All Rise...

Judge Roman Martel believes stupidity is in the eye of the beholder, and boy did he behold some stupidity.

The Charge

Beer, babes, and ball—football!

Opening Statement

Sometimes you see something in a movie or television series you've never seen before. Often times this can be innovative and exciting. Sometimes its horrifying and wrong. In special cases, its unbelievably dumb. That is why you've never seen it before—because no one was dumb enough to put it on film…until now.

Facts of the Case

Our freshman heroes Alex Moran (Darin Brooks, Days of Our Lives), Craig Shilo (Sam Jones III, Smallville) and Sammy Cacciatore (Chris Romano, The Sarah Silverman Program) arrive at Blue Mountain State University with different goals. Alex and Craig are going to play football, score some chicks, and drink lots of booze. Sammy is going to be the team mascot, score some chicks, drink lots of booze, and behave like a lunatic.

Our daring trio faces many obstacles to enjoying the full college experience. First, there is the over-zealous and possibly homicidal football team captain Thad Castle (Alan Ritchson, Fired Up) who makes it his mission to torment Alex. Then there's Denise (Gabrielle Dennis, Bring It On: Fight to the Finish), Craig's control freak girlfriend who goes out of her way to keep her man on a short leash. Then there's the typical stuff: parties, sex, venereal diseases, and vomiting. Yes friends, 13 episodes of a college experience like no other, unless you've seen those Van Wilder movies.

The Evidence

You can look at this series in three distinct ways:

As the Intended Audience
Blue Mountain State is hilarious. Its just what college should be: the babes, the parties, and the crazy stuff your friends do. Man, it's perfect. All the babes are hot, hot, HOT! And all they want to do is jump these guys, seriously! And the parties are amazing, I mean just look at the insane strip club they go to. I swear, I need to go to BMS! You know…if it was real. And it is SOOOOOO funny. This show just goes that extra step, man. Like you say, no way are they going to show a steaming pile of crap on the coffee table—but they totally show it! And then the guy has to pull his promise ring out of it and put it on! Oh man, I was gagging and laughing at the same time and spilled my beer all over. Great show! Best show ever on Spike TV! I'm telling you this is AMAZING—watch it NOW!

As the Comic Theory Analyst
At first ,you think this is just another stupid show on Spike that objectifies women and offers nothing more than sophomoric humor. But then, you see something very interesting—it was filmed in Canada. Not just regular old Canada, mind you, but in Quebec. We see the truth behind this show. It is a brilliant parody of American life. Now, you're saying, the cast and writers—they are all American. But do we know that for sure? Do we know that the man known only as "Romanski" isn't really a native of Montreal? The truth is obvious, this is a brilliant satire of what American males want college life to be. It appears to be nothing more than a series of drugs, alcohol, hazing, and mostly naked women, starring characters so stupid you can't help but feel superior. But the real comedy comes from the fact that you, the viewer, think it's funny. You laugh at the thought of a man putting a used condom in his mouth. You laugh at the idea of a girl with no arms desiring arms created from used beer cans. You laugh at the image of a man with an sandwich cookie crammed up his rear end. You laugh, and enjoy. And you know what? All our friends in Quebec are laughing too. They are laughing at you, laughing at the idiot that IS you on the screen! Brilliant.

As a Viewer Who Enjoys Comedies with Good Writing
The series really tries to push the boundaries of what you can show on TV. The goal is to be raunchy as possible without getting busted. You know, like a 12-year-old seeing just how bad he can swear before his parents get mad. You know what? Raunchy can be funny, but you need a balance; just a little bit of brains to make it all worthwhile. This is where Blue Mountain State falls down. Its dumb, seriously dumb. All the characters are idiots, slacker,s and madmen. Sometimes one appears to be doing something almost competent, but it turns into a joke about bodily functions. There isn't a brain to be seen on the screen and, after 13 episodes, I felt dumber for watching.

There's also a real misogynistic streak here. Women are sex objects and that's about it. Most of them are dumb, and the smarter ones still just want to have sex. Yes, these women are all attractive, but not a real character to be seen. They even turn an old woman (played by Cloris Leachman, who I hope got paid well) into a sex addict. Really guys? Horny old lady jokes?!

Then there is the loathsome character of Sammy, that kinda crazy friend who does dumb things. Only Sammy is more like a sociopath with severe daddy issues. This guy does things for his friends, because—bros before hos! That is his only redeeming quality. The rest of the time he's killing animals, going after underage girls, relieving himself on furniture, and giving a poor (but admittedly bitchy) girl syphilis. Look, I know it's a dumb comedy and I should relax. But this guy is mean spirited and just plain unfunny. Any coincidence that he dresses as the mascot—a goat? See, he's a man-goat! Like Torgo from Manos: The Hands of Fate!

On Blu-ray, Blue Mountain State looks really good. You can see the cheerleader's pom-poms as well as the projectile vomit in startling 1080p clarity. The DTS-HD 5.1 Master Audio is solid, providing some bass for the opening credit theme as well as the music during the parties. The extras give you deleted scenes and outtakes, which are about as funny as the rest of the show. There is a montage of footage from the whole season with a picture-in picture-commentary by most of the main cast and writers. These guys have fun with it, giving you a little information, and joking around most of the time. The final extra—"Making the Squad:The Cheerleaders of BMS"—is a bizarre piece. It's basically the character of Sammy interviewing his sister and showing clips from Season Two. Yes, they made another season. The Master will be pleased.

The Rebuttal Witnesses

What is obvious from the commentary is that the creators knew exactly what kind of comedy they wanted to make: low brow and misogynistic. They didn't have anything loftier in mind, and they met their goal. This will appeal to a lot of guys who enjoy watching Spike. I'm just not one of those guys. Still, I can appreciate someone meeting their goals. The show wasn't supposed to be realistic; it's all fantasy. That's why it's about football players, but we don't actually see any games. That's not as much fun as watching parties and crazy shenanigans. Also, you get less naked chicks, if you only focus on football games.

All the actors and actresses are really into their parts. They all do a solid job with the lines and characters. Comic timing is handled well. These guys were willing to do a lot to make you laugh. But Alan Ritchson steals the show. His character, Thad, is a hulking, raging, dumb, frustrated guy. Ritchson nails it, making the guy even funnier as the season progresses. I actually looked forward to Thad's scenes, because he was so over-the-top and insane (but not in the creepy Sammy way). You have to hear his awesome junior high girl scream of terror. He uses it in a few episodes and it was hilarious. Check out the final minutes of the episode "Ransom" just to see the moment that parodies The Silence of the Lambs and climaxes in his shrieks of fright. Alan, this brew's for you!

Closing Statement

Some people are going to find Blue Mountain State hilarious stuff, but I enjoy some wit with my raunch. Something like this just feels like a waste of a talented cast.

The Verdict

Guilty of thinking that giving a girl a venereal disease out of spite is comic gold.

Give us your feedback!

Did we give Blue Mountain State: Season One (Blu-Ray) a fair trial? yes / no

What's "fair"? Whether positive or negative, our reviews should be unbiased, informative, and critique the material on its own merits.

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