You ever get drunk, order a bunch of shit online, and be
totally surprised when it arrives? What do you do when the unwanted package
shows up on your doorstep? That’s what happens to sex-obsessed blue-collar BFFs
Edward (Ulrich Thomsen) and Ib (the perfectly named Nicolas Bro) in Danish
director Ole Bornedal’s black comedy Small Town Killers.
Only instead of a box of movies or a questionable clothing item like a
man-romper, they order a Russian hitman to kill their wives.
Small Town Killers slips easily into the
same family as fellow outrageous Danish comedies like Klown (another SIFF alum) and Men & Chicken. It gives absolutely zero fucks in its
pursuit of anti-PC laughs. That makes for occasional bouts of glorious
hilarity, especially as Edward and Ib bicker with their respective significant
others, Ingrid (Lene Maria Christensen) and Gritt (Mia Lyhne), or try to
contain the lush of an assassin they hire (Marcin Dorocinski). And no dainty
wallflowers content to be hunted, Ingrid and Gritt take matters into their own
hands with similarly hysterical results.
On the other hand, the script also falls too frequently back
on gay and trans panic jokes, and racist caricatures that are just lazy and
cheap instead of shocking or outrageous. It’s like Brendal, who also wrote the
script, knows it will get an easy rush of laughter from a crowd in a theater.
For every few I-can’t-believe-they-just-said-that moment, there’s at least one
that shrugs off.
With a romantic core lurking beneath the surface debauchery
and mayhem, Small Town Killers broadcasts it’s conclusion
well in advance. Still, the journey is off-the-wall enough to be worth taking.
The two duos have a strong chemistry—both together and separate—and with
raucous, morbid humor and a brisk, 90-minute runtime, while it’s ultimately
disposable, Small Town Killers is easily watchable. And
there’s an adorable pug, which always helps things out.
[Grade: B-]
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