“Yoga Hosers” (2016)
Running Time: 88 minutes
Director: Kevin Smith
Featuring: Lily-Rose Depp, Harley Quinn Smith, Johnny Depp, Jason Mewes, Genesis Rodriguez, Ralph Garman, Justin Long, Vanessa Paradis, Hayley Joel Osmont
Colleen McKenzie: “I’m not even supposed to be here today!”
If you are not willing to sit back and enjoy this farce for what it is or are not in on the joke you will probably wonder what you are watching and may even baffled by what’s going on – Be Warned!
This is latest film from writer/director Kevin Smith, he of Clerks (1993) fame and podcaster supreme with his own network – Smodcast – and many many fans who tune in to him or his friends wax lyrical on any number of subjects. Lately he has added TV director to he resume – you can watch his “Flash” episodes on television – these have been met with acclaim – it seems he may work better with other peoples material, although that may be a bit harsh.
“Yoga Hosers” follows on from last years “Walrus” (2015) which saw a man turn into a Walrus, yes you read that right. This film is also part two of a Canadian Horror Trilogy with the final part coming next year in the form of “Moose Jaws” (2017), a film about Jaws if it were a moose and of course set in Canada.
I really enjoyed “Walrus” for what it was and in particular the actors Smith is able to draw into his mad word, Johnny Depp among them. Depp gave a meandering performance but it was fun to see him in a low budget horror without pretension or ego, and was a worthy cameo to a film not taking itself too seriously.
With “Yoga Hosers” we see Depp return to a larger more cohesive role and once again is in his element – think his initial performance in the “Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl” (2003), lots of surprise and thought with a hint of anarchy.
The other two performances of note are Smith’s daughter Harley Quinn Smith and Depp’s daughter Lily-Rose Depp who play the two Colleens, Collette and McKenzie respectively as two shop clerks (sound familiar) who return from their own cameos in “Tusk” – a point we are reminded of throughout the first half of this film. Their performances are a bit rough in the initial parts of the movie but really come together in the end and they are both pretty unique and brave for wanting to take on roles that see them in almost every scene of the film – and it has to be said opposite some pretty amazing comics and actors as well as their own parents. I think they both come out of this very well and could go on to be in other movies if they want – even if they have famous fathers of varying degrees.
The movie itself plays as a bit of a mess and there are too many characters that could have either been cut out or at least cut down, or maybe highlighted them less the way they are through an app the Colleens use and tells us who each characters is – it does become annoying after a while but thankfully does stop after about twenty minutes. The story itself takes advantage of the Canadian culture to a dwegree that I think you may have to be Canadian to get all the references which does not help someone like me who while I feel I know a lot I am not an expert.
The way the anatagonists are introduced is a jarring and a little odd and whilst they were fun and gross they do not really come together the way they probably should. There is a reveal atowards the end and it is clumsily done but the final monster is really well realized and I could not help but feel that this should have been the main thrust of the entire film and it would have been overall a better experience.
If you are a diehard fan of Kevin Smith or you really liked “Walrus” then I recommend it but it is not as much fun. I am still looking forward to “Moose Jaws” and I hope this will redeem this trilogy.
If you enjoyed this try:
“Walrus” (2015)
“Clerks” (1993)
“Dogma” (1999)
“Yoga Hosers” (2016) “Yoga Hosers” (2016) Running Time: 88 minutes Director: Kevin Smith Featuring: Lily-Rose Depp, Harley Quinn Smith, Johnny Depp, Jason Mewes, Genesis Rodriguez, Ralph Garman, Justin Long, Vanessa Paradis, Hayley Joel Osmont…