great show with the old Studio C cast, but all I got was the disappearing act of humor, leaving me stuck in a never-ending loop of disappointment. I made my son endure the entire 'Go West' debacle like he was serving time in the comedy penitentiary - a punishment worse than making a kid smoke a whole pack for getting caught with a single cigarette. It was a lesson in cinematic perseverance, or perhaps more like a cruel joke only a dad could appreciate.

If Studio C stuck with the Harry Potter skits, we'd be spellbound by laughter instead of enduring 'Go West.' Those were the comedic horcruxes, and Scott Sterling was the golden snitch of hilarity - the rest of their sketches were like attempting to catch a gnome with oven mitts.

Everyone loved this movie!

[jeraconfidental · 10/10 · 23 August 2023]

This movie was genuinely funny! It was enjoyable for the 7 year old and smart /clever and funny enough for everyone all the way up to 70 years old! This movie does what very few movies can do, but so many movies try to do, it appeals to all! It was not a kids movie, but funny to kids, it isnt an adult movie filled with adult humor, but it is funny to adults! It's not geared to teenagers but the teenagers loved it! (And they hate everything!) just a great movie, funny premise, great characters. We will definitely be seeing this movie again and again. There are so few movies our whole family actually enjoys all together and this is probably the best! Well done guys! We hope more movies like this are on the way!

Delightful, light-hearted fun

[itzamizza · 10/10 · 23 August 2023]

Can't capture in words how purely delightful this film was. Watching it with our young boys was so much fun, and our audience seemed to have a great time with it as well. There were plenty of high AND low-brow jokes-so it felt like a little bit of everything for everyone, without getting overly gross or relying on shock value for every joke. The cast is clearly very talented as both writers and actors, and there's a very lovely camaraderie there that is hard to duplicate. Feels like magic to watch. You can tell that they had a lot of fun together and wanted the audience to have a lot of fun as well. A Monty Python take on the Oregon Trail (small budget, multiple casting, variety of material and comedic styles) feels like a spot-on description!