🎬 Hilarious Friendship Misadventures
Jake Szymanski directed The Package, a 2018 Netflix film. It is an outrageous comedy set in high school that attempts to balance a blend of crude jokes and sentimental moments. Stiller and the Workaholics creative team collaborated to make this movie, which drops the viewers into situations full of mindless bonding and chaotic yet funny experiences.
✨ CAST & CHARACTERS – A Band of Unlikely Heroes
⭐ Daniel Doheny as Sean Floyd
As the neurotic and caring protagonist, he balances saving his best friend’s… uh, appendage and fighting off his feelings for Becky.
⭐ Geraldine Viswanathan as Becky Abelar
Becky is Sean’s crush, who happens to be his best friend Jeremy’s twin sister. Her cunning nature is essential when the group gets in over their heads.
⭐ Sadie Calvano as Sarah
Calvano stars as Becky’s ex-girlfriend best friend who is an unapologetic harsh feminist. Her sarcastic and calm demeanor often balances the group’s ludicrous plans.
⭐ Luke Spencer Roberts as Donnie
The group’s wild card. He is immature and impetuous, but loyal to a fault.
⭐ Eduardo Franco as Jeremy Abelar
The easygoing guy with a goofy demeanor ends up as the catalyst for the chaos with his drunken blunder. He is the true heart of the group with his warm charm.
📝 THE STORY – Saving the Package at All Costs
Five teenagers are looking forward to a week of relaxing, partying, and adventuring during their spring break. Their plans take a hilariously terrifying turn when Jeremy, after a night of revelry and alcohol, decides to slice his pocket knife on something that isn’t his finger, and ends up chopping off his penis. With his friends carted off to the hospital via helicopter, his penis hilariously detaches and is accidentally placed in the wrong cooler.
The remaining four friends must embark on a critical and progressively absurd mission to get the severed cock to the hospital before the reattachment prosthetic surgery. The journey is filled with angry locals, venomous snakes, inappropriate fist fights, romantic revelations, drone-wielding children, and doomed detours that become so ridiculous they required a touching story about loyalty, frenzied devotion, and the goofy bounds of friendship.
Their absurd journey ultimately transforms into an unexpectedly touching story about loyalty, friendship, the strangeness of modern relationships, and maturing all within the time limit of keeping Jeremy’s most valued possession alive and intact.
🎭 THEMES – Navigating Adolescence Through Absurdity
Friendship and Loyalty: At its core, the film showcases the strikingly absurd lengths friends are willing to go for one another to preserve lifelong friendships.
Coming-of-Age Amid Chaos: Two of the characters manage to take countless misadventures, overcoming achingly familiar fears and confronting the feelings that come with being a little closer to adulthood.
Absurdist and Raunchy Humor: They don’t shy away from outrageous premises and leverages shockfactor and physical comedy to skillfully elicit laughter.
Teen Romance and Growth: Alongside the pandemonium, emerging insecurities and deepening romance serve to add some charm.
🎬 PRODUCTION DETAILS
- Director: Jake Szymanski
- Writers: Kevin Burrows, Matt Mider
- Producers: Ben Stiller, Nicky Weinstock, Blake Anderson, Adam Devine, Anders Holm, Kyle Newacheck, Ross Dinerstein
- Music: Adam Schiff
- Cinematography: Hillary Spera
- Editing: Christian Hoffman
- Production Companies: Red Hour Productions, Campfire, Mail Order Company
- Distributor: Netlix
- Run Time: 94 minutes
- Language: English
- Release Date: August 10, 2018
🌍 RECEPTION – A Mixed Bag of Laughs and Groans
The Package was both praised and condemned by critics and audiences alike. Some appreciated the chemistry of the young cast, along with the willingness to dive headfirst into absurd scenarios, but others felt that the character development suffered due to the focal point being placed on crude humor.
The film receives mixed reviews, but garners a niche audience for visceral teen-comedies. Many viewers highlight mong the chaos that is the film, the performance put on by Geraldine Viswanathan, which is appreciated regardless of the direction taken by the reviewers.
🧨 FINAL VERDICT
In The Package a gleefully immature romp, overflowing with friendship and poor choices that evoke a constant stream of laughter. The film accomplishes exactly what it sets out to be: loud, raunchy, and unexpectedly wholesome. Those who adore outrageous coming-of-age films such as Superbad and American Pie will thoroughly enjoy this comedically chaotic journey.