Bad Meat

Knucklehead losers Buddy (Lance Barber) and Earl (Billie Worley) kidnap a U.S. Congressman (Chevy Chase, unrecognizable in a toupee and oversized dentures) and hold him for ransom. But when the politician dies and is accidentally ground up for meat, the bumbling perps are left scrambling to avoid apprehension. Intermittently funny, Bad Meat self-consciously strives for cult classification, and one senses that writer/director Scott Dikkers is trying to channel John Hughes. However, his two leads don’t have the comedy chops to put their roles over with the proper panache, and Chase’s performance is more embarrassing than humorous.

Shelf Talk: Director Dikkers has a loyal fan following from his stints as editor of Madison, Wis.’s popular alternative weekly The Onion, and Arts Alliance America plans to aim marketing efforts at college campuses and simpatico online communities. But there’s a reason why Bad Meat didn’t secure DVD distribution for five years, and it’ll take serious plugging for this movie to win a sizable audience.