Movie Review: "W.D.E.D. Dead in the Morning" (2021)
W.D.E.D. Dead in the Morning Movie Review
Written by Stuart D. Monroe
Released by Filigree and Shadow Films
Written and Directed by Maurice Jovan Billington
2021, 75 minutes, Not Rated
Released on August 20th, 2021
Starring:
Carl Rimi as Skunk Weed
Kevin Alexander Caswell as Hot Sauce
Elayna Clair as Punk Rock Girl
Jacob Rosado as Cowboy Steve
Anthony Polichemi as Bit Coin
Tami Lee Boothby as Mr. Mister
George Gauvin as One Direction
Maurice Jovan Billington as Record Store Employee 2
Review:
Also easily billed as W.D.E.D. Dead in the Making, the debut feature from standup comedian/radio host/novelist/filmmaker Maurice Jovan Billington (The Purgatorist) comes at you right out of the gate by presenting you a hybrid- a “documovie”, a documentary about the trials and tribulations of W.D.E.D. Dead in the Morning that also shows you a large chunk of the unreleased horror-comedy while framing it in the context of a documentary.
Don’t say you weren’t warned…
Or, as that cat named Mo said, “Every now and then a movie comes along that’s so far ahead of its time that it actually ends up being behind the times.” Well played, sir.
W.D.E.D. Dead in the Morning tells the story of Skunk Weed (Carl Rimi) and Hot Sauce (Kevin Alexander Caswell), the morning DJ’s for W.D.E.D. They’re the stereotypical morning shock jocks, the kind of guys whose operations budget includes obscenely large black dildoes and plenty of money for the FCC fines. Their impending cancellation is the least of their worries, however, as the station (and the world at large) is under attack from hordes of the living dead! Along with the overnight host, Punk Rock Girl (Elayna Clair) and a motley crew of other radio station misfits, the notorious duo must fight to survive a brave new world while still having heated debates about racism, movies, and racism in movies.
W.D.E.D. Dead in the Making tells the story of Maurice Jovan Billington and his own motley crew who made an unabashedly low-budget and purposely offensive horror-comedy that just wanted to have a good time and show that comedy isn’t dead. Dead in the Morning becomes Dead in the Making precisely because a perfect storm of political correctness, national madness, and unprecedented pandemic blew through and changed the course of his little film forever. Maurice Jovan isn’t exactly happy about it, but he hasn’t lost his sense of humor in the process.
Do you believe this shit?!
The “documovie” works better than you might expect because it covers a few different bases simultaneously. It works perfectly well as a straight documentary about the difficulties of making a low-budget horror-comedy. There’s also a healthy amount of intelligent and informed examination of the razor-sharp double-edged sword that is offensive humor. Everyone involved gets their time to discuss the matter. As a person who lives life by the mantra of being impossible to offend, this is the heart and soul of the W.D.E.D. story. I’ll die on the hill that purposely offensive humor is critical to the heartbeat of comedy as a whole and satire in particular. Even if you’re not inclined to get what they were trying to do with their offensive little unpolished gem, there are millions of us who “get it” all the way to the bottom of our black little souls.
One particularly cool aspect that is birthed from the editing process of going back and forth between the zombie movie and the documentary about the zombie movie is a film that feels like it has one of the commentary tracks from physical media spliced into the film itself in a visual accompaniment. Maurice Jovan provides a running commentary, drink in hand, of all the things that grind his gears about the whole situation. And while that can come off as a bit petulant to some, it’s like a soothing balm for creatives who have to deal with the process. W.D.E.D. Dead in the Making becomes ultimately relatable in those moments.
Maurice Jovan Billington isn’t making any excuses about what didn’t work. He isn’t making any apologies for what he and his cohorts wrote and said. He isn’t even looking for your sympathy. There’s a universal appeal to a person having the courage of their conviction.
Or, as that cat named Stu said (by aping that cat named Mo), “Every now and then a movie comes along that falls apart despite having an axe to grind and metric fuckton of heart. Swing the axe anyways.”
Grade:
4.5 out of 5.0 stars
