Review: 'Bad Trip' a Sometimes-Awkward Hybrid

The art of pranking is a fine balance between well-intentioned buffoonery and mean-spirited callousness, and where you stand on the aisle of "Bad Trip" may simply depend on your tolerance for shenanigans themselves. Produced by Jeff Tremaine, of "Jackass" fame, "Bad Trip" stands in a similar ballpark to these predecessors but strictly dedicates itself to pulling off social stunts as opposed to physical ones. It's far more in the realm of "The Eric Andre Show," which makes sense as Andre is the film's lead and is directed by his long-time collaborator on the show, Kitao Sakurai.

In "The Eric Andre Show," an avant-garde Adult Swim program that lampoons the low-budget talk show format, its host often runs wild in the streets to gauge people's reactions to truly bizarre scenarios. In "Bad Trip," this practice is extended into a feature-length narrative that aims to A) follow the structure of a standard buddy comedy, and B) incorporate real-life pranks within its fiction.

Andre plays Chris, who works at a small-town smoothie shop and sets off on a journey to follow the woman of his dreams, Maria (Michaela Conlin), to New York despite barely knowing her (thankfully, the film doesn't shy away from digging into the archetypal misogyny and ridiculousness of this all-too-overused romantic plot). His buddy, aptly named Bud, is played by Lil Rel Howery, who accompanies Chris along for the road trip and all its hijinks. And close on their tail is Trina, Bud's sister and an escaped convict who attempts to track the two down for stealing her beloved car.

In terms of the pranks, what we have here is a warped, raunchy, limit-pushing extended episode of "What Would You Do?," the American television program that examines how ordinary people act when confronted with dilemmas that require them to either take action or mind their own business. Except the social experiments here take on the form of plunging unwilling participants into absurd situations, and how you react is up to you. There's plenty of cringe and laughs alike in "Bad Trip," but how you measure that mixture is directly correlated with your tolerance for second-hand embarrassment.

It's a fascinating hybrid that works on occasion and collapses periodically, but overall "Bad Trip" is strongest when normal people are shining their brightest. Some of the reactions here are truly golden, and it'd be a shame to ruin any of the film's many surprises. All I'll say is that "Bad Trip" made me miss people, strangers specifically, and that unique bond that a pair of unfamiliar people can share. You have to take this tenderness along with dick jokes and gags about bodily fluids, so be warned, but overall this prank-fest makes the most of its twisted premise and delivers laughs time and again.

"Bad Trip" streams on Netflix starting March 26.