The Movies (Abridged) borrows Hollywood glamour

We meet lowly video store employee Elan on the day he’s got a shot to make store manager at mega-chain Bigbuster Video.  To graduate from blue worker cap to white management visor, Elan must first prove his knowledge by passing the ultimate movie trivia quiz.

Much of the show involves a fast-paced review of Hollywood history, popular film genres and movie star gaffes accompanied by a loud soundtrack of pop tunes.  When it comes at last, the actual quiz is fairly simple and a bit anti-climactic.

“The Movies (Abridged)” marks the first visit of these three comic artists to the Vancouver Fringe.  Admittedly, it’s hard to not laugh at the antics of Elan, Josh and Rob.  All three have excellent comic timing and much of the movie mash-up is fairly amusing.  My favourite moment was seeing two men re-enacting Dirty Dancing’s climatic dance to “I’ve Had the Time of My Life”… pretty funny.  However, a lot of the bits were as clichéd as the movies purportedly mocked.  Watching “The Movies (Abridged)” is a lot like going to the movies and eating popcorn for supper – not very nutritious but you still feel full afterwards.

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