Rent Bad Milo! (2013)

Bad Milo! review by Alyse Garner - Cinema Paradiso

A blue collar American husband finds himself struggling with his inner demons as stress at work and the pressure to start a family make his life a living hell; I apologize for the bad puns but, having recently watched Bad Milo, a film about a man with a demon living in his colon who escapes at high points of stress to kill all those around him, they feel not only appropriate but surprisingly intellectual.

It’s definitely an innovative idea however the makers of Bad Milo have fallen into the S-bend trap of toilet humour and allowed the film to loose most of it’s subtly and nuance. Duncan, played by Ken Marino, is struggling with everyday life, his new job – giving out redundancies in a strikingly appropriate new “office” and the fertility problems he and his wife are having – are causing his blood pressure to rise and allowing the dangerous and mischievous demon, Milo, who lives in his colon to escape through his anus and go on crazed murder sprees.

There isn’t a great deal else to say about the narrative though I must give the writers some kudos for coming up with such a bizarre idea, unfortunately they rely too heavily on the toilet humour aspect of the story and pad the script out with fart jokes.

It’s a shame really because the majority of the actors do a good job at trying to make more of the picture, a couple of scene stealing moments come curtesy of Toby Huss whilst other secondary characters are given a bit more of the subtle comedy, however by and large most of the humour here is lost on me. One or two cases of slightly more intelligent comedy and humour derived from quietly and slyly inserted performance techniques help to keep Bad Milo from being absolutely dire but unless you’re a fourteen year old boy I don’t think the film is going to appeal.