Spring Awakening: Discuss how to get high without using drugs
Sometimes you just want to indulge in a fun, feel-good film that’s generously bawdy and provocative, with intentionally uninhibited swear words, alcohol, drugs, political incorrectness, and even a little nudity. Sometimes you just don’t want to sit up straight and watch polite characters do perfect things. Featuring some of the greatest actors of our time that we all love, Buddy Games: Spring Awakening is ready for entertainment consumption to satisfy such a craving.
Josh Duhamel (transformers Franchise), Kevin Dillon (entourage), And Dan Bakkedahl (veep) have reunited for the hilarious sequel to their hit comedy, among other things buddy games.
Faced with their greatest challenge yet, the group of friends embark on another quest, this time to honor a recently deceased friend. After a harrowing funeral scene filled with awkward and hilarious moments, the group is – you guessed it – back where it all began, at spring break. Let the partying and of course the endless silly shenanigans begin.
Bakkedahl, Dillon and Duhamel sat down with MovieWeb for a laugh and an exclusive interview to discuss what makes this comedy – and this amazing group of guys – so worth watching.
Triple Threat versus One, Two Punch – Duhamel reflects on his roles in the sequel
Rarely is there an actor who willingly meets the challenges of the triple threat: writing, acting, And to direct a feature film. Orson Welles, Charlie Chaplin, Edward Burns, George Clooney, Woody Allen and Ben Affleck are among the list who have done so. And then there’s Josh Duhamel.
Duhamel wrote, starred and directed the original buddy games and has this achievement crossed off his list of professional achievements. In the original storyline, after a heated argument, six lifelong friends reunited to take part in the “Buddy Games,” a competition full of fun and silly physical and mental battles that were all taken very seriously as they literally made their way fought for up to $150,000 in prize money, with plenty of drinking and partying along the way.
This time, for the sequel, Duhamel decided to just star and direct. “Well, I didn’t really have time to write that. I was working and we had to get it done. I wrote the first one, and it took a long time,” said Duhamel, hilariously mimicking the finger gestures involved in slowly typing on a keyboard.
The script for the sequel, he explained, was entrusted to someone else: “I hired Gabe McKinley to write it. And then I helped Rachael Thoele, who is also a very talented writer, to kind of brush it up and bring a lot of the crazy games to life towards the end. They made the decision and came up with the script and they both did a great job.”
Pressure (or not) for the sequel
Obviously, there’s a lot of pressure to make a sequel to a popular movie. The plot has to somehow simultaneously derive from the original film, grow from it and, well, not repeat events from the original film. It also can’t disappoint fans of the original and hopefully attract more followers.
However, Dillon had an interesting and very healthy attitude while filming the sequel. “I didn’t really feel any pressure. “I was just glad because I had more storyline this time,” the actor joked.
On a more serious note, he added, “I actually loved my character the first time, and I love the movie, but I love that I got a lot more work to do this time around.” I love the character and I love the guys . So I really didn’t feel any pressure. I was just happy to be able to do it again.”
Duhamel also shared how he encouraged Dillon after the first film and before the second film. “I told Kevin I promise I’ll give you more to do, please just do the second one.”
Luckily, Dillon did just that and came back on board to round out the cast.
When a cool camaraderie without all the egos makes a great ensemble
One of the most refreshing aspects of the film, in both the original and the sequel, is the balance of the seasons. It’s like looking up at the dark sky and seeing endless stars shining. Each plays their position to make the film shine, and there isn’t a Supernova vying to outshine the others. It’s cool to watch such an egoless group.
Bakkedahl responded to this observation with clear pleasure in his voice at having been part of such a seamless connection. “I think it really speaks to Josh’s talents, not just as a director but as a star himself. He never approached it that way, “Okay, this is my movie and you guys are going to, you know, eat my dust.” Instead, his presence has always been that he is just one of the six. And the same goes for Kevin and all of us.”
Bakkedahl highlighted other lovely thoughts on having worked with Dillon. “I look at a man like Kevin who I’ve followed and adored for decades before I ever met him and then I get a chance to work with him and he works more like a teammate than a captain or anything .” And that makes it really easy to say, “Okay, cool.” I’m sure. I don’t have to fight for leftovers here. We’ll all get some. We will all play.”
Dillon added, stressing that the same goes for everyone in the cast: “Nobody said anything about themselves. It was just about us and making a fun movie.”
Duhamel agreed, adding a personal note on the film’s inspiration: “And that’s also kind of the spirit of the film. We wanted, I wanted, people who I knew wouldn’t try to make fun of each other. I wanted it to be like my real life group of friends that this film is based on. And these guys are very similar to these guys,” Duhamel noted.
Duhamel reflected that the dynamic could well have resulted in a nightmare combination, Duhamel continued. “It just helps when you have people who don’t have egos. It couldn’t have been easy doing a movie with a bunch of other comedians, but these guys pulled it off. For me it was a dream because I know it could have been much more difficult.”
The cast of Buddy Games say Spring Awakening might get you high
“It’s bloody hilarious,” Bakkedahl said. “I left the screening feeling like something had happened to me. Walking out there made me feel a little high.”
Duhamel added: “You feel good after seeing this. You feel like you’ve licked a hallucinogenic frog.”
Dillon agreed with the uplifting qualities of seeing the film: “I felt high. I felt like I had just eaten mushrooms.”
More seriously, Dillon concluded, “At the end of the day, it’s all about friendship.” It’s about those guys who love their mate. They want to make sure he’s buried and cared for properly. And they always look out for each other in many ways. It’s an old-school feel-good film, and I think we need that.”
From the Paramount Global Content Distribution Group, Buddy Games: Spring Awakening is now in select theaters and available to rent or buy digitally on Amazon Video and iTunes from June 2nd, 2023 and also available on DVD from July 25th.
