"That's my theory, anyway."
Humor has always been an evolving metric that parallels to one’s personality. What is funny to some is rarely amusing to all as we laugh, cry, and become innately disgusted at different points on the spectrum.
Enter Butt Boy, Tyler Cornack’s raunchy, unapologetically grotesque comedy that rides a single joke for over ninety minutes as it works to generate laughs, tears, and stares of disbelief.
Following Chip Gutchel, a bored and sluggish IT Engineer, Butt Boy navigates its way through rough terrain, taking an unusual (though likely very real) rectal kink and blowing it massively out of proportion. Before we realize it, Gutchel has lost all control of his desires. Much like a traditional addict, his obsession with the sensational feeling is overwhelming, putting him in the hot seat when a young child goes missing from the nearby park.
This punchline, in a nutshell, is the joke that Butt Boy spends its entirety examining. For some, the mere assumption that Gutchel is using his butt to make people disappear is humorous, hilarious even. To others, it’s weird, foolish, and downright senseless. To each, I would agree.
While the film works hard to take itself seriously, I have to assume that this is all part of Cornack’s more extensive play. The logistics of such a situation notwithstanding, Butt Boy is speaking to a particular audience who enjoy over-the-top antics and find humor in words like “fart” and “poop.” I’m grateful that I don’t fit into that demographic; however, I can’t diminish a film that understands its audience.
After a five year jump, we catch up with our anal enthusiast at an AA meeting where he is assigned to sponsor a newly sober detective. The tension, soft and mild, sporadically hits the right notes, but too often falls short of creating the desired cat and mouse effect. Combine that with the lack of any substantial understanding of why Gutchel does what he does, and we find ourselves with a small group of players that appear to never fully understand their place within the broader context of the film’s central story.
A floppy disk holds al the film’s truths; however, much like the characters themselves, the evolution of such random schematics is hardly fleshed out to the necessary degree. I must also note that we never get to witness the events that are stored on that floppy disk, though for some random reason, we do get an envisioning of Gutchel’s rectum, complete with a pair of fart jokes for the ultimate win.
Jokes aside, Butt Boy contains some significant plot holes. While a few will find peace with it all thanks to its dirty humor, others will be frustrated with its lack of structure and character development. I, for one, belong in the latter category.
*Due to the circumstances surrounding the COVID-19 virus, this film is available exclusively on most VOD platforms.
