🎬 From Coma to Chaos: An Outrageous Journey of Road Trip Romance, Lust, and Playboy Fantasies
Miss March’s co leads were both a part of the irreverent comedy troupe The Whitest Kids U’ Know, Cregger and Trevor give life to their first feature film, that is a raucous sex comedy. The movie gleefully offends, stumbles, and occasionally charms its way through the disorienting adventure of friendship, missed opportunities and a mess of juvenile mayhem. Like all of the movies Cregger and Moore have worked on together this film incorporates slapstick absurdity and sketch-style irreverence. The film pays tribute to the raunchy comedies of the 2000s, but this time- with a Playboy spin.
✨ CAST & CHARACTERS – From The Mansion to Abstinence
⭐ Zach Cregger as Eugene Bell
Eugene, unlike other teens, has spent years in an abstinence club with his girlfriend. While he might seem shy and socially inept, Cregger breathes life to a character who awakens from a four-year coma only to discover that his highschool sweetheart is now a Playboy centerfold. With the whole world standing on its head, Eugene sets off to desperately try and win her over.
⭐ Trevor Moore as Tucker Cleigh
Tucker is Eugene’s boisterous, crude, and fiercely loyal friend who is nothing like Eugene. Unlike Eugene, he is a sex-crazed, unpredictable, and absurdly self-confident individual. It is his outlandish plans that get the duo into escalating chaos as they race across the country.
⭐ Raquel Alessi as Cindi Whitehall
Eugene’s girlfriend who got swept into his abstinence club has now transformed into a glamorous Playboy Playmate. This transformation is the driving mystery behind the plot, and the object of Eugene’s bewildered devotion.
⭐ Molly Stanton as Candace
A character who can be described easily as a ‘Jealous girlfriend’ to Tucker, but her extreme jealousy and unexpected epileptic episodes alter that perception. She is just as explosive and hilarious, doubling as a chaotic sidekick and plot disruptor.
⭐ Craig Robinson as Horsedick.MPEG
Eugene and Tucker’s classmate-turned-famous rapper, who takes absurdity to a whole new level with his outrageous stage name. He adds humor during the film’s most bizarre moments, and becomes an unexpected aid during their Playboy quest.
⭐ Hugh Hefner as Himself
The late founder of Playboy makes a brief appearance in the movie but adds in some wisdom and surprise sentimentality, grounding the film in its absurd destination.
📝 THE STORY – A Playboy Pilgrimage Full of Pit Stops and Pandemonium
Bell prepared everything in advance. He and his loving girlfriend Cindi had promised each other to wait till marriage to have sex. This is until prom night. As Cindi is ready to make the jump Eugene panics, freak accident occurs, and he goes into a coma, and stays there for four years.
When he wakes up, world has moved on. Cindi is not the same girl he remembers, she is now Miss March, centerfold in Playboy magazine. Eugene is heartbroken and captivated but coerced by friend over-the-top friend Tucker. Distraught from heartbreak, his friend takes Eugene on a cross country road trip to ‘crash a party at the playboy mansion’ to get over his ex-girlfriend.
What follows is bound to be a misadventures collection: high speed chases bizarre rappers, epileptic siezures, jealous exes with flamethrowers, russian lesbians, angry firemen, and thousands of hurdles that will test Eugene’s patience and Tucker’s sanity. Now Eugene has to determine what type of man he wants to be and if his old love is truly worth fighting for when everything around him has changed.
🎭 THEMES – Satire, Stupidity, and Surprisingly Sweet Friendship
Virginity and Sexual Maturity: The film uses the traditional teen comedy stereotype of reserving one’s passion until marriage and takes aim at the collective extremes of both abstinence and promiscuity.
Friendship Through the Absurd: Beneath the madness is a good old-fashioned buddy comedy about two very different best friends who, no matter what, have each other’s backs…even when things are left in total chaos.
Identity in a Changed World: Eugene’s coma is a way to escape his fear of being left behind—his waking up into a culture he knows nothing about brings a new meaning to the world.
Pop Culture and Playboy Mythology: The film both mocks the glitz and glam of Playboy, while embracing it as yet another strange cultural phenomenon—also featuring a nostalgic bit part by Hef.
🎬 PRODUCTION DETAILS
- Directors: Zach Cregger and Trevor Moore
- Writers: Zach Cregger, Trevor Moore, Dennis Haggerty, Ryan Homchick
- Producers: Tom Jacobson, Steven J. Wolfe, Tobie Haggerty, Vincent Cirrincione
- Cinematography: Anthony B. Richmond
- Editing: Tim Mirkovich
- Music: Jeff Cardoni
- Production Companies: Fox Atomic, The Jacobson Company, Alta Loma Entertainment
- Budget: $6 million
- Box Office: $4.6 million
- Release Date: March 13, 2009
- Language: English
- Runtime: 90 minutes (94 minutes unrated)
🏅 RECEPTION
A story that defies classification as infamous while simultaneously fostering a narrative of inspired idiocy.
Critics shredded the film upon release, deeming it as immature, poorly written, and lacking in artistic taste. However, from the perspective of fans of sketch and absurdist comedy, the film earned a cult following for what was considered ‘quotes comedy’ and for its unapologetic stupidity. Even more, the politically incorrect attitude of the comedy led to downfall for others as it was incredibly refreshing during an age where comedies felt softer than ‘scented toilet paper.’
The film remains a topic of interest among fans of bold, extreme comedies regardless of its commercial failure.
🧨 FINAL VERDICT
Miss March certainly does not cater to the ministrations of delicate sensibilities. The satire laced with slapstick humor deftly round out the surreal elements masterfully found within. If there is a genre of film which deserves to be labeled a “road trip gone wrong,” Miss March fits the description perfectly.
If unhinged comedic illustrations tickle your fancy then Miss March may just whip out your inner judy. Looking for even more close buddy comedies or unrestrained cross-country journeys? Well look no further, I’ve prepared a list that captures these themes head on.