Sundance 2021 Review: Mother Schmuckers – “Certain to raise plenty of eyebrows.”

Mother Schmuckers (2021) is a Belgian comedy. It was written and directed by Harpo and Lenny Guit.

Mother Schmuckers tells the tale of Issachar (Maxi Delmelle) and Zebulon (Harpo Guit). The two are brothers who live with their mother, Cachemire (Claire Bodson), and her dog January Jack (Fresco), in a flat in Belgium. After returning home to find her two sons frying up a pan full of shit in the kitchen (yes, literally shit), Cashmere becomes furious, and orders the two of them to take January Jack for a walk.

While on the walk, Issachar and Zebulon, whose stupidity is outstripped only by their penchant for pranks and skullduggery, dip into a grocery store looking for snacks. The two are perennially broke, and thus, perennially hungry. Before they enter, Zarma (Valentin Wilbeaux), the manager of the store warns them that January Jack is not permitted inside. Begrudgingly, following a string of insults, they tie January Jack up to a lamppost, and enter the store.

Aware of their utter lack of financial solvency, the two look for a way to feed themselves without actually having to pay for anything. In the store they run afoul of Daniel (Toni D’Antonio), a acquaintance who had apparently dated their mother Cachemire, at least once. The man begs Issachar and Zebulon to get him another date. The two tell him that they can all have dinner together, if the man buys all the groceries. The man agrees.

As they fill his shopping cart with just about everything in the store, the man realizes that the two are running a scam, and withdraws his dinner offer. At this point all Hell breaks loose, and the two brothers run amok in the store destroying a bunch of stuff. They are summarily tackled by Zarma.

In Zarma’s office, the brothers are being held captive, pending the arrival of their mother, who the two were supposed to have called, to come pay for the damages to the store. There is a knock at the door, but it is not Cachemire, who Zarma was expecting. Instead, it is Choukri (Habib Ben Tanfous), the Magician, who is friends with the brothers.

When they are finally kicked out of the store, the brothers return home. When they do, their mother asks them where January Jack is. The brothers have unwittingly forgotten about their canine charge. As the two depart to find January Jack, Mother Schmuckers leaves the rails for good, descending into utter madness.

If this film manages to find an audience, and force its way into the popular consciousness, I will be super excited to see the fallout.

This is not a slam. Mother Schmuckers was funny. It relies fairly heavily on shock to generate many of the films laughs, for sure. However, in addition to its taboo-shattering shock value, this film also possesses a vibrant array of ridiculous, out-there characters, and an equally vibrant array of performances to pull them off. Consequently while the scenes are setup by some circumstance that is totally beyond the pale, the laughs keep coming thanks to the outrageous denizens of this part of Belgium.

At first, it seems like it might just be Issachar and Zebulon who are totally bat-shit. That the rest of the characters that populate the film seem mad only because they must constantly put up with the malicious incompetence of the two siblings. But before long, you realize that their entire world is populated with irrational crackpots. The film achieves a nice off-kilter equilibrium once the audience discovers how mad everyone in the film is.

Mother Schmuckers is also a bit of a genre mashup, with very pleasing results. It is a slapstick comedy, a gross-out comedy, a road movie, a disaster movie, an ensemble piece, and oddly enough, a family drama. This thing runs the gamut. At times, the film evokes memories of films like Step Brothers (Adam McKay, 2008), Klown (Mikkel Nørgaard, 2010), and Dumb and Dumber (Peter Farrelly, 1994). Other times it reminds one of more outré fare. Films such as Gummo (Harmony Korine, 1997), Motorama (Barry Shils, 1991), Pink Flamingos (John Waters, 1972) and Good Time (Josh and Benny Safdie, 2017) came to mind. Next thing I know it reminded me of Borat (Larry Charles, 2006), and The Squid and the Whale (Noah Baumbach, 2005). While the whole thing reminded me of any given episode of Kenny vs. Spenny (Kenny Hotz, Spencer, Rice, Sebastian Cluer, 2002-2010)

This is not to say that Mother Schmuckers is just some hodge-podge of re-done scenes from preexisting films. Far from it. This film is uniquely its own animal, regardless of what other films it brings to mind. It might have made me think of other films, but at the same time, I had never seen anything quite like it.

Part of what made the film so unique was the way it insisted on pushing the envelope when it comes to “good taste” at every step of the way. I’m not a man who shocks easily when it comes to provocative comedy. However, every opportunity the filmmakers had to take any kind of high road when it comes to the comedy, was thoughtfully, and thoroughly avoided. This film is about as tasteless as they come. Something the Guit brothers leaned into hard, and wear like a badge of honor.

I should mention that this film is not for everybody. I suppose no film that is worth its salt is. Understand however that if you are someone who is easily offended or triggered by off-color humor, or if you are the type of viewer who puts their political ideology in the drivers seat while watching a film, you may want to seek your kicks elsewhere. Mother Schmuckers makes light of a number of taboos. Many of which are taboos globally, not just in Belgium. If you aren’t ready to handle a hearty dose of necrophilia with an enthusiastic guffaw, Mother Schmuckers ain’t gonna be your jam.

Ultimately, Mother Schmuckers is a dark, cynical, disgustingly filthy comedy. I’m not sure how this thing is going to do. If it manages to find an American audience, I fear that it may only find an audience among people who like films specifically for their ability to offend. This would be a real bummer because the jokes work better when the audience isn’t so jaded that they can actually be shocked by its subject matter. Sort of like how people who get scared by horror films don’t like to watch them for that reason. But, who better to consume a horror film than someone who can actually be scared by them?

And if Mother Schmuckers does find an audience, or becomes the next viral sensation du juor, its tastelessness is certain to generate some controversy. But in an era where most Hollywood productions are bending over backwards to be as woke as possible, and where more and more would-be film viewers find themselves hesitant to engage with a film for fear that something about it might make them uncomfortable, Mother Schmuckers was an enthusiastic return to offensiveness for offensiveness’ sake.

If this thing has any kind of legs, and the Guit brothers get to make another film, it will be interesting to see where they might go from here. Hopefully their next effort will be a successful parlay of their fearlessness, while not dipping too deeply back into the well. However, Mother Schmuckers is a bold, creative, and hilarious first feature. It is certain to raise plenty of eyebrows, and generate lots of discussion. Who knows, it might even become a cult-classic one of these days.