User reviews

Writer/director Tim Skousen recreates the cultish small-town culture of Napoleon Dynamite with equally absurd but deft strokes. Although The Sasquatch Dumpling Gang largely proves a rehash of the latter, it boasts of a refreshingly crisp non-chronological narrative structure which, in many ways, makes it a more complete film that NP was.

The story is also more focused, zooming in on a nerd gang that stumbles upon Bigfoot findings in the woods. They decide to tell the police and media about it to see if the tracks actually belong to the mythical Sasquatch. It is set in an unnamed small town in America during an unnamed decade. For conflicting clues, the video store only carries VHS format – but ebay.com exists. The nerd gang is headed by Gavin (Jeremy Sumpter) who regrettably never truly embodies the nerd his character is made out to be. By contrast, all other characters gleefully channel Napoleon Dynamite and its sprawling surge of geekdom in the form of recording fantasy films, hanging out in the video store, doing amateur detective work and engaging in medieval sword-fighting.

Let us talk about structure. Clever comic book montages are interjected at the beginning of each new segment and each of these segments tells the story from one or two character's point of view, covering the chain of events with a fresh perspective. The film is only 84 minutes long and it feels every bit as condensed, giving us no remotely disposable passages. Central to all detours and diversions is the mighty Bigfoot and the level of seriousness with which people regard this phenomenon is hilarious. The humour in general is often in-tune and arguably the consistently bare-chested "Shirts" (Joey Kern) sits in the front row for laughter in the film. Indeed, the The Sasquatch Dumpling Gang tips over into absurdist humour with the same frequency as Napoleon Dynamite but it sadly never manages as funny as the latter. This can best be attributed to the lack of novelty of the dark indie quirkiness two years later.

The acting is generally atrocious, it needs to be said. Great comedy often stems from this, but in the end the hamminess of the performers is simply awe-inspiring as they choke on line after line and overdo the absurdity of the situations. Of course, stellar acting is not in focus in a film like this these shortcomings are easily overlooked. I think Tim Skousen has done something rather safe but still enjoyable here: he has taken a big gulp out of nerd culture, nodding politely to Napoleon Dynamite, and plugging his product in with cameos by John Heder and Jon Gries. The Sasquatch Dumpling Gang is funny, quirky, short, sweet and forgettable enough to watch over and over again.

7 out of 10

Justin Long is Gavin's burn out neighbor, who desperate for money hatches a somewhat brilliant plan to sell fake plaster casts of Bigfoot prints. Gavin and his friends discover the Bigfoot tracks while out hiking one afternoon and race off to tell the authorities. Eventually the law (Jon Gries) brings a Sasquatch expert (Carl Weathers) to see the Bigfoot poo and prints they find in a local forest. Gavin's friends and rivals decide to complicate matters and sabotage Gavin's chance for fame.

Tim Skousen, of 2001's Leon, apparently decided to have his actors pretend they were in Napoleon Dynamite. What happened was some crazy amalgamation of Napoleon Dynamite, Joe Dirt, Bully and several other influences I recognized. Here the main character, Gavin (Jeremy Sumpter), seems in many ways to be the least nerdish character in the group. I applaud Addie Land who played what is easily imaginable as a real life unflattering role of the cute girl who inescapably has it in her genes to become fat. Most of the acting is not credible but the performances are caricatures anyway so it matters little.

A friend of mine has been trying to get me to watch this movie forever and I finally agreed, so I went in expecting to hate it. I was surprised this wasn't a Jared Hess film, since a lot of the characters seemed like they were trying to be Napoleon Dynamite the whole time.

Despite my initial misgivings, there were stretches were I was enjoying myself. It's definitely the kind of movie that you would want to watch with friends. The narrative structure is one that switches perspective, and I think this technique worked well for story. And some of the characters deliver genuinely funny moments. But there was the occasional moment, usually a fight scene, that turned me off, especially in the film's climax.

Ultimately, my friend wasn't wrong to like the movie, but it's not one I would ever insist others to view.

Tim Skousen, the first assistant director on Napoleon Dynamite, serves as the director and writer on The Sasquatch Gang. This is clearly a copy of Napoleon Dynamite, but it is stronger and funnier in its humor. The character Napoleon Dynamite was slow, incompetent, not funny, trying to hard, and hard to like for most of the film. The lead character here is an adolescent, following in his footsteps, but seems to be more aware of his surroundings and can actually be called a "worthy hero." With Napoleon, he just wandered around aimlessly on screen for almost two hours stumbling from next plot point to next.

The plot: The story is sort of an anthology showing what a certain group of characters do, then showing what another group of characters were doing while the first were doing it. The stories intervene with each other, and I wasn't expecting this type of film to do that. It works in its favor big time. Geeky Gavin (Sumpter) and his friends Hobie (Palmer) and Maynard (Pinkston) enjoy fighting in their front yard with Styrofoam swords covered in colored tape. One day, Gavin and his buddies go into the woods and find feces and footprints of what they believe is from the Sasquatch.

Gavin continues to visit Sophie (Land) an insecure adolescent who works at the local video store. She is so insecure that she has her dentist uncle wire her mouth shut so she doesn't eat as much. Meanwhile, the two rednecks living next door (Kern and Long) are kept busy all day, and we see their day's work after we see our protagonist's work.

The Gavin character resembles a younger John Heder, the main character in Napoleon Dynamite. The Sophie character resembles Tina Majorino, the love interest in Napoleon Dynamite as well. It isn't hard to note a pattern forming with the characters, and it isn't hard to piece together this is a blatant knockoff of the film. Even Jon Heder makes a cameo appearance. If that isn't the "hey, look at me, I'm just like that guy!" moment I don't know what is.

I'd still go back and watch this before Napoleon because I found these characters so much more likable than the characters in that film. They were more fun to follow and learn about. Their main character doesn't drag his feet thru the storyline.

This isn't by any means a hilarious film, with numerous laughs, and a script to die for. It's a comedy. A decent one. There's parts that I found entertaining, like the scenes with Joey Kern and Justin Long, and parts that disinterested me, like the buildup between the relationship of the teenagers. I felt the film could've been smarter, and not focus on something like that. Still, The Sasquatch Gang manages to be better than the film it is a copy of. I can't say that happens to often in the industry.

Starring: Jeremy Sumpter, Justin Long, Joey Kern, Addie Land, Hubbel Palmer, Rob Pinkston. Directed by: Tim Skousen.

A tale of three sword-wielding super-geeks who believe they've stumbled upon evidence that Bigfoot lives in the woods outside of town, "The Sasquatch Gang" is so goofy and good-natured in its demeanor and tone that only a complete curmudgeon would be mean enough to criticize it.

Jeremy Sumpter (of TV's "Friday Night Lights") leads the trio of mono-toned, monosyllabic nerds who regularly suffer the slings and arrows (or, more accurately, paint-ball guns) of the even more zonked-out and inarticulate town bullies, led by Justin Long.

The movie has just enough wit, tenderness and charm to overcome some of its essential blandness, and its portrayal of first love can be really quite endearing at times. However, the movie is considerably less successful when it goes for the broadly comic, becoming merely juvenile and silly at such moments.

Concerned parents should note that "The Sasquatch Gang" is more than appropriate for a pre-teen/early teen audience (think of it as the "clean" version of "Superbad" or "Revenge of the Nerds"). Anyone older than that, however, may find it a bit too much on the innocuous side to be worth their time or money.

Having been compared to Napoleon Dynamite for obvious reasons, with similar people having worked on both films. However this film isn't exactly on the level of Napoleon and isn't quite the same. The comedy tone with its silly, dumb deadpan quirky nerd-like characters are obviously enough to draw comparisons. As well as the acting style of everyone seemingly acting clueless and oblivious. There are some touching heartfelt moments to be had and some moments which may seem nostalgic due to the teenagers and there whereabouts.

The storytelling was actually quite compelling, being told in somewhat of a non linear fashion with title cards showing the chapters before each major new instance. The comedy is certainly for an acquired and specific audience of films in that regard, however did not find anything quite humorous. Justin Long and his sidekick friend have some silly moments for comedic purposes but nothing is laugh out loud funny. In the end, there is a likeable charm in a silly way with the lead characters where we want to see them succeed.

The Sasquatch Gang is a 2006 comedy that follows Gavin, a science fiction and fantasy fan who with a group of friends stumbles upon footprints they believe belong to Sasquatch. All the while Gavin's dim witted neighbors try to hatch a scheme to get quick cash.

This movie was written and directed by Tim Skousen who worked as assistant director on Napoleon Dynamite, so it's safe to say that the silliness level is very high. It's obviously not the most clever comedy although it wasn't trying to be, and you can definitely see the Napoleon influence here. The main character and his friends bring some moments of entertainment, but it's Justin Long and Joey Kern's hilarious performance as Zerk and Shirts that keeps the laughter flowing in this film.

It's a simple yet effective comedy in the end that any fan of goofy comedies should enjoy. If you haven't seen this before, I would definitely recommend checking it out.

I am seriously in doubt if this isn't the worst film I've ever seen...

Justin Long is very funny and he can well act, but this movie he choose to do is just awful. I wonder what kind of person would like this: Bad actors all around, not funny story, the plot is so simple and predictable as hell, even the geeks will get offended by the geeks on this movie.

Don't get me wrong, there are good elements in this movie, but they are so badly put together! The plot even offers some nice catches in the beginning but some of then don't even get an ending, just to top off how much this film s...cks.

What a waste of time! And I did not expect much, I was just looking for some laughs.

Well, maybe if was aged 3 or so...

I went into this film with little knowledge of its plot beyond what IMDb and the Slamdance Film Festival published (at the time of this writing, there isn't a trailer or even a poster!).

That being said, I found myself starting to laugh at the very opening sequence, where the three geeks "prepare to do battle." The moment that won me over was when Gavin (played by Jeremy Sumpter) went over to a little portable CD boom-box to play some medieval music to set the "proper scene" for the battle! From then on, I sat back, relaxed, and enjoyed a pleasant comedy that was well-written, directed, edited, and acted (definitely a breakout performance by Sumpter as well as Hubbel Palmer as his sidekick).

Judging from the sustained laughter from the audience, I wasn't alone in my admiration for this independent film.

i guess i'm the only guy here who thought this movie sucked.

it was like high school kids made a movie for class.

it wasn't remotely funny. it was like a bad 70's movie they pumped out just to make money.

the acting was terrible. the story was terrible. the filming was terrible.

there was nothing realistic in this movie. nor was it a fantasy type movie.

if you have a choice to watch anything that sounds interesting, pick it over this movie.

Just saw the premiere at the Slamdance film festival on Saturday, Jan. 21 and it is hysterical! I believe they have actually topped Napoleon with this film! Congratulations to the "Sasquatch Gang" with breakout performances by Hubbel Palmer, Jeremy Sumpter, Addie Land and Rob Pinkston! Joey Kerns and Justin Long transform themselves into a couple of rednecks that keep you in stitches with some very memorable one-liners that people will be quoting for a long time to come! This movie is awesome!! Favorite line: "Fat people suck!" from Maynard (Rob Pinkston) This film's format is reminiscent of "Pulp Fiction". You will see some creative and inventive "chapters" that are titled with comic strip scenes. The story of the "gangs'" find of Sasquatch Poo and tracks in the woods is intertwined with the rednecks' quest to profit from it. Complete hilarity ensues!

Saw this one night on Comedy Central, and thought I was imaging things. I only continued watching it because I saw Justin Long with a mullet and a mustache. That was the only funny thing about it. Carl Weathers was awful, and I can only assume that they all did this for the money, as the dialogue was inane, and the plot rambled on for 90 minutes too long. I knew I was done for when there were sh*t jokes...I mean dung jokes. This was written and directed by a guy who was the 2nd unit director for Napoleon Dynamite, whatever that means. I think he saw that ND was gold, and tried to write a movie based on that formula. There's even a character who slowly mumbles, just like in ND! I assume this movie was just made for the CC channel, as I can't even imagine it met the low standards of release-to-DVD!

I saw this film at the Waterfront Film Festival in Saugatuck, Michigan, and it was my favorite film of the festival.

Directed by talented newcomer Tim Skousen, the film follows teen Gavin Gore (wonderfully played by Peter Pan's Jeremy Sumpter) and his three friends after they discover some Bigfoot tracks (and dumplings) in the forest. The fantasy-loving group decides to tell the police and media about it to see if the tracks actually belong to the Sasquatch. Meanwhile, as this is taking place, Gavin's neighbors, patriotic redneck Zerk Wilder and corndog loving Shirts (brilliantly played by Dodgeball's Justin Long and Cabin Fever's Joey Kern) get into some trouble. Zerk will lose his Pontiac Firebird to creditors if he doesn't pay for his credit bills. They decide to use the Sasquatch finding as a way to save the precious car. The two story lines cleverly intertwine and result in many hilarious scenes.

I loved the way the film was written. It's told in a comic book style, with different chapter titles and some of the same scenes from previous chapters appearing in later chapters, just from a different point of view.

I was laughing the whole way through this film. It was produced by the Napoleon Dynamite team and some of the touches from that film can be seen in this. But whether you loved Napoleon Dynamite or hated it, don't let that be the judge of whether you want to see this movie or not. This movie has its own clever and charming characteristics. The characters are all entertaining, the dialogue is hysterical, and it's clear that everyone working on the movie had a great time.

Director Tim Skousen, producers Mark Kassen and Jeremy Coon, and stars Justin Long and Joey Kern were all at the festival to promote the movie and tell stories about the making of it. I talked with them and got to ask some questions about the film and I must say, they were so nice and funny, I wish them all the best with this film and their future projects.

See this film then spread the word.

"The Sasquatch Gang" is so bad it is actually an insult to the viewer's intelligence. The sasquatch theme is nothing more than a lame excuse to string together the weakest, infantile, unfunny, skits, I have ever witnessed. Going in I thought this might be similar to "Strange Wilderness", which is "Oscar" material compared to "The Sasquatch Gang". Think of how many times you cringe at the lame script watching this, and I guarantee you will agree. The movie should be a total embarrassment to Carl Weathers, who is unbelievably miscast in his role of "bigfoot" expert. This movie is definitely the worst movie I have reviewed in a very long time. - MERK

I saw this at the Florida Film Festival- loved it! Loved the comic book feel and it was campy! Very original! It's nice to see something never done before. A very good parody on tabloid Bigfoot findings! The rednecks were my favorite- those actors played it to the hilt. If you get the chance to see it- go! Great performances! Especially by Jeremy Sumpter. Pleased to see Kevin Spacey's name in the credits. Lots of surprises! Gonna be a cult hit. It's gonna be up there in the company of Rocky HorrorPicture Show or Porky's- It is a definite group of friends night out. If you enjoyed Napolean Dynamite- you will enjoy this one.

I think the nicest thing about this movie is the way it makes so much of a movie out of such a simple premise. When it comes down to it, there isn't very much plot at all to this movie. Mostly what we get are well-developed character vignettes that revolve around a central story element.

I like the fact that it's non-chronological, even though it's not handled in such an interesting way as "Memento." I like the way the story is told from differing perspectives, but I wouldn't compare it to the eloquence of "Rashomon."

Of all the cute lines in the movie, I think the best single line in the script was Hobie's reference to the "bloodbath of sour grapes." There was some poignancy in that turn of phrase, and what it meant to not only his motivation, but most of the central characters, and perhaps the entire generation.

Or not.

Garage production that rips off Napoleon Dynamite. Napoleon had its fans and haters, but at least was a fresh approach at a worn genre. This cheap imitation just grinds out the same old stuff you've seen a thousand times, with some of the worst acting ever. The direction is far too inept to make the plot interesting, and the writing is an abysmal mess.

One guy mumbles slowly every time he's on screen. It's amusing for about five seconds, then becomes an irritating droning noise. One guy is a pathetic con artist who beats up other kids with inflatable toy bats. A bully, a couple who don't fit in, dumb adults, etc. etc. The characters are cardboard cutouts, and nothing is funny.

The whole Sasquatch idea is lost in a cesspool of endless talking about nothing, disjointed cultural nostalgia sight gags that don't work, and a misguided production. Try to imagine a film that just shows a dog chasing its own tail in extreme slow motion for an hour and change, and you have this. Giving it a 2 is generous.

The Sasquatch Gang is quite possibly the smartest stupid comedy film out there. At a surface level, one might see this as a low budget Napoleon Dynamite wannabe, however, there is so much more to this hidden jem of a movie.

The strongest point by far is the script. The dialog is effortlessly funny and endlessly quotable. This amazing script comes to life in performances from all the cast especially Justin Long as Zerk who typifies the tough guy with a big mouth.

While this comedy is already set with a good premise and fun characters it goes one step further by telling the story out of chronological order in a way reminiscent of Pulp Fiction. This fun style of storytelling demands the viewer to rewatch this nerdy adventure multiple times to appreciate the continuity.

This movie is underrated and is loved by everyone who finds it. Do yourself a favor and watch this movie. You can watch even it for free on YouTube on the Popcornflix YouTube channel so there is no reason not to stop yourself from having a great time.

Bad watch, won't watch again, and can't recommend.

I used to swear by Justin Long's presence in a movie, but I'll say this for him, he has really varied his portfolio, and it's not that he does a bad job, he just gets slotted for some really weird roles, and this is one of them.

I was hoping for a great questing story about finding bigfoot, or just maybe a search for one, but instead we get this terrible mix of stories: "how do we make x money in y days", sasquatch hoax, bullies, and a really charming teen romance story that I wish was the main focus.

There is just a lot of wasted time on things that don't matter when the story could easily have been so much more uplifting.

It's literally so convoluted and disappointing that I don't even remember how it ends. I pretty much just checked out by the 3rd act.

I've seen this movie at least 10-15 times over the last 13 years and there's not many movies that I can do that with. It's extremely quotable, my siblings and I reference it all of the time. So many one liners and hilarious scenes. If you loved Napoleon Dynamite or Nach Libre, you will love this.

A group of fantasy loving teenage nerds stumble upon large footprints in the woods and believe that they have found evidence of a Sasquatch. After reporting their find to the police and the press, a renowned authority on Bigfoot comes to town to investigate. Meanwhile, a pair of white trash neighbours try to profit from the discovery.

From the guys that brought you Napolean Dynamite, and it shows, in the writing, the directing, and the acting. The Sasquatch Gang desperately wants to be Napolean Dynamite 2, so much so that it even features Dynamite actor Jon Gries, plus a cameo for Napolean himself, Jon Heder. The film tries so hard to replicate the Napolean Dynamite formula that it all proves rather irritating: blatantly copying a cult hit isn't clever, it's desperate. And is it just me, or do Zerk and Shirts (Justin Long and Joey Kern) behave a lot like Beavis and Butthead? I wouldn't be at all surprised to learn that the animated duo was their inspiration.

Next time people, don't imitate... innovate!

I feel that it's so hard to describe this film, because it's just one funny scene after another. I guess the best thing I can say about this movie is that it was FUN. It was a great, but simple film that lets you escape from life for an hour and a half, and just laugh. To start off with, the casting of this film was perfect. Jeremy Sumpter was fantastic as the awkward, dorky, and heroically silly Gavin. Addie Land made Sophie someone you really felt for as she struggled to achieve her specific goals. And Hubbel Palmer was pitch perfect as the "third wheel." Justin Long and Joey Kern were both unbelievably hysterical as Zerk and Shirts. They really were a terrific comedy duo. Even Carl Weathers as the Sasquatch Expert brought a lot of campy fun. And, if the audience reaction was anything to go by, this film is going to be an instant hit. The characters are so likable, and the plot is so funny, and it really is a movie that deserves several viewings. I hope it manages to reach theaters, because I'll definitely be in line again if and when it does.

This film's classic storyline of teenage fantasy role-players versus the redneck neighbors plays out like Napoleon Dynamite clashing with Joe Dirt's bucolic enemies. Throw in a group of younger bullies, a plot that revolves around a possible Sasquatch in the area, profits to be made over the validity of the Bigfoot "evidence,"—Carl Weathers steps in as Sasquatch expert, Dr. Snodgrass, to help resolve this matter—and you have all the ingredients for one hilarious movie.

I viewed this seemingly teen-targeted movie during the Sidewalk Film Festival among an audience of all ages. The excellent writing, acting, and composition of this film gels into a wonderful creation that had the entire theatre rolling in the aisles.

If you can say "Sasquatch" without smiling, then you haven't seen this movie.

Just saw this tonight on a whim, I haven't laughed so much in months. I wasn't that impressed with Napoleon Dynamite so wasn't expecting much. I believe the plot and its treatment of time and space is intellectually stimulating. As a way to balance this intellectual side the movie has plenty of great dialogue and hilarious one liners to keep it in your mind for weeks. The movie is particularly enjoyable if you grew up around Portland or like to play with swords. The only negative comment I have is the role of the female character. She is too stereotypical and doesn't get to fight enough. If you live in ny or la go see this asap, if you don't live in a large city bug your local indie theatre to play it.