Witness as 'Hundreds of Beavers' Invade!

The funniest movie of this or any recent year.

Dear Moviegoers,

Immediately after watching Hundreds of Beavers, I thought about Tom Hardy’s line of dialogue from his villainous role in the much more “serious” film that shares a similar setting, The Revenant. In response to losing a large amount of fur pelts during a vicious attack, Hardy is told to calm down and think about his life being saved. “Life? What life are you talking about? I ain't got no life! I just got a living and the only way I get to do that is through these pelts!" It’s a rather cold and true moment that resonates through the centuries and one that sets my feelings about career advancement straight. Something that, now, Hundreds of Beavers has thrown a wrench into.

From the folks behind Lake Michigan Monster, this film is an incredibly intricate thrill picture of heart and gags galore that has been unleashed unto the world, and I mean that in the most biblically epic manner possible. Hundreds of Beavers is about a drunkard turned heroic fur trapper who, through one happenstance after another, becomes a one-man wrecking crew against a burgeoning civilization of beavers. From loser to legend by way of a massive volume of animal violence, that’s hysterical to no end. A comedy in the infinite. Buzz be accepted, Hundreds of Beavers must be seen with others, and on a screen larger than a phone.

Calling the film a slapstick comedy, an accurate description, is just not enough for me. Above, I labeled it as a “thrill picture,” something I believe the great silent cinema figure Harold Lloyd would often call his stunt comedies. Hanging from a clock in Safety Last! was a classic move, established earlier in a story about a young man trying to make his way - or climb up - in big city business. Hundreds of Beavers is filled to the brim with such movements, building each little one up to ultimate effect, before its biggest accomplishment in pulling every joke and stunt together in a masterstroke of a finale. Breathtaking, brilliant, and bountiful.

None of this would work without the actions and the reactions between lead actor Ryland Erickson Cole Tews and the cast of beavers - by which I mean regular-sized people in large beaver costumes. When Ryland tackles or punches one or several of them, the impact is felt heavily, thanks to perfectly timed sound effects and visual cues like dust and snow flying off of the bodies upon each hit. From there, everything else belongs to the clever writing. Personally, I’m partial to what was created with the Beaver commune, as in a quick amount of time, they’re shown to have produced a unique culture with its science program and religion - all of which are used and abused by the single human after his pelts, and maybe a little bit of revenge.

It can’t be said too much just how excellent Hundreds of Beavers is at, well, everything funny. For example, the words of the film kill me every time: beavers, slapstick, applejack, trappers, and various onomatopoeia. Another example can be found in the repetition, expectation, subversion, and total pay-off of each individual and most painful gag. Without a doubt, Hundreds of Beavers will maintain the top spot for my favorite 2024 feature film, at least for several months.

Now, here I am, wanting to rewatch The Revenant. I’m on a pelt high right now, so maybe it’s for the best. Hundreds of Beavers is the pick me up, The Revenant is the bring me down, but both are welcome to kick me around anytime. However, while one is cold and true, the other is warm and…fuzzy? Warm and…surreal? How about warm and funny bone-destroying? All of the above, I guess. And thankfully, there’s a film that counters what The Revenant offers to my five and ten-year plans. In an optimistic way. 5/5

Hundreds of Beavers is now playing in theaters, including at Zeitgeist Theatre & Lounge in the New Orleans area - and on an extended run.

Sincerely Yours in Moviegoing,

⚜️🍿

P.S. -
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