Coffee Town (2013)

A film with more than the usual spoiler issues. Talking about it in any detail feels akin to handing you a gift-wrapped present and saying, "I hope you like it -- It's a thriller about a diabolical secret experiment."

Like the great film, it's made with a great deal of visible affection both in front of and behind the camera.

It's simply great fun, a winsome film and an occasionally over-the-top luxury fantasy that never flags.

The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

There must be two Coffee Towns because the one I'm watching certainly doesn't tally with the reviews describing this as hilarious. Maybe you have to be one of the people who squats in one of these places to see the sub-text containing the secret hilarity but half an hour in and there's no sign of it.Forty-five minutes. Nope, still dull.One hour, losing the will to live.One hour, fifteen minutes and I'm wishing I had some drying paint to watch instead. Nah, I give up. Can't even bear to stick with it until the end. I'm out.Continuity errors are irritating too.

Well I've seen the trailer and a person reviewing this movie seems to be pretty good but what i'm not proud of is that their is a bit too much toilet humor in it. I mean it might be funny but hearing it constantly it's not very good. Even the story is like friends having fun and all. I would be proud to see this movie if it didn't had to much toilet humor.Also the plot line is like constantly surrounding the main characters except for Sam. We need to see more of Sam than like the other guys, it's like they are the BIG TIME stars than the other ones. Josh Groban's character is like hilarious. I would like to see more of his character than will and his buddies.

I'm actually not much of a comedy movie fan, why? Because most really aren't worth wasting your time on. I am a fan of undiscovered movie gems though, and this really is one of those. I laughed very loud at so many of the scenes I couldn't count them all. It's very funny, very close to the line at times, and feels fresh all the way through. It has charm in spades. I will be recommending this to those who like a good comedy, though once again, I still hate Adam Sandler (and his cronies) so given that some intelligence probably went into making this little flick, Sandlerites may pass.

Not enough comedies like Coffee Town are made today. The comedies in theaters fall into one of three categories: the sequel that shouldn't have been, the raunchy film with heart (one I never get tired of seeing), or the pointless star vehicle. Brad Copeland's Coffee Town is a simple, satisfying picture, not intent on being offensive or taxing, but more fixated on being a fun ninety minutes one can enjoy without the burden of being too explicit, too sentimental, and too self-satisfying. It's also nice to see that despite lacking these three things, it doesn't hesitate to welcome in some middle- class commentary that may definitely hold some truth in modern society.Will (Glenn Howerton) is a website manager in his early thirties, who uses the local coffee shop, Coffee Town, as his office. It has everything he needs from a comfortable, welcoming atmosphere, roomy workspace, and free Wi-Fi. It is everything he could ever want in a workplace at least until him and his two pals - the lackadaisical cop Gino (Ben Schwartz) and rolly-polly Chad (Steve Little) - discover that the owner of Coffee Town plans to turn the shop into a hip, modern bar and eliminate the comfort and marginal quietness that the joint has adapted over the years. The three decide to stage a robbery to give the illusion that the neighborhood in which the new bar will soon be erected is unsafe and unreliable, thus leaving their own coffee shop intact. In the meantime, Will is trying to find a way to grab the attention of Becca (Adrianne Palicki), a frequent customer to the shop and a local jogger, who is in the process of being smitten by Sam (singer Josh Groban), a cocky, condescending employee at the joint who is currently in a second-rate band.This is standard-fare, with a familiar plot and setups that don't seem too distant from being foreseeable. However, the film has a great niceness that prevents it from being too mean-spirited and nihilistic - as some comedies have gone on to be recently - and, finally, it doesn't feel like a competition to be too offensive and gut-turning with its humor. The language is present, but manageable and rather light, the raunchiness is almost nonexistent, which is a refreshing change of pace, and, for once in a long time, the tired male conversations of guiltless, free- spirited sex is kept to a minimum. However, I could see writer/director Brad Copeland being successful at incorporating raunchier, more sex-driven elements into a comedy.But incorporating such elements into Coffee Town would be out of place and thoughtless. This isn't a story that needs to be told through the lens of adolescent maturity. It doesn't need constant penis jokes, cruder sex references, and the use of several four letter words and one particular twelve letter word. It gets by almost solely on the quirks and the likability of the characters. For example, for the first thirty minutes, Copeland fixates the picture not on bizarre strands of events that show the characters' stupidity and denseness, but rather on the commonalities of them that I can see many audience members seeing themselves in. After those thirty minutes pass, these characters begin to feel like real life friends of ours, and if they don't, we can at least match a face of a person we know to their specific character.This is the debut film from the guys over at CollegeHumor, the website known for pumping out hilarious webshows and internet videos on demand. Judging from the content of their shorts, this could've easily been an extremely vulgar and graphic picture. It's nice to see the men behind the film took a more careful, conservative approach to the story. Again, they show that not every comedy needs to include obscene, shocking amounts of coarse language to be funny and memorable.Going back to the idea that Coffee Town offers some considerable truth about modern middle class America is the way it comments on the increasing need for acceptance. Will goes to the coffee shop daily not because he has a desire to freeload off of its Wi-Fi and casual resources, but because he could stay in his apartment, alone, growing older by the minute, wasting away on his laptop. At least when he grows older and wastes away on his laptop at Coffee Town he is in the presence of others and out in the open. This way he can see life pass him by right before his eyes; he won't need to turn on the TV or the evening news to realize it. Just by welcoming in this concept and idea, Coffee Town offers more to think about than several other comedies released this year.Starring: Glenn Howerton, Ben Schwartz, Steve Little, Josh Groban, Adrianne Palicki, and Josh Perry. Directed by: Brad Copeland.