The Machine Review

World famous stand-up comedian Bert Kreischer became a world-famous stand-up comedian with one simple story he would close out his shows with. “The Machine” story.

It was about how he robbed a train with the Russian mafia when he was in his early 20s in college. It’s a story that he seems to have tried to shed, but never did, instead he fully embraces the persona.

It explains why he wrote an entire film about the subject. Even after non-fans of stand-up comedy know the story. It became a knowing joke in the early days of 2 Bears 1 Cave. A podcast hosted by Bert and his comedian friend Tom Segura.

The film is embellished, taking a spin on his story. What if someone he stole from had major ramifications and those consequences catch up to him after he becomes world famous?

Bert plays himself and Mark Hamill plays his father. Both are kidnapped to find a watch he stole from a passenger on the train nearly 30 years ago. Along the way, hijinks ensue.

I am a fan of Bert’s stand-up and was excited about this movie. I use to listen to 2 Bears 1 Cave on a weekly basis and enjoyed the weekly banter of two close comedic friends.

However, Bert is that person or friend who is great in small doses but wears out their welcome quickly. This is exactly what happened in this movie as well. Weekly 90-minute sessions with Bert can be draining.

at 112 minutes this film is 20 minutes longer than it really needs to be. Exacerbated by the fact that all of the funny scenes are in the trailer. Serving the appetizers for dinner rather than the entree.

It’s surprising to have a film written by a comedian be unfunny. But many of the jokes land with a giant thud as no one is laughing. There are a few that do land, but as stated before, we saw them in the trailer.

There is one good joke which I will not spoil, but it is delivered by one of the only good things from this film actress Iva Babic, who plays Irina. A true revelation if there ever was one.

She’s mostly been in foreign productions in several languages. She is originally from Croatia, and this is definitely her major breakout, at least for American audiences.

She can do action and comedy in equal measure. I can’t wait to see what she does next because she is the one bright spot in this film.

Overall I’d say this was a disappointment. I expected it to be funnier, mix that with an overlong runtime and this film becomes a slog.