One thing is for sure, “Broke” is not a comedy you’ll feel guilty about watching mainly because, though the gags are hit and miss, when they hit, they’re pretty damn sharp and sadly much too fleeting. Whether it’s the gym teacher who forces his students to play dodge ball with a medicine ball, tells them to walk it off when they break a limb, a botched idiotic daylight video store robbery, or the history paper that begins with “I love history because”, Whirity really does grasp clever comedy in the various sight gags, and puns that work and work often. Plus, it's hard not to enjoy a comedy that's really just intent on entertaining. My favorite rotating pun was that all the characters figure they'll live like kings in Canada because of the conversion rate; pure idiocy like that just has to be laughed at.

“Broke” follows the basic formula of the road trip comedy that never actually ventures out onto the road. But the fun of watching “Broke” relies in experiencing the characters attempts to make money to take a trip to Canada, and looking for a scheme to help them grab hard cash fast. All the while getting into trouble. “Broke” is a comedy you can’t really be bored with, because it’s in constant motion in terms of story and dialogue and director Whirity never slows down and bores his audience. On the flipside, "Broke" also has considerable talent behind it with strong comedic performances from most of its cast, and Whirity dispenses of the concepts to characterize them every so often and make them, likable even when tearing up a cheat slip in a panic and attempting to tape it back up in class.

“Broke” is definitely in the spirit of the “National Lampoon’s” comedies. And that’s not a good thing. Because most of the National Lampoon’s comedies are crappy. While “Broke” may not be crappy, it surely is never as funny as it has the potential to be, because it’s much too concerned in being another road trip comedy about losers and slackers trying to find a way to go on a big road trip, etc. and then there are the Kevin Smith allusions with the buddies sitting around talking and popping cracks about pop culture discussing their favorite movies, with the inevitable video store sequence and or setting, a Jay and Silent Bob clone pops up somewhere, and a rude customer gets told off at some point. While, it’s interesting to see constant homages to Smith, most of the material deriving from the formula was often too awkward to fit into the plot and meandered back and forth. From the ghost teaching a character how to be cool, to a funeral, and so much more, the plot is lost within the attempted humor, and “Broke” is never as cohesive as it can be.

Whirity's film is a comedy with highs and lows, when it's low it's predictable, and meandering, and the jokes tend to fall flat, but when it's high it's fun, funny, and well acted with the sole intention of entertaining its audience and not making a complete statement. When all was said and done, it was enjoyable in spite of its flaws.

• For more information on "Broke", its upcoming festival runs, DVD release, or cast information, visit the official website: http://www.myspace.com/broke_movie

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