Before we go any further, Hundreds of Beavers isn’t about what I thought it was going to be about. It’s about beavers with big teeth, that build dams, not the kind I was hoping for. Now that childish joke is out of the way, let’s do the review.
Whilst browsing around the interweb, I found a movie called Hundreds of Beavers. It looked interesting, so I couldn’t help myself. What I was treated to was a very funny, and humble comedy, about man versus nature. The story is:
In this 19th century, supernatural winter epic, a drunken applejack salesman must go from zero to hero and become North America’s greatest fur trapper by defeating hundreds of beavers.
I missed the part about the “supernatural winter”, nothing seemed that odd to me about it. The movie stars Ryland Brickson Cole Tews, Olivia Graves, Wes Tank, Doug Mancheski and Luis Rico. There is also a cast of about 100 people dressed up as beavers.
Mike Cheslik is the writer and director and he does a fine job. It’s his first big movie and I’m going to keep an eye on him in the future.
The movie is a “back to basics” affair. It’s like a silent movie from the golden age of cinema. I wasn’t expecting this, but I liked it a lot. I grew up watching a lot of silent comedies of Laurel & Hardy, Buster Keaton, and Harold Lloyd. Hundreds of Beavers is a homage to all of those.
The Story
Jean Kayak (Ryland) runs an orchard and sells applejack (which we in the UK call Cider) and is having a whale of a time. He has a good business, gets drunk every night with the patrons and everything is good. Until, that is beavers, destroy his cider silos and he’s left with nothing.
Kayak learns to make fire and survive in the great North American wilderness. He starts to get hungry and sees a rabbit, which looks more like a pizza to him. He then embarks on catching a rabbit but seems to get outsmarted at every turn.
He runs into a local trapper, who helps him learn how to catch the local wildlife and sell it. The more he catches, the better gear he can buy. At first, he is after food, but before long, he is taking revenge on the beavers that destroyed his applejack.
The owner of the store that sells equipment has a daughter and wants the trapper to marry her. As Kayak and the trapper are out on a trip, the trapper dies and Kayak takes over. On the next trip back to the store, the owner says Kayak can marry his daughter if he brings him hundreds of beavers.
So begins Kayak’s mission to fight nature for his new love. As beavers start to die in greater numbers, the beavers investigate.
Weird, But Good
Weird right? Yes, it’s all very bizarre, but it works really well. This movie is not like anything I have seen in a long time. It’s all black and white, there’s no dialogue, apart from some flashcards, and it felt like The Gold Rush with Charlie Chaplin.
There are some special effects, and although they look like they were done on a ZX-Spectrum they work in the confines of the rest of the movie. It’s all basic, childish even, but it fits the tone perfectly. I found myself laughing along with Kayak and the trouble he would get himself into.
Hundreds of Beavers cost around $150,000 to make and most of that went into beaver outfits for the cast. It took Cheslik four years to raise the money.
What is great about Cheslik is that he has a good eye for comedy and getting the best out of his actors. Ryland is very funny and carries the movie well. He has to over-express everything, react to situations, and clown around, but he’s perfect in the role.
There are very silly jokes and slapstick comedy, but I like that kind of humour. I found myself laughing and smiling at most of this movie and I am still sat here giggling about it now.
Overall
This isn’t going to be to everyone’s taste. It’s not Marvel, it’s not Disney, it’s not anything Hollywood. Well, it’s Hollywood from about 100 years ago, but this is all a good thing. There’s no politics and there’s no message. It’s just a good old-fashioned comedy about man versus nature.
I would say the movie is a little too long at 1 hour and 45 minutes. A shorter movie would still have had an engaging story and I found it did drag a little, but it held my attention. I was more invested in Kayak than I was in most movies these days.
If you fancy a funny little comedy, with some slapstick and silly jokes, you’ll enjoy this. It’s not the greatest movie I’ve ever seen, but I had fun watching it. I’ll post a trailer and you can judge if it’s your kind of thing.
Hundreds of Beavers is streaming now on Apple and Prime.
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