A child and her friends have to escape from their 90s kids’ show when its host, BUDDY, shows a darker side in Casper Kelly’s reality-breaking, hilariously demented horror-comedy.
TW: Kid death and trauma. LOTS OF IT.
To put it right up front: Buddy is 100% up my alley. The Casper Kelly film was pretty much guaranteed to make me absurdly happy at some level from the word go, and I’ve put it on my “need to see” at two film festivals this year: Overlook & Fantasia. Now, I’ve finally seen it! I love absurdist trips of meta-breaking oddity, leaning into increasing insanity and maybe even some bloodletting. Twisting and turning narratives and breaking the barriers between entertainment and viewer, sliding into a sort of reality, is something I’ve always enjoyed. From [adult swim] and its brand of often ludicrous insanity, Henke’s Funny Games films, the 3rd act of Blazing Saddles to leave horror or at least messed-up stuff, and let’s not forget the recent Buffet Infinity (now on Shudder and physical media). I’m also a sucker for “cursed media” stories, which Buddy hits hard on as well. And rest assured, for I’ve seen comparisons online; outside of a few quick points, Buddy is not a rip-off of the Candle Cove season of Channel Zero. If anything, it’s the further adventures of Kelly’s Too Many Cooks in a different world.
Even on a closer-to-the-source end, Casper Kelly’s specific method of working is enough to get my butt in a seat. Short Too Many Cooks features Adult Swim Yule Log and its sequel, his Fun Size segment of V/H/S Halloween, and the show You’re Little Face is Going to Hell, and the writing across [adult swim] properties shows a mad genius at work. A filmmaker who understands just how to present a shifting reality to and with his viewers. He crafts quirky, messed-up dark comedies that love to twist meta narratives and break down media walls.
And that’s exactly what he does for Buddy. Opening in a world of a Barney-like show of an orange unicorn and his friends: four kids, various living objects, and an adult-sized Bunny (also a mascot costume), it’s all familiar to anyone who has seen too many inane kids’ programs (thankfully avoided this sort of thing for my own 5-year-old). They learn lessons, they sing songs, they live upbeat, happy-filled lives. But one, Freddy, soon realizes it’s not quite right after another kid vanishes and she finds his blood-covered book. It seems her ol’ pal Buddy might have some secrets, and her eyes are opened to the falsely saccharine world and how it works, restarting to a new “episode” every few minutes after they hug it out. It’s not long before Buddy’s onto her, and it gets even more fucked up. It’s a world where their reality is breaking in fantastical ways. Also around in a drab real world is Cristin Milioti’s Grace, who feels something is missing from her life. How the worlds collide is the movie’s job to tell you, and I love it.
There’s a beautiful madness in Buddy and the way it works. Kelly and co-writer Jamie King (showrunner of Jessica Jones) are all in with their script, allowing the “rules” of this world to unfold for the viewer in a puzzle of what-ifs and “oh that’s fucked.” Kelly gives more than a mere “what if Barney but scary?” or “endless show with its mascot costume host increasingly showing his psychotic self.” He trusts the viewer to come along, play, engage with the film’s text, and soak it up as the cracks begin to emerge. With each reveal or shift, we’re along for the ride with giddy glee, wondering how the next bit of info or change will affect. And who will end up covered in blood or ripped to shreds. That trust rides into the lack of explanation. Those who want to know the whys of this world will be screaming; those who can go along with Twilight Zone “because it is” will be satisfied, as we were for The End of Oak Street. It makes sense in its own way, or at least is cohesive with enough hints and teases of the hows and whys, but also asks us to just enjoy.
And I enjoyed every messed-up, blood-soaked second of it. Even at an hour and forty, it never gets stale. Like Buffet Infinity, I was wondering whether Buddy could sustain after 20 minutes. But like BI, it does so with expert craftsmanship, shifting but staying true. It remains funny and shocking with new surprises (and a CLINT FREAKIN’ HOWARD) every few minutes. But it never feels stretched to make it work just a little longer. It flows to natural conclusions in a very unnatural, unique film.
The technical craft to make Buddy work is exquisite. The production design is a perfect replication of 90s kids’ shows of this nature. Barney is the easy target, but the Buddy Blender also has a hefty pour of Pee Wee’s Playhouse, Thomas the Tank Engine, Blue’s Clues, and more. The aesthetic is incredibly on point; it’s unreal. And thank you, Kelly, for not making the Buddy show immediately off-putting, letting it build. The fidelity and continuity of the “children’s show” extend and morph with its beautifully artificial sets and sly methods as it goes. And the 3rd act? Nice.
The cast gets the memo. The kids: Caleb Williams, Luke Speakman, Tristan Borer, Madison Sky Polan, and especially Delaney Quinn as lead Freddy are perfect, playing those sorts of kids in those shots as if they were, no notes. But they grasp the bigger picture as it breaks as well, getting Those Kids with fear and uncertainty. For the adults, Phuong Kubacki, Bennie Taylor, and Connor Strumm hit the vibe. Topher Grace has a small role as Milioti’s husband, and he gets some laughs. Biggest props to the combination of Sergey Zhuravsky in the Buddy suit and Keegan-Michael Key as the voice. They work in tandem with a fantastic physical performance that oozes menace in the children’s show and in subtle movements. Key is also a master of voice tone, playing several levels at once. Also in the voice cast are Looney Tunes’ voice impresario Eric Bauza (giving him two films this week with Coyote vs. Acme) and Patton Oswalt. I already mentioned Clint Howard, but I’m going to do it again. CLINT. HOWARD. (working with Michael Shannon!)
Buddy is a bloody (and it’s plentiful with the red stuff) delight. It won’t be for everyone, but what movie is? It is for me, delivering on its wild premise in increasingly wild and clever ways. It’s a wonder of production design melding with twisting storytelling. It keeps things moving with a dark sense of humor and tongue-in-cheek spirit. Co-written by Jamie King and written and directed by Caper Kelly, Buddy wants to be your friend. Let him, or get an axe to the chest.