July 9 will see the release of Coffee Town, the first full length feature film from CollegeHumor, which has churned out some very funny stuff, but is mostly notable for not being Funny or Die.
In the film, Will (Glenn Howerton, It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia) is a website manager who gets his work done in a local coffee shop. When he hears that the owners of the shop intend on converting it into a trendy bistro lounge, he decides to stage a robbery in order to convince investors that the neighborhood is unsafe. Will’s desire to continue abusing the shop’s free wifi policy and have brief interactions with his dream girl Becca (Adriane Palicki, Friday Night Lights) motivate him to enlist his friends (Steve Little, Eastbound & Down and Ben Schwartz, Parks and Recreation) to help him stage a heist. Also in the mix is disgruntled wannabe-rock star barista Sam, played by Josh Groban, who seems to be splitting his time evenly between treacly ballads and supporting comedy roles over the past few years.
In the two-and-a-half minute trailer, tired jokes at the expense of women, gays, rappers, and people with Down syndrome make it clear that writer/director Brad Copeland, whose previous writing credits include the head scratching hits ‘Wild Hogs’ and ‘Yogi Bear’, is taking the easiest path to equal opportunity offensiveness. Also annoying is how Howerton and Groban’s characters represent troubling depictions of baristas and customers. Will is considered a freeloader for managing a website in a coffee shop while Sam’s job as a barista is an unfulfilling way to pay the bills until he makes it big. For both, the shop is an obstacle on the path to adulthood. How encouraging.
The film is scheduled to be released On Demand and on iTunes and Vudu starting July 9 with a theatrical release shortly afterward.
Eric J. Grimm is Sprudge.com’s pop culture writer, and a working barista at Everyman Espresso in New York City.
