Out of the three main summer comedies – The Hangover and Year One being the others – the big screen adaptation of the cult TV series Land of the Lost had the most interesting premise.  Of course, movies don’t always live up to the full comedic adventure that they promise.  Somehow with cheezy effects, poorly costumed foes, and acting so bad that it is entertaining, Land of the Lost manages to maintain a playful identity that makes it not only hilarious, but a fun experience.

Mcbride, Ferrell, and Friel in Land of the Lost

Land of the Lost stars Will Ferrell as Dr. Rick Marshall, a scientist who has been exiled from the science community for having theories that even Stephen Hawking considers ridiculous.  Three years after being interviewed by Matt Lauer and becoming a major Youtube celebrity, he is visited by Holly (played by Anna Friel) who is the only one who has any faith in his theories.  The initial struggle set off by Holly ends too quickly to be taken seriously, and the desire for the movie to actually get into the “land of the lost” is obvious by how fast Ferrell, Friel and Will (Eastbound and Down‘s Danny McBride) get there.  This is the only part of the movie that slightly hinders it from being a solid comedy.

Once the gang gets there, on the other hand, hilarity ensues.  The funniest character, Cha-Ka (The Lonely Island‘s Jorma Taccone) – who is a primate – is met shortly after the time warp.  The character itself isn’t that hilarious, but the reactions to Cha-Ka by Ferrell and McBride are priceless and provide a large amount of the laughs.  The prehistoric creatures, and lizard people, they come across result in life-or-death situations, but you never worry or feel emotion to the characters because of the lack of development.  And yet, these situations are enjoyable because of the b-level effects and poor acting.  The lack of perfection actually gives the film some charm.  For some this may make Land of the Lost boring, but for others it may just be the comedy they have been waiting for.