305 (DVD Review)

29 Jun, 2008 By: Rachel Cericola

305

Street 7/8/08
Allumination
Comedy
$29.98 DVD
Rated ‘PG-13’ for some crude humor, comic violence and language.
Stars Tim Larson, Brandon Tyra, David Schultz, Sunny Peabody, Ed Portillo.

Was the world crying out for another 300 spoof? Apparently, Meet the Spartans and the National Lampoon’s 301: The Legend of Awesomest Maximus Wallace Leonidas aren’t enough. Hence, 305.

It all started when twin brothers David and Daniel Holechek enlisted some friends to spoof the blockbuster film adaptation of Frank Miller’s 300. They loaded their short, The 305, onto YouTube, it became an Internet phenomenon, and the group was commissioned to make a major motion picture — or at least a DVD release.

The plot follows five Spartans who were assigned to guard the secret goat path, instead of heading to Thermopylae. At the first sign of trouble, they turned tail and became a laughing stock among the rest of the Spartan army. Armed with a sharpened carrot a rolling pin, they must now redeem themselves. Frankly, with character names like Shazaam and Testicleese, does it really matter what the movie is about? It makes Meet the Spartans look like Gladiator.

Unfortunately, like many big-screen “Saturday Night Live”-type efforts, this is one skit that just goes on too long. Fans of It’s Pat! and Night at the Roxbury might make it through the movie’s 85-minute runtime. All others can just check out the original short, which can be found online or as one of the DVD’s few extras.