Moondog is a fun-loving, pot-smoking, beer-drinking writer who lives life on his own terms in Florida. If he can put down the drugs for just one minute, he may finally be able to put his talent to good use and finish the next great American novel.
Is Matthew McConaughey in the Adam Sandler phase of his career? Meandering and lacking in direction, McConaughey's performance is simply a collection of his character enjoying sex, booze, and drugs to excess. Even though Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas has a similarly strong emphasis on drug use, it still managed to have a direction in its narrative; something that is poorly executed in The Beach Bum, to the point that the entire venture feels self-indulgent on the part of McConaughey.
McConaughey plays Moondog, this drug-addled writer that manages to be highly admired by the public despite spending the majority of his time having sex with anything that moves while putting as many drugs into his orifices as can fit. A free spirit that lives in the moment, Moondog is easily influenced and up for anything, succumbing to carnal desires at every opportunity. It can be an entertaining character to watch for a limited amount of time but to be the focal point of a feature-length film, our protagonist quickly becomes boorish, predictable, and rather unlikeable. There is a childish nature that some will find entertaining, but his irresponsible nature and general immaturity rub this writer the wrong way.
The premise is barely a component of the film. It features so lightly as it only comes into play during perhaps 10 minutes of the 96-minute runtime. The remainder of the runtime is devoted to completely disregarding anything that could be related to following the supposed narrative. A purposeful decision that represents the epitome of Moondog's personality, nevertheless, a perplexing choice for a film that leaves the audience with no discernible sense of progress or structure.
The Beach Bum contains a fair few cameo appearances and minor characters played by recognisable faces, from Isla Fisher and Snoop Dogg, to Jonah Hill, Martin Lawrence, Jimmy Buffet and Zac Efron. Most of which turned up for a short inconsequential sequence of hi-jinks and then disappearing never to be seen again. The standout performances come from these cameo performances. Snoop Dogg a.k.a. Snoop Doggy Dogg, a.k.a. Tha Doggfather, a.k.a Big Snoop Dogg, a.k.a. Niggarachi, a.k.a. Snoopzilla, a.k.a. Snoop Lion, a.k.a. DJ Snoopadelic, a.k.a. Uncle Snoop, a.k.a. Coach Snoop actually does a stellar performance in this comedic film, taking on a more serious and dramatic role. Isla Fisher is absolutely gorgeous and captures both the passionately in love and responsibly supportive role, with Fisher and Snoop together forming the most likeable duo in the film. Martin Lawrence is a delight with his over the top comedic performance that harks back to the days of Big Momma's House.
Despite an unsubstantial storyline, the cinematography is visually eye-catching, with some splendid locations, and highly saturated colour grading, so the look of the film is terrific. It fails to make up for the deficit of enjoyment left by an obnoxious main character that has no development arc, no redeeming characteristics, and suffers no penalties for his misdeeds.
The Beach Bum is a comedy film that is too lazy to even bother reaching for the low-hanging comedic fruit. It is the style of humour revolving around excessive use of drugs and alcohol, that will only have a strong comedic value if the audience is in a similar state [Blackguard does not condone excessive drug and/or alcohol use]. It is loud, it is unsavoury and objectionable, it makes you question your own morals and ethical codes, but an engaging film, this is not.