Movie Review: ‘Quasi’

Review by James Lindorf

It has been five years since the guys from Broken Lizard graced our screens with one of their irreverent comedies. In the last 20 years, they have taken us from a ride along with the Vermont State Troopers to a tropical island, a German beer festival, and the inner workings of a restaurant. “Quasi,” their latest partnership with Fox Searchlight and Hulu, takes us to their most unique setting yet, 15th century France. This isn’t Victor Hugo’s hunchback; this tale has more laughs, perhaps a touch more realism, and a whole lot more oysters. “Quasi” is streaming now exclusively on Hulu.

This Quasi (Steve Lemme) may have grown up in a bell tower and loves the pope like Frollo taught him, but that is where the similarities end with the Quasimodo we are used to. Quasi was living in a hut near the town square, and without a job, he was struggling to make rent. Enter Duchamp (Kevin Heffernan), a man needing a place closer to his position in the local torture chamber. Duchamp even gets his new roommate Quasi a torture job where the two quickly become best friends with intern and rack tester Michel (Erik Stolhanske). Quasi has resigned to a far-from-glamorous life, where townspeople routinely pelt him with garbage. Everything changes when Quasi finds himself in the middle of a deadly feud between the Pope (Paul Soter) and the King of France (Jay Chandrasekhar), and his new beautiful and outspoken Queen, Catherine (Adrianne Palicki).

“Quasi” has niche written all over it. It banks on the idea that their small but very loyal audience would also enjoy an homage to Monty Python. They do their best to embrace the lack of a budget, like the famous gag of coconut shells used in place of horses, and have each member of the comedy troupe play multiple roles. That, of course, is done to varying levels of effectiveness. Most of the guys stick out, but Paul Soter embraced the challenge. He was unrecognizable between his two roles; I only caught on after looking at the cast list. Lemme being the main character, is given the least to do in his alternate part, which could have been cut entirely other than it gives birth to a new form of torture. His performance as Quasi is among the best of his career and should be a standout for him. The casting of Adrianne Palicki was a perfect choice for the film. She can present the air of high society as easily as she pulls off crass humor. She also has the physicality to run circles around the guys, as proven during her time with Marvel.

“Quasi” is Heffernan’s second turn in the director’s chair for Broken Lizard, a sport typically occupied by Chandrasekhar. Heffernan’s first outing was the woefully underperforming “The Slammin’ Salmon” 14 years ago. During that time, he directed a stand-up special and multiple episodes of the TV show “Tacoma FD.” Unfortunately, his second time around will likely be the most divisive film in the Broken Lizard catalog. While their previous films found them in whacky to unbelievable situations, the tone and characters were wholly committed to the world the story was taking place in. “Quasi” is the first time they didn’t sell out for their story.

“Quasi” is anachronistic in the worst way, and it lies directly at the feet of Heffernan, not only because he is the director but because his character was the biggest violator of the period. He appears to have approached some scenes as a Farva, his, and possibly Broken Lizard’s, most famous character from “Super Trooper.” These moments are jarring and kill any chance you had of buying into the world they constructed.

“Quasi” isn’t everything Broken Lizard fans could have hoped for. Thankfully once you get past the microbudget look of the film and the brief tonal shifts and give yourself over to the team that made you laugh out loud so many times before, it feels like coming home. There may not be any Belly laughs, but plenty of genuine chuckles and smiling moments make “Quasi” well worth streaming if you have Hulu or have been thinking of trying out the service. “Quasi” struggled to carry the weight of expectations but still managed a 3 out of 5

Rating: R
Genre: Comedy
Director: Kevin Heffernan
Producer: John Cheng, Richard Perello, Russell Simmons, Jake Stein
Writer: , Kevin Heffernan, Steve Lemme, Paul Soter, Erik Stolhanske
Release Date (Streaming): Apr 20, 2023
Distributor: Hulu