Movie Review: The Darwin Awards (2006)

Hi all…

What an odd movie. This has been sitting in my Netflix queue for ages and was available to “Watch Instantly,” so I decided I’d go ahead and watch while I had some spare time today.

[rating:2/4]

The movie is about Micrhael Burrows (Joseph Fiennes), a forensic detective for the SFPD, and how he begins tracking down “Darwin Award” winners for an insurance company with claims investigator Siri Taylor (Winona Ryder). Along the way, they investigate a number of claims, including classic Darwin Awards cases with the man who strapped a JATO engine to his car (David Arquette) and two die-hard Metallica fans who literally “crash” a concert.

If you know anything about the Darwin Awards, you understand their mission. Their goal is to honor “those who improve the species… by accidentally removing themselves from it!” Each year, the competition is fierce to see who actually gets mentioned by the site, which just proves how weird and wonderful the human race actually is.

(Be sure to check out the Darwin Awards site HERE. It’s always worth the chuckle. That is unless of course you’re aspiring to win one of these awards, in which case you probably shouldn’t be getting any ideas from the other recipients!)

I can see why this movie never appeared to make it to theaters and went straight to video, but I have to admit that it was really funny in places. And there are some great cameos, including:

• D.B. Sweeney
• Lukas Haas
• Juliette Lewis
• Julianna Marguilies
• Tim Blake Nelson
• Chris Penn
• Robin Tunney
• Wilmer Valderrama (as the camera man — very funny)

If you’re a fan of the Darwin Awards, this movie has enough moments that it’s worth checking out. I’ll give it 2 out of 4. Funny in spots, but definitely a renter.

–Fitz

p.s. Check it out at Netflix or buy it at Amazon: