Beerfest is the latest effort from that wacky comedy troop Broken Lizard (Super Troopers, Club Dread). What can I say? These guys aren't for everybody, but personally –they make me laugh with their zany energy and frat boy antics. For those so adamant upon blasting the film for being juvenile – what the hell do you want? The movie's called Beerfest? In that regard, I sort of liken this experience to Snakes on a Plane. The title says it all.

Not surprisingly, Beerfest is thin on plot. It's the story of two brothers, Todd and Jan, who travel to Germany to take part in Oktoberfest. While there, they become privy to an ancient, underground beer chugging competition that could be best described as Fight Club Light. After the brothers are all but embarrassed in a chugging competition, they return to the states in order to round up their old school buddies and put together a beer-guzzling squad worthy of representing our glorious nation. It's time for the German's dominance of the event to end.

Again, Beerfest is pretty much everything you'd expect from a movie called Beerfest. It's a film made by party guys for party guys, and while I wouldn't necessarily call myself a party guy through and through (I did however, have a couple before taking in this screening – it had been a rough week and I was ready for a good diversion). Beerfest delivered in a consistently funny and irreverent way. Beerfest is without question a pretty hard "R" comedy and features, among other things, a man masturbating a frog, veteran actress Cloris Leachman fondling a hot dog, and plenty of bare breasted woman. Oh, did I mention the film features gallons upon gallons of beer? I don't suppose I needed to.

What I really love about Broken Lizard (comprised of funny-men Jay Chandrasekhar, Kevin Heffernan, Steve Lemme, Paul Soter, and Erik Stolhanske), is their team concept. All are given ample time to display their comic chops. Although I must confess, it's Jay Chandrasekhar (who also directed the film) who corners the yuk-market as "quarters" and "ping pong" prodigy "Barry." When Todd and Jan re-connect with Barry in the ghetto, he's nothing but a washed up, former-life-of-the-party living in the streets, but when he's brought back to the beer-chugging lime light, he quickly regains his masterful form.

Highlights include a laugh out loud sequence in which Barry, in a drunken stupor, makes the moves on "who he perceives to be a drop dead gorgeous woman of super model proportions." Of course the world seen through the eyes of a drunken Barry is not the same world that his far-less-intoxicated teammates percieve. Lets just say that when Barry wakes up the next morning, things are not what they appeared to be the night before. I also got a kick out of a scene that showcases what a truly exceptional quarters player Barry really is (unfortunately, he only excels at the party sport when he's completely blitzed).

While Beerfest is clearly Broken Lizard's show, there are some other really funny supporting players including SNL's Will Forte and Jurgen Prochnow who has no problem parodying his breakthrough movie Das Boot from over twenty years ago. Speaking of parody, Broken Lizard finds plenty of time to poke fun at everything from Rocky, to Fight Club, to the collected works of irony pumper Arnold Schwarzenegger.

If I may knock Beerfest, I should say that it certainly isn't a laugh per second affair and at nearly two hours, it's far too long for a comedy of this nature (the film should have been ninety minutes, tops). Not all the gags work (quite frankly, I found the Cloris Leachman stuff a bit disturbing) and I could have done without the obvious sequel ready ending (one that Potheads will surely embrace). Still, there's plenty here to laugh at, particularly if you're into this goofy frat boy stuff. Animal House it ain't, but at least it's erased Jay Chandrasekhar's take on Dukes of Hazzard from my memory. This is a return to form from the guys who brought us Super Troopers and Club Dread. If you like those movies, chances are you'll catch a buzz at Beerfest. Cheers!