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A smoothie shop employee with butterflies in his stomach and a bleeding right hand sits next to an older gentleman on a bench. “Can I ask you something?” he prefaces. The worker then proceeds to babble about his crush, Maria. Should he follow her to New York City, and leave Florida behind? The older man offers advice—speaking from the heart—and it fills the younger man’s soul, so much that he leaps from the bench and bursts into song. It’s this young guy’s big romantic moment, and he dances away before almost getting hit by a car, and then sings at people inside a mall, in which one patron tries to side-kick him.  

This hilarious sequence, which overlaps cliché storytelling with the unassuming public, is just one of many endearing moments in “Bad Trip,” a hidden camera comedy gem starring Eric André , Lil Rel Howery , and Tiffany Haddish that’s finally coming out on Netflix. Directed by Kitao Sakurai , the previous director behind numerous episodes of “The Eric André Show,” it shows an evolution in the hidden camera subgenre, given its warming spirit about people. Unlike the films that previously defined the subgenre, it’s not so much about creating a freak show from unsuspecting extras, but in noting what one would do when confronted with someone as delusional as André’s character Chris. Natural human behavior can be extremely funny, and Sakurai and André know it’s possible to bring it out of people without being mean-spirited. Footage in the end credits of the real people excited to learn that they’re in a movie—a comfort for us as well—confirms the chaos is controlled physically and emotionally, and that allows it to be a party.    

“Bad Trip” is an excellent showcase for Eric André—it’s more mainstream than his talk-show-in-hell “The Eric André Show” and less watered down than his recent resume-boosting, commercial work like “The Lion King” and elsewhere. This role lets him scream, sprint, crash into things, and show off that he’s a sweetheart who wants to include you his absurdity. It’s no stretch to say that André is going to be a huge comedic force—I knew this when I caught his Legalize Everything stand-up tour in Chicago in 2019, when he had a sold-out Chicago Theater completely wrapped up in his FaceTime-ing with the parents of random audience members. He’s an affable anarchist with Robin Williams-like verve, and this project lets his burgeoning persona run wild alongside what the film advertises as “Real People. Real Pranks.”  

André's hilarious earnest Chris is joined in the movie by Lil Rel Howery, who would have been known enough at the time of filming from his scene-stealing turn in “ Get Out ,” but is disguised as Chris’ reserved friend Bud. They have adorable chemistry as two friends in Florida who decide to drive to New York to reunite Chris with his high school crush Maria ( Michaela Conlin ) after two disastrous brief run-ins at Eric’s jobs. They support each other, like when Chris gets extremely drunk at a cowboy bar, or Bud finds himself inside a Porta Potty. Chris is the wide-eyed dreamer, and Bud is the demure rationalist. Their chemistry is as pure as the Golden Girls, so “Thank You For Being a Friend” is featured prominently in the soundtrack, in between scenes of slapstick pranks that further their road trip.  

When Bud and Chris need a car to get to New York City, they “borrow” the bright pink Crown Vic that belongs to Bud’s sister, Trina (Tiffany Haddish), who Bud fears but is relieved when she's put in jail for breaking house arrest. And yet soon enough, Haddish crawls out from under a prison bus, having broken out and starts looking for her car. When it’s not where she stored it, she hunts Bud and Chris up the Eastern seaboard, making for some incredibly funny, abrasive scenes of her confronting people about whether they’ve seen them or her car that has “Bad Bitch” written on the window. Haddish bulldozes into every set-piece, exemplifying the film’s over-the-top spirit. When talking to progressively uncomfortable strangers, she doesn’t miss a beat and she relishes the opportunity to appear dangerous; when she steals a cop car and burns out of a donut shop parking lot, it’s one of her many triumphant moments.  

“Bad Trip” is a collision of great improvisational actors and authentically bewildered reactions from people unaware that they’re now in Chris’ story—which makes Michaela Conlin’s performance as Maria all the more an essential middle to its Venn diagram. She enters the movie also as an innocent bystander, but that’s a deceptive comic energy that plays out in very funny ways as she pushes back against Chris’ delusions. In Chris’ prank-based daydreams, Conlin matches André’s intensity; that she has to play it straight in later scenes adds to the tension she creates, like when Chris tries to profess his love to her.  

Just how funny is “Bad Trip”? After two viewings, it’s one of those comedies with a stable laughing average and high replay value, even if it doesn’t always hit you as hard. It knowingly plays a hit-and-miss game, and some scenes don’t entirely work (like a grocery store drug trip that plays out like a soft tribute to “The Eric Andre Show”), while other pranks go for discomfort more than big laughs (like when Chris gets gas springing all over a gas station). But the movie has speediness on its side, with pacing that takes the plotting from one prank to the next, often including crowds of people in the latest big dramatic confrontation that comes from Bud and Chris’ expected emotional arc. (A sudden car crash sequence is particularly well planned out, with cameras and extras ready nearby.) It’s a steady build to its ultimate destination of NYC, and every major set piece is constructed to bubble with discomfort before then skyrocketing over the top. An early scene at Chris’ smoothie shop job only begins with him making the drinks without spoons—it escalates to awkward tension with disgusted, annoyed customers, and then boom, a laugh-out-loud, gory finale that hits with impeccable, unexpected timing.  

If certain parts of “Bad Trip” aren’t as out-and-out cry-laughing as the work put into them desires, the story is still involving as it adds the dimensionality of unscripted human behavior. And it doesn’t continue the hidden camera movie’s waning intention of dunking on dummies, a factor that also makes this story more fluid than the start-and-stop traps, primed for reaction shots, in something like “Jackass”-spinoff like “Bad Grandpa.” That’s the true sweet spot, in how its pranks are engineered to get the unexpected to interact with Bud, Chris, and or Trina, and see if strangers try to help. (“You turned on us!” says Chris, after a golfer starts swinging a club at Chris and Bud while their penises are enjoined by a Chinese fingertrap.) An amazing scene comes at a tense mid-point, when Trina appears at a restaurant, spreading around fliers with Bud and Chris’ dopey faces on them, advertising her desire to kill the two. She leaves. Bud and Chris then show up at the same place minutes later, and everyone’s response, with some people trying to warn them, and others not wanting to get caught in the middle, is incredible. “Bad Trip” knows how to stir things up, and its funniest scenes often involve real people getting in the mix, tested by the brilliant skills of André, Howery, and Haddish. The ways that some people react to their pranks might shock you in some ways, and absolutely will not in others.  

Now available on Netflix.

Nick Allen is the former Senior Editor at RogerEbert.com and a member of the Chicago Film Critics Association.

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Bad Trip (2021)

Rated R for crude sexual content, pervasive language, some graphic nudity and drug use.

Eric André as Chris

Lil Rel Howery as Bud

Tiffany Haddish as Trina Malone

Michaela Conlin as Maria Li

• Kitao Sakurai

Writer (story)

• Andrew Barchilon

Cinematographer

• Andrew Laboy
• Sascha Stanton Craven
• Matthew Kosinski
• Caleb Swyers
• Ludwig Göransson
• Joseph Shirley

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‘Bad Trip’ Review: Eric Andre’s Raunchy, Riotous Prank Terrorizes America

A shock-and-awe prank film that transplants rom-com hijinks into reality.

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It’s a romantic comedy cliché: Boy goes on outrageous quest to win back the girl of his dreams, an adventure fueled by derring-do and impassioned speeches that gain urgency as the violins swell. Onscreen, those manic you-complete-me moments make audiences swoon. But in reality, they’d look like “Bad Trip,” a squirm-worthy exercise in vicarious humiliation that welds the rom-com formula to a gross-out prank show. Directed by Kitao Sakurai and produced by “Jackass” co-creator Jeff Tremaine, “Bad Trip” hands lovelorn loser Chris ( Eric Andre , who co-wrote the film with Sakurai and Dan Curry) a safe word (“popcorn”) and the keys to a hot pink Crown Victoria, and sets the comedian loose to terrorize unsuspecting bystanders along a northbound interstate from Florida to Manhattan, where he intends to profess his love to his middle school crush Maria (Michaela Conlin of “Bones”).

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Riding shotgun is Lil Rey Howery as Chris’ best friend Bud, and on their trail storms a terrifyingly incognito Tiffany Haddish , tatted and volatile, posing as Bud’s older sister Trina, a sociopathic prison escapee who barges into restaurants brandishing Chris and Bud’s picture and convinces strangers they might have to testify in a murder trial. Will these good citizens rat out Andre’s besotted Chris, who drips pathos like a leaking hose, and the charmingly sincere Howery? Alas, the average civilian lacks the courage of a movie hero. Groans one man, “I wasn’t ready to be Samuel L. Jackson in ‘The Negotiator.’”

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The result is sniggering slapstick that’s two-parts biological fluids and one-part salute to the innate empathy of mankind, often in the same scene. Take the zoo tour where Chris attempts to impress Maria by sneaking into the cage of an amorous gorilla for a selfie. The scene quickly becomes repellant for reasons better left to the imagination. Yet his fellow tourists’ concern adds a dash of sugar, even if their advice is merely untested hunches (“Don’t look him in the eye!”) or relationship insights (“Would she go out there for you?”) that could wait until Chris has pulled up his pants. Not everyone is so kind. When Andre and Howery barge into a barbershop with their unmentionables conjoined in a Chinese finger trap, a knife-wielding man chases them down the street. (Afterwards, Howery nearly quit.)

“Bad Trip” is an extension of Andre and Sakurai’s eight-year creative partnership on Adult Swim’s “The Eric Andre Show,” five seasons of aggressive performance art disguised as a talk show. Andre disables the part of his amygdala that restrains him from holding strangers’ babies until they cry or unnerving guests with cockroaches and jump scares. The goal of his stunts isn’t to make his patsies angry. It’s to make them feel as though reality has cracked open under their feet, to tectonically upend normal codes of behavior so that even the audience is unsettled by their own laughter. Is it funny when Haddish pretends to break out of a police van and pressures a witness to lie to the cops? Yes and no. But while it’s possible to have empathy for an individual, in the aggregate, the movie’s marks become hilarious carnage.

Sakurai’s favorite hidden camera closeups aren’t of people snarling in anger (though there’s plenty of that). It’s of someone slack-jawed that they’d entered someplace benign — a juice bar, a car wash, a grocery store — only to suddenly bear witness to Andre’s extreme joy or shame. His Chris suffers the emotional equivalent of Johnny Knoxville shooting himself out of a cannon. When Chris asks a random guy on a bench if he should surprise Maria in New York, the man advises him to go for it. When Chris leaps up and starts to sing, the now-invested stranger grins, “He’s in love!” But when Chris jazz-dances into a mall food court, a shopper kicks in panic. Someone that happy has got to be dangerous.

However, Andre’s social experiments prove that the majority of Americans truly want to be helpful. This makes the film oddly heartening, whether from an Army recruitment officer who gives Chris a needed boost, or from a diner waitress who edits the sex out of a draft of Chris’ climactic profession of love. “Be more romantic,” she advises. How long? At least “30 minutes to an hour.” As the end credits roll, “Bad Trip” plays a montage of people learning they’ve been pranked, which eases the psychic damage. That the pranksters are the most imperiled by their hoaxes offers a bruising absolution. Still, as Haddish barges up to a policeman to ask him for a kiss, it’s hard not to pray: It’s only a movie, it’s only a movie.

Reviewed online, Los Angeles, March 24, 2021. MPAA Rating: R. Running time: 84 MIN.

• Production: A Netflix release of an Orion Pictures production. Producers: Jeff Tremaine, Eric Andre, David Bernard, Ruben Fleischer. Co-producers: Dan Curry, Kevin Costello. Executive producers: Aaron L. Gilbert, Shanna Zablow Newton, Jason Cloth.
• Crew: Director: Kitao Sakurai. Screenplay: Sakurai, Eric Andre, Dan Curry. Camera: Andrew Laboy. Editors: Sascha Stanton Craven, Matthew Kosinski, Caleb Swyers. Music: Ludwig Göransson, Joseph Shirley.
• With: Eric Andre, Lil Rel Howery, Tiffany Haddish, Michaela Conlin.

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‘Bad Trip’: Eric Andre, Tiffany Haddish and Lil Rel Howery Prank America

• By David Fear

It makes a certain kind of sense that Bad Trip, Eric André’s entry into the Gonzo Comedy Hall of Fame (see: Jackass, Borat, Bad Grandpa ), starts in Florida. Not that the other 49 states of this fine U.S. of A. don’t have their share of goofballs, chowderheads, numbskulls, fuck-ups and jag-offs; it’s just that this particular Southeastern one has a reputation for American eccentricity that results in eyes bugging out, jaws dropping and shit going very wrong. Those “Florida Man” headlines are well-earned.

And the “Florida Man” energy is strong in this one, right from the get-go: No sooner has the comedian appeared onscreen, rocking a mechanic’s jumpsuit and washing a BMW in a West Grove car wash, then something genuinely WTF happens. If you’ve seen the trailer, you know it involves a vacuum hose and full frontal nudity. It also involves a customer who has no idea that he’s part of an elaborate prank that’s been set up for several rolling cameras, someone who is neither in on the joke nor the butt of it. The guy is just an innocent bystander who suddenly finds himself in the middle of a situation he hadn’t planned for or even possibly imagined, while a naked man tries desperately not to show his dick and balls to the world. “Florida Man Loses Clothes, Flashes Customers in Bizarre Car Detailing Accident.” Normally, you can’t make this stuff up. André engineers it like he’s in charge of a NASA launch.

The scene is over way, way too soon — a problem that plagues a lot of Bad Trip ‘s gotcha scenarios, but that’s the risk you take when you’re literally putting your ass out there when making variable-heavy comedy — but it still does what it needs to do, i.e. set the tone and set up the “story.” Note the scare quotes; abandon all hope, ye who want a narrative here, which is frankly missing the point. This is no more a movie than The Eric André Show is a talk show. (Though the director, Kitao Sakurai, has also worked on that Adult Swim gem.) It’s a delivery system for strung-together Situationist happenings and performance art, a fancy way of saying that everyday people get co-opted into sometime highly elaborate, often hilarious, remarkably effective smart-comics-doing-really-dumb-and-gross shit. Including, in one case, a bit that may or may not have involved being covered in actual fecal matter. We don’t know just how Jackass things got here.

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Right, sorry, the story: So when Chris (André) is cleaning the unsuspecting gent’s car, a second customer drives up. Her name is Maria (Michaela Conlin), and she was Chris’s high school crush. He was going to ask her out, but then whoosh go his clothes. Later, he finds out she lives in New York and runs an art gallery. If he’s ever town, drop by and see her. So Chris grabs his best friend Bud (Lil Rel Howery), they take the pink Crown Victoria that belongs to Bud’s sister, Trina ( Tiffany Haddish ) — she’s in prison, it’s all good — and plan a road trip to visit Chris’s soulmate. When Trina “releases” herself from the clink, she finds out that her car’s been stolen and decides to track these guys down across the Eastern seaboard.

There’s a version of Bad Trip in which you pay attention to this tender story of best friends who’ll do anything for each other, who have their ups and downs but still have each other’s backs, rednecks and psycho siblings and cops be damned. The version you’ll probably want to push to the forefront, however, is the one where these three comedians, respectively and together, stage the kind of truly outrageous shenanigans that make you wonder how the hell they got out of these scenes alive. Looking at my notes, I see nothing but a series of phrases: “Chinese Finger Trap,” “Smoothie Shop Blender,” “Cowboy Bar,” “Projectile Vomiting,” “A Priest,” “The Hamptons,” “Gorilla Selfie.” (That last one is genuinely above and beyond the call of duty.) To try and explain what they mean wouldn’t do the gags justice, though I will say that a sequence involving a a movie-musical number in a mall — which includes singing, dancing, a giant wedding cake and the threat of actual violence — is a work of genius.

In other, the sheer hilariousness of a number of individual bits here are enough to get you past slow spots and a few D.O.A. duds, and you come out of Bad Trip with a serious appreciation for this trio’s chops and ability to go with the flow. (Four, actually: Conlin can more than hold her own when she needs to.) And unlike the Jackass crew’s how-low-can-you-go competitions and Borat ‘s politicized exposés, there’s almost a sweetness to the way these folks prank the public. The everyday folks who find themselves having to deal with angry ex-cons or exchanges spiraling out of control aren’t marks; they’re more like collaborators in the movie’s “what if” set-ups. For every encounter in which you fear that André or Howery or Haddish are actually going to get the snot beat of out of them for antagonizing folks, there are a half dozen examples of people stepping in and defusing things, offering help, trying to de-escalate a blow-up. The end credits roll feature a bunch of “smile, you’re on Candid Camera” reveals that lead to smiles and yelps of “oh my god, that was crazy!” The joke’s not on them. They were just a key part of the trip.

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Review: It’s only a ‘Bad Trip’ if it doesn’t make you laugh

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The thing about critiquing almost any comedian is that you will inevitably find yourself coming up against avid (if not rabid) fans insistent that you just don’t “get” the work. Eric Andre in particular, with his trademark Dadaist impulses and penchant for all things uncomfortably nude, is undoubtedly one of those figures. Those who enjoy his surreal and animated style of laughs will be quick to defend the comedian, citing his ability to deconstruct staid notions of late-night television and bland stand-up with his long-running Adult Swim series “The Eric Andre Show.”

On the other hand, his detractors would rightfully point to Andre’s history of transphobic, fatphobic, and myriad other jokes which serve only to punch down at certain individuals who, one might argue, have already been punched down on enough.

Which is why “Bad Trip,” the long-awaited hidden-camera comedy flick helmed by long-time “Eric Andre Show” director Kitao Sakurai , is such a curious film. Ostensibly a buddy road movie following Chris Carey (Andre, also a co-writer) and best friend Bud Malone (Lil Rel Howery) as they travel cross-country to New York, “Bad Trip” seems to be aware of these criticisms of Andre and the way in which they would be further visible in a wide-release movie (now launching on Netflix ). The jump from Adult Swim to feature film has been accompanied by a watering down of Andre’s unpredictable absurdities and instead offers a much more conventional approach to its prankster schematics.

The laughs are certainly there, but Andre’s almost trademark sense of intentional derangement is missing and in many ways, this is one of his strengths as a performer. Sure, there are the juvenile gags that form many of the film’s comedic centerpieces — a scene involving boisterous gorilla sex comes to mind as one of several moments that attempts to tap into Andre’s chaotic energy but fizzles out, leaving instead the bad taste of an obvious, if not adolescent, bit. While for some this style of failure might only deepen their appreciation for Andre and the ways in which they view him as a sort of anti-comedian, it’s also imperative to remember that the phrase anti-comedy should not act as a synonym for shallow, empty or thoughtless.

The film loosely entwines its real-world pranks with an overarching story that knows itself to be a farce, but can’t help but be burdened by its halfhearted tries at sincerity. Andre is not a strong enough actor to pull this particular positioning off but then again, that is anything but the point here. Even within that, the slack nature of “Bad Trip’s” premise is enough to put in higher relief both the successes and failures of the comedy’s gags. The former has a sharp ability to see the innately comedic textures of humanity (further seen in the film’s delightful post-credits sequence), while the latter is too staged and likewise rigidly edited (particularly toward the film’s front end which too often takes on the tonality of a warm-up).

For a cornier, more establishment type of comedian, the kind of story environment emblematic of these failures might be par for the course but for an iconoclast like Andre, the misses here can be glaring — I doubt even his most stringent detractors would honestly be able to call Andre a mediocre or average performer. Which is why it is so disappointing that “Bad Trip” falls just as easily into humdrum ordinariness as much as it does its most simple and effective bits.

Andre’s influences have always been clear, from Sacha Baron Cohen to Tom Green to the “Jackass” bunch, but they struggle in the present when faced with Andre’s move from surrealism to literalism. Unlike oft-cited inspiration and Borat star Cohen, Andre’s previous world-making has been exactly out of this world, if not a complete undoing and deflation of it. While he is able to elevate the everyday to the level of the comedic through a more even-keeled yet effective style of absurdity here, there is a certain degree of impact missing that will will be expected given the star. While Howery provides the perfect foil to Andre’s Chris and Tiffany Haddish (here playing Bud’s prison-breaking sister, Trina Malone) is, as always, nothing but an expert improviser (and arguably the reason to see “Bad Trip”), it is Andre’s strange turn to reality which will leave audiences searching for more.

All of this said and done, if it makes you laugh (and I mean really makes you laugh) as it often did me, that can be salve enough.

'Bad Trip'

Rated: R, for crude sexual content, pervasive language, some graphic nudity and drug use Running time: 1 hour 40 minutes Playing: Available March 26 on Netflix

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Watch Bad Trip with a subscription on Netflix.

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With ingeniously gross hidden-camera bits that often find their unsuspecting marks at their best, Bad Trip turns out to be a surprisingly uplifting ride.

Critics Reviews

Audience reviews, cast & crew.

Kitao Sakurai

Chris Carey

Lil Rel Howery

Tiffany Haddish

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Bad Trip Review: A Sugar Rush With A Sweet Core

It takes a very specific kind of performer to anchor a truly effective hidden camera comedy. The Borat films had Sacha Baron Cohen . Bad Grandpa had Jackass veteran Johnny Knoxville. Lucky for Bad Trip , the new Netflix comedy produced by Jackass co-creator Jeff Tremaine, someone as elastic and singular as Eric André exists to carry this ambitious and raucous film on his shoulders. Alongside Lil Rel Howery and Tiffany Haddish , Andre splits his screen time between playing a genuinely compelling character within this insane paradigm while performing excessive Looney Tunes -style bits involving unassuming bystanders.

Bad Trip works best when it functions like a warped reflection of the falseness inherent to modern mainstream comedy tropes that still holds its own in terms of pure shock value in its vulgar pranks. After having been leaked prematurely a full calendar year ago, it's now available (legally) on Netflix, a platform largely populated by exactly the kind of unrealistic laffers the studio system has been churning out forever. Seeing the juxtaposition between this movie and the other jokey flicks it's lampooning when scrolling between algorithmically suggested viewing options makes the final product all the more effective.

Sure, Bad Trip is, admittedly, a concept movie whose one joke would wear thin if it lasted any longer than its tight 84 minutes. But at this length, with this sustained intensity, that straightforward shtick reaps serious dividends.

Doing it for the bit

The central premise of Bad Trip is as standard as they come. André plays Chris Carey, a thirtysomething slacker who has worked at his local mall since high school. After running into an old crush from those teenage days (Michaela Conlin), Chris ropes his best friend Bud Malone (Howery) into a Ferris Bueller -esque scheme to steal Bud's sister's car to drive to New York City to make a big declaration to his unrequited love. But Bud's sister Trina (Haddish) is an absolute menace who breaks out of jail, finds her prized possession missing, and steals a cop car to chase them up the highways of America.

The basic framework is, beat for beat, so similar to so many interchangeable road trip comedies with an artificial romance at their core. But it's the "hidden camera" element that makes it special.

It's as if André, director Kitao Sakurai, and co-writer Dan Curry laid out all the index cards of basic scene ideas on a table and conjured awkward and daring ways to shoot each individual one, including basic levels of improvisation by making all of the one-note background players usually seen for brief moments in mainstream comedies actual, regular folk. So instead of getting a seasoned character actor to play the one-scene role of the old Black man on a bench whose random wisdom sets Chris on his journey, they just use a random old Black man who doesn't know he's interacting with a living piece of fiction.

When Chris and Bud take Trina's car, the car is parked in a real impound lot, so the attendant who signs it out to them is the same man who experiences Trina's absurd wrath when she breaks out of prison. In that earlier prison escape sequence, a normal guy removing some street graffiti is the first person to see Trina hiding under a bus, and his real reactions to this situation, despite somehow not recognizing Haddish, completely trump whatever tired gags some UCB alum would have injected into the throwaway part.

It's a goofy conceit, sure, but it breathes new life into the scenarios audiences have grown numb to over the years, adding a much-needed burst of chaos into the film's deliberately milquetoast narrative. A handful of the pranks themselves push just far enough past the line for decency to question the entire affair. Namely a pair of scenes when Chris gets raped (twice) by a man in a suit posing as a gorilla at the zoo and another involving Chris and Bud, having their respective penises trapped at opposing ends of some Chinese finger cuffs, attempting to escape their predicament inside, you guessed it, an actual Chinese restaurant.

But those unflinching outliers are mainly there to push the envelope and highlight the embedded silliness all the movies they're aping have baked into their very DNA. On a surface level, every movie viewer can recognize how saccharine and forced the average rom-com makes depicting the flutters of love feel. It's just not until they see André performing a La La Land -esque musical number by himself at the mall in front of the entire food court that they can truly feel how uncomfortable such antics would be IRL and not on the big screen.

(They're also not afraid to get very specific with their parody, as seen in the wonderful payoff to recurring gags surrounding the Wayans brothers classic White Chicks .)

That said, there's an even sweeter reason this high concept works as well as it does.

Perspective is everything

On their own, movies built around getting one over on random people just walking around and minding their business get real old, real fast. It's incredibly difficult to perform these cinematic pranks in a way that isn't mean-spirited or grotesque in the sheer audacity of their exploitation.

In Bad Trip , however, the prankees are rarely the butt of the joke, with most of the embarrassment being focused on Andre's Chris, who does the Daffy Duck-iest bumps and flails in his attempts to discomfort and surprise both the viewer and his unsuspecting co-stars. Both Haddish and he have an uncanny ability throughout the film to inject immense chaotic energy into otherwise bland scene prompts, but André in particular takes the formula Cohen so perfected as Borat and turns it up several notches.

See, Borat is a complete cartoon in the sense that there is so little about him that feels realistic. But Chris, as a construct, is a delicate mixture of clueless naïveté and surreal mischief made flesh. The scenes aren't designed to just mess with the subjects, but to push the format of the modern comedic vehicle to its most disturbing and logical conclusion: a gross and unruly mess of violence, buffoonery, and spectacle.

But in a surprising twist, Bad Trip , in the end, isn't the indictment of contemporary escapism it may sound like from description alone. It skewers the living hell out of a type of movie that hasn't usefully evolved in decades, sure. But it's not poking mean-spirited fun at the sort of people that smile so widely at the uplifting, if patently false, moments we've all grown so accustomed to waiting for when watching a comedy.

Some of the best laughs in the movie come from the subversion of expectations that come with replacing actors with blissfully unaware real individuals. There's a great scene when Chris asks a woman to help jumpstart Trina's car, and when he tries to blame her for electrocuting him, her righteous indignation plays so much funnier than any equally fictional bit player could have conjured.

But it's not the laughs that make B ad Trip feel almost transcendent. It's in the sincere and moving interactions the movie's fictional characters have with their real-life scene partners. Whether it's a guy just waiting for his car to be washed earnestly trying to play wingman for Chris or a kind waitress giving Chris and Bud genuine romantic advice, the movie makes up for its gross-out humor with expertly captured observations of the undeniable goodness in people.

A climax when Trina dangles Chris over the edge of a roof attracts a crowd outside of a food truck gawking and filming on their cell phones, but it also highlights people within the mob trying desperately to talk her out of murdering this man they don't even know.

Perhaps no moment encapsulates this better than Chris and Bud's obligatory make-up scene after the lifelong best friends have a second act fallout. It takes place on a bus full of normal passengers, and seeing one woman in particular react the way she might have as an audience member watching this movie onscreen brings the entire metatextual experiment full circle.

Bad Trip is a wild movie and it easily could have been a deeply cynical exercise in sending up the most repetitive and groan-worthy elements of Hollywood psychology. But instead, it winds up strangely touching and reassuring, the way good comedies ought to be.

Bad Trip (2021)

• Parents Guide

Certification

• Sex & Nudity (3)
• Violence & Gore (3)
• Profanity (2)
• Frightening & Intense Scenes (1)
• Spoilers (4)

Sex & Nudity

• Severe 80 of 154 found this severe Severity? None 10 Mild 27 Moderate 37 Severe 80 We were unable to submit your evaluation. Please try again later.
• We see Eric Andre naked a couple of times. Only his butt is seen Edit
• Sex references throughout Edit
• Graphic full frontal male nudity. No female nudity. Edit

Violence & Gore

• Moderate 27 of 59 found this moderate Severity? None 5 Mild 21 Moderate 27 Severe 6 We were unable to submit your evaluation. Please try again later.
• A fight scene happens at the very end. Edit
• A car crash happens. Afterwards, it explodes. No one dies but they are injured. Edit
• A man puts his hand into a blender and blood spurts out. You then see the bloody aftermath, however its not super graphic and is played entirely for laughs. Edit
• Severe 52 of 62 found this severe Severity? None 1 Mild 2 Moderate 7 Severe 52 We were unable to submit your evaluation. Please try again later.
• Frequent Edit
• 115 F words, over 230 uses of curse words Edit

Alcohol, Drugs & Smoking

• Mild 31 of 55 found this mild Severity? None 2 Mild 31 Moderate 16 Severe 6 We were unable to submit your evaluation. Please try again later.

Frightening & Intense Scenes

• Mild 28 of 54 found this mild Severity? None 15 Mild 28 Moderate 6 Severe 5 We were unable to submit your evaluation. Please try again later.
• Nothing frightening or intense happens besides one of the characters wanting to kill two other characters for stealing a car. She also escapes prison to do it. Edit

The Parents Guide items below may give away important plot points.

• A man enters a Gorilla's enclosure to take selfies. The gorilla get a hold of him and take off his trousers exposing the man's bare but. It proceeds to rape the man by humping him form behind. Finally, it rubs the mans face against his groin area vigorously and ejaculates on his face. Slimy white semen is seen dripping and covering him. Edit
• The two main characters get their penis's caught together in a Chinese finger trap and, they show the two penises many times trying to find a way to get it off of them. Edit
• Eric Andre becomes extremely drunk in one scene. Edit
• Later two men accidentally take what appears to be ecstasy and have an extended tripping sequence complete with psychedelic visuals Edit

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Really good

Absurdist comedy - dirty buddy flick.

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‘bad trip’: film review.

Eric Andre, Lil Rel Howery and Tiffany Haddish star in this ribald Netflix comedy in which hidden camera pranks are played on unsuspecting people.

By Frank Scheck

Frank Scheck

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Forget red states vs. blue states, liberals vs. conservatives. The true cultural and social divide can be discerned by the new hidden camera-style comedy featuring Eric Andre , the star of Adult Swim’s cult absurdist comedy series The Eric Andre Show . It all really comes down to whether you think someone pretending to be raped by a man in a gorilla suit or simulating urinating and power barfing in a honky-tonk bar is funny or not. If you’re in the former camp, then Bad Trip , premiering on Netflix, is the comedy for you.

In the press notes, Andre says that he was inspired to make this film after seeing 2013’s Bad Grandpa , the most recent installment in the aptly named Jackass series. Another other obvious antecedent is Sacha Baron Cohen , although his hidden camera pranks are far more sophisticated and satirical. (Ironically, almost no one remembers to credit Allen Funt, who pioneered the concept with Candid Camera more than a half-century ago.)

Release date: Mar 26, 2021

Bad Trip is actually two films in one, although the whole definitely adds up to less than the sum of the parts. The first is a raucous buddy comedy, involving the efforts of perennial loser Chris (Andre) and his best friend Bud (Lil Rel Howery) to drive cross-country so the former can reunite with his high school crush Maria (Michaela Conlin). The second consists of a series of hidden camera pranks on unsuspecting people, who, as the end credits reveal, mainly react with good humor when the subterfuge is eventually revealed. Of course, they could afford to be generous; they didn’t have to sit through the painfully unfunny film that resulted.

Why Andre and his screenwriting collaborators Dan Curry and Katao Sakurai (who also directed) felt the need to construct a narrative, which also features Tiffany Haddish as Bud’s sociopathic sister newly released from prison, is a mystery. It’s never remotely involving, and you can feel the lead performers straining to handle their acting chores. The exception is Haddish, who is so convincingly scary and menacing here that you wish her character were in a better, dramatic movie.

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Really, though, it’s all about the gross-out pranks, which begin with Andre being stripped naked after his clothes are sucked away by a car wash vacuum cleaner (don’t you hate it when that happens?). Other elaborately staged gags include his pretending to have his hand shredded by a blender; Haddish hanging him over the side of a building as horrified onlookers beg her to stop; and he and Howery going on a mock drug trip in a crowded supermarket and, at another point, appearing to have their penises stuck together (don’t ask).

The supposed gullibility of the bystanders at times begs belief, although I suppose it’s possible that some people wouldn’t think twice about Andre reentering the gorilla enclosure after being sexually violated, only to have it happen again in even more outrageous and graphic fashion.

At other times, you simply feel sorry for them. When passers-by attempt to provide aid and comfort after Andre seemingly gets seriously injured in a car crash, or a nurse tries to help when he looks like he’s desperately ill in a bar, or a burly military recruiter awkwardly comforts him after he expresses suicidal thoughts, you find yourself simultaneously marveling at people’s capacity for helping others and angry that their concern has been so casually abused. You begin to admire the bar patron who looks like he’s going to clock Andre when he pretends to nearly urinate on him. The only prank that doesn’t feel nastily exploitative involves an impromptu, elaborate song-and-dance number performed in a mall, although it feels a bit ill-timed now after Netflix’s The Prom .

(Speaking of ill-timed, it might have been advisable for the filmmakers to cut out the bit involving Andre making smoothies and touching all the ingredients with his bare hands in front of appalled customers. It somehow doesn’t feel funny in the age of COVID.)

By the time the film ends with an unfortunate homage to the Wayans brothers’ comedy White Chicks , you’ll definitely be exhausted. The only question is whether it’s from laughing hysterically or being bored out of your mind.

Production companies: Orion Pictures, Gorilla Flicks, The District Distributor: Netflix Cast: Eric Andre, Lil Rel Howery, Tiffany Haddish, Michaela Conlin Director: Kitao Sakurai Screenwriters: Dan Curry, Eric Andre, Kitao Sakurai Producers: Jeff Tremaine, Eric Andre, David Bernad, Ruben Fleischer Executive producers: Gregory Iguchi, Michael Koman, Shanna Zablow Newton Director of photography: Andrew Laboy Editors: Matthew Kosinski, Sascha Stanton-Craven Composer: Joseph Shirley Costume designer: Emily Ting Casting: Wendy O’Brien

Rated R, 84 min.   

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Directed by Kitao Sakurai

Friendships run deep.

Two pals embark on a road trip full of funny pranks that pull real people into mayhem.

Eric André Lil Rel Howery Tiffany Haddish Michaela Conlin Gerald Espinoza Kaleila Johnson Michael Starr Yvette Tucker Allan Graf Kevin Cassidy Cory DeMeyers Henry Wang Charles Green Greg SmithAldridge Adam Meir Peter A. Chevako Dimitry Elyashkevich Guillermo Dionisio Insfran De Fazio Giovanna Dan Murisa Harba Forrest Walsh Anthony J. James Rebecca Rose Goodman

Director Director

Kitao Sakurai

Producers Producers

Ruben Fleischer David Bernad Jeff Tremaine Eric André David Siev Jenna Park Mina Farman

Story Story

Eric André Kitao Sakurai Dan Curry Andrew Barchilon

Casting Casting

Wendy O'Brien

Editors Editors

Caleb Swyers Matthew Kosinski Sascha Stanton Craven

Cinematography Cinematography

Andrew Laboy

Assistant Directors Asst. Directors

Knia Bonds Ibrahim Yilla

Executive Producers Exec. Producers

Jason Cloth Aaron L. Gilbert

Set Decoration Set Decoration

Jennifer Chandler Barbara Pita Riley Faist Mark Graffenius

Visual Effects Visual Effects

Nicolaus Waetjen

Composers Composers

Joseph Shirley Ludwig Göransson

Sound Sound

Trip Brock Joshua Crisci Lorita de la Cerna K. Joshua Fernberg Alexander Jongbloed Xiang Li Raymond Park Kelly Vandever

Costume Design Costume Design

Ryan Martin

Makeup Makeup

Dionne Wynn

Orion Pictures Bron Studios Creative Wealth Media Finance The District Gorilla Flicks

Releases by Date

26 mar 2021, releases by country.

• Digital 16+
• Digital 18 Netflix
• Digital Netflix
• Digital 16+ Netflix
• Digital R18+
• Digital M18 Netflix

South Korea

• Digital 18+ Netflix
• Digital 15 Netflix
• Digital NR Netflix

87 mins   More at IMDb TMDb Report this page

Popular reviews

Review by Karst ★★★★

first 10 minutes were not clicking at all but it got so good....so fast. like as soon as the musical number parody happened it got extremely fun. this is pretty much all my favorite parts of the eric andre show in one movie with the added bonus of being suchhh a clever way of using hidden camera pranks in film. probably the best hidden camera prank movie if we’re being honest? 

just so glad that this makes up for eric andre’s extremely disappointing standup special from last year (that i’m still not over, apparently)

Review by Josh Lewis ★★★★ 9

Has exactly one joke but that joke is fucking genius and incredibly well-realized in the filmmaking. Obviously the Jackass movies and other comedy shows like Nathan For You have done hidden camera pranks while playing characters but there's a unique energy that comes with this almost front-to-back being completely indistinguishable from a cliché scripted studio comedy; the formal structure, pacing, and rhythm of scenes, even specific dramatic shot choices. Capturing these heightened tropes we buy into when we watch movies and then populating them with real people on the periphery to introduce spontaneity (that frequently doesn't play much differently than say improv) and get the most incredible reaction shots imaginable. There are some amazing set pieces conceived and I haven't…

Review by demi adejuyigbe 5

This is outstanding. Takes the beats of a by-the-numbers studio comedy and plays it out with unwitting participants in a way that reveals just how much true human nature is reflected in even the least believable parts of those movies (which is a real chicken-egg scenario, because who knows if that's a reflection of how much we all wanna be the people in those movies!) If aliens came to Earth and needed proof that humans were good, I think I'd show them this movie!

Love love loved it. Already feel like I wanna rewatch it, which is the mark of a special movie to me. I think the psychology of hidden camera prank movies like this is so interesting that…

Review by demi adejuyigbe 9

“Jackie, you talk too much!”

Review by Joe ★★★★★ 6

Genders and genres

Review by Matthew Christman ★★★½ 49

Okay, is having a dude who looks and sounds like Hannibal Burress but isn't Hannibal Burress play the part that was clearly written for Hannibal Burress a bit?

Review by Jay ★★½ 12

spielberg better hold off releasing his west side story remake because this is the only love story about a guy chasing a girl called maria i need this year

Review by Ayo Edebiri ★★★★½ 6

Such a fun idea executed really creatively! I think it’s fun when a movie is fun and that’s it!!!

Also tbh so much more fun than B*rat 2, where SBC clearly thinks he’s like Jesus and then tries to show people’s like (??) inner prejudices (which I’ve always hated bc like...girl, I’m black lol...I know) and (frankly) then does nothing about them.

The blooper reel especially made me love this movie. A lot of people’s first instincts are to either mind their business or to help. Nothing really sinister about it...just trying to have fun.....ok.....I laughed so much....

Review by SilentDawn ★★★★½ 2

Such a thrilling comedy. Real life taking shape as a movie. Best laugh: the random dude who brought up Samuel L. Jackson in The Negotiator .

Review by Eli Hayes ★★★★½ 9

One of the best comedic satires of the century, in my book. Kitao Sakurai and Eric André's Cabin Boy. An absurdly hysterical social and filmic commentary created through inconceivable but perfect methods of cinematic magic. Structure and form as spy cameras capturing reactions and moving the characters, or personas, forward. Security images as propellers which drive the roles to their ridiculous "finish." Really though, the film has no beginning or end (in the same sense of the slick transitions between the cameras, tones, etc. used to distinguish multiple aesthetic realities). It amalgamates flawlessly, ultimately existing in the faction of our subconscious aching to see an amusing interruption or disturbance from the colorless status quo.

Review by Matt Singer ★★★★½

This review may contain spoilers. I can handle the truth.

A magnificent tribute to the power of motion pictures in general, and specifically to the power of the motion picture White Chicks . If you don’t laugh at this movie, consult a physician immediately. The only problem with Bad Trip  is I didn’t get to see it in a theater — because it would have been even funnier with a crowd.

Review by esther ★★★★ 1

a beautiful ode to the human ability to be cool and generous with strangers even in bizarre and uncomfortable circumstances

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Bad Trip Review: Eric André’s Hidden Camera Comedy is Hilarious

• Zoë Rose Bryant
• March 26, 2021

Bad Trip is a raucous road trip comedy that gives stars Eric André, Lil Rel Howery, and Tiffany Haddish the space to show off their side-splitting skills.

Hidden camera comedies may feel like a relic of the past to modern-day moviegoers, but when they had their heyday in the early aughts, their profusive popularity was simply staggering . Johnny Knoxville ( Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles ), Spike Jonze ( Her ), and Jeff Tremaine ( The Dirt ) truly brought the concept to the mainstream in 2000 with their MTV stunt/prank show Jackass – which subsequently gave way to a stupendously successful movie trilogy and similarly lucrative spin-off, Bad Grandpa . Provocateur extraordinaire Sacha Baron Cohen ( The Trial of the Chicago 7 ) even got in on the action a few years later with his Oscar-nominated Borat and the manic mockumentary Brüno , furiously breaking through former boundaries in film with his salacious setpieces. Unfortunately, as interest in the subgenre seemed to wane somewhat over the last decade, many of these comedians retired their characters and started to pursue other projects aside from those that put them on the map.

And yet, with the arrival of the 2020s , the unexpected occurred – it looked like hidden camera comedies were set to have a “second life” of sorts. Just last year, Borat Subsequent Moviefilm became a massive hit on Amazon Prime – 14 years after the release of the first film – and eventually earned two Oscar nominations as well (for both supporting actress Maria Bakalova and the movie’s adapted screenplay). Meanwhile, Jackass 4 is now tentatively scheduled for this September. Could we really be witnessing the rebirth of the hidden camera comedy renaissance ? It’s probably too soon to say, but if the latest additions to the subgenre are as amusing as Eric André’s (Adult Swim’s The Eric André Show , The Lion King ) chaotic cross-country adventure comedy Bad Trip , keep ‘em coming.

Bad Trip begins as André’s Chris- a crude man-child drifting through a string of dead-end jobs – bumps into his high-school crush Maria (Michaela Conlin, of Fox’s Bones and Enchanted ) whilst serving customers at a smoothie shop. Instantly infatuated once more, Chris tries to make a move with Maria, but she sadly tells him that she is merely passing through Florida for a few days and will be heading back to her job in New York City soon to open an art gallery. After leaving Chris with an invite to the opening, he hits up his best friend Bud (Lil Rel Howery, of Get Out and Judas and the Black Messiah ) – who is equally as unenthused with his current existence – to take a riotous road trip up to NYC.

The one hitch? Neither has a car. Enter Bud’s belligerent sister Trina (Tiffany Haddish, of Girls Trip and Night School ) a rowdy rabble-rouser who is heading off to jail (again), allowing the boys to “borrow” her prized vehicular possession. However, when Trina is able to break free of the feds, she sets off on a search for her stolen car, seething with rage and intending to make Chris and Bud “pay” when she gets her hands on them. Therefore, the pair only have a set period of time to make it to NYC before Trina catches up and keeps Chris from his romantic reunion.

Story isn’t the prime concern for a film like Bad Trip , but it is undoubtedly impressive how André and writer-director Kitao Sakurai are able to structure the film’s side-splitting skits and sketches around a semi-solid plot structure, telling a traditional but touching story about friendship and appreciating what’s in front of you while you’ve got it. “Bromantic” comedies are nothing new ( Superbad , Step Brothers , 21 Jump Street , etc.), but Bad Trip hits on the expected beats in brilliantly frivolous fashion, making the “same-old same-old” still seem satisfyingly entertaining and sincerely affecting as well.

That being said, let’s be real – you watch a movie like Bad Trip for those previously mentioned outlandish pranks first and foremost, and André and co. deliver in spades . Though the film starts out with a merely “silly” set-up, these scenes quickly become unavoidably uproarious , with several sketches leaving audiences in stitches even minutes after they’ve ended. From a brutal mishap involving a blender at Chris’ smoothie shop to an erotic encounter with a gorilla to Trina’s hilarious harassment of strangers as she scours the East Coast for Chris and Bud, there is almost zero time to catch your breath whilst watching Bad Trip , and the film is all the better for it. Even more remarkable is how they capture such raucously amusing reactions from the real people they run into.

André is a devilish delight as the childish Chris, channeling an erratic energy on his escapades that is just utterly infectious. His willingness to really “go there” even in Bad Trip ’s grossest gags is comically commendable, and his dedication never wavers whatsoever. Having been at the head of this project the whole way through, André just understands the material inside and out, and his passion for the film is palpable, always shining through in his performance as well. Howery is tasked with being the more “down-to-earth” member of this dynamic duo, but he’s certainly no slouch comedically, matching André’s mania magnificently and conveying a charming and convincing chemistry with André too.

Haddish is no stranger to “over-the-top”/“in-your-face” hijinks – having already displayed such shenanigans in films like Girls Trip , Nobody’s Fool , and Uncle Drew (which, interestingly enough, also starred Howery) – but she gets to dive into some darker territory here with Trina, imbuing the escaped convict with an intimidating antagonism that is dually humorous and horrifying. She’s a true force of nature through and through, and while we’re always concerned to see what chaos she may cause, we’re equally as mesmerized by her maniacal malevolence, and it’s to Haddish’s testament as a comedian that she can toe this line so terrifically.

Bad Trip doesn’t ever try to be any more than a bawdy blast, and thankfully, it doesn’t have to – André and his team know exactly what movie they want to make here, and by honing in on the film’s core hilarity at the expense of any extraneous elements, they’re able to succeed wildly at shaping a new hidden camera comedy classic . Thanks to gloriously elaborate and inventive gags and the complete commitment of its three lead cast members, Bad Trip is a sterling addition to this once-prolific subgenre, and it signals a new future for these films throughout this decade.

Bad Trip is now available to watch globally on Netflix .

• TAGS: Netflix

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Netflix’s Bad Trip Might Help You Feel Better About Our Broken Nation

It might not be entirely accurate to call the new Eric Andre film Bad Trip a prank comedy, since prank comedies often turn on making unsuspecting people look like idiots. Punk’d , for example, was all about putting unaware celebrities into situations where they would (hopefully) act like dolts or hypocrites for all the world to see. Da Ali G Show often did the same with politicians, and the Borat movies, of course, do it with the entire United States of America. Even the uncontrollably nutty prank segments on The Eric Andre Show generally require more activity on the part of the ordinary citizens that have wandered in front of its hidden cameras. They are, for all intents and purposes, still the subjects of the gags in question.

Bad Trip , however, doesn’t really take aim at its unwitting bystanders. More often than not, the movie is a closed circuit of idiocy, whereby the actual actors act like buffoons with each other, leaving everyone else — all the real people, as it were — to just observe and react (or, in some cases, not). And weirdly, it’s refreshingly free of cynicism. Most of the bystanders in the film seem to be helpful, tolerant, sensible — which seems downright shocking at a moment in time when we’ve all been told that we hate each other’s guts. Bad Trip might be a dumb, gross candid-camera comedy, but don’t be surprised if it makes you feel a little better about your world.

It’s also absurdly funny, though it’s not quite absurd ist , unlike the genuinely bizarre, did-I-dream-that heights of Andre’s ruthlessly inventive Adult Swim show, with which it shares a creative team, including director Kitao Sakurai. (This film was produced by Jackass ’ Jeff Tremaine, who admittedly did something similar with the surprisingly heartwarming Johnny Knoxville stunt-comedy Bad Grandpa eight years ago.) Bad Trip ’s brand of comedy accelerates between standard slow-burn humiliation and outright gross-out shock, but the fact that it’s all happening out in public, in front of all to see, lends the proceedings an electric unpredictability.

You can see this very early on, as Chris (Andre), working at a carwash, awkwardly takes a customer into his confidence about how another customer who just arrived, Maria (Michaela Conlin), was the girl he had a crush on in high school. He tells the man he’s still desperately in love with Maria and determined to finally ask her out. Then, suddenly, all of Chris’s clothes are sucked off his body by an overzealous vacuum cleaner, and the poor customer is forced to ask Maria for her phone number, all while an extremely naked Chris hides in one of the cars and eggs him on. The cringe comedy tenderizes us for the bigger, broader gags, and vice versa. It’s not sophisticated stuff (especially compared to the gonzo hidden camera gags on The Eric Andre Show , with its surreal, delirious, complex pranks built within other pranks), but there’s a method to it.

The story, such as it is, is so thin it’s practically translucent. Still dreaming about Maria, who curates a gallery in New York, Chris convinces his best friend Bud (Lil Rel Howery) to go on a road trip from Florida to New York. To do so, they take Bud’s sister Trina’s car, since she’s behind bars. Of course, Trina (Tiffany Haddish) escapes (with the conflicted aid of an unsuspecting mensch, whom she enlists in helping her get out from under the prison bus where she’s been hiding) and goes after our heroes with a vengeance. Along the way, everyone gets in a variety of scrapes: Chris has an unspeakable encounter with a gorilla at a zoo, while Trina hijacks a cop car by ripping off its door, all while everyone around them looks on in befuddled shock.

Sometimes, they’re more than shocked. At a bar where Chris gets blitzed and falls off a wall, an off-duty nurse in the crowd rushes to his aid. (He promptly projectile vomits all over her — but to her credit, she continues trying to assist him.) After Chris and Bud get in a seemingly horrific car wreck and then bicker with one another, eyewitnesses intervene and try to de-escalate the situation. When a distraught Chris goes to an Army recruiting stand and tells the soldier he wants to enlist because he wants to die, the man actually tries to talk him down. Late in the film, as Trina hangs Chris off the roof of a building and threatens to throw him over, a group of people at street-level try to negotiate with her. In contrast to Sacha Baron Cohen’s Borat Sagdiyev, who tends to lead with his contempt (with admittedly often glorious and surprising results ), wherever Chris, Bud, and Trina go, they find their fellow Americans not just willing to help them out, but often knowing how to do so. (An unspoken but poignant thread running through the picture is the suggestion that these anonymous bystanders might have found themselves in similarly extreme situations before, for far less entertaining reasons.)

Though Bad Trip is a loose, often shapeless movie, its focus on the common humanity of those caught by its lenses is certainly a choice on the part of the filmmakers. It wouldn’t have been hard to accelerate these situations to the point where everyone began to act like jerks, and one presumes plenty of stuff has been cut out. (We do see some outtakes over the end credits, along with footage of people learning that they’ve been on camera all this time.) I don’t want to oversell Bad Trip — if it doesn’t make you laugh, chances are it will annoy the shit out of you — but its generosity toward our fellow humans can, at times, be genuinely moving.

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Home » Review » Bad Trip Review: This Ravi Varma, Krishna Chaitanya, Archana starrer lacks proper thrills »

Bad Trip Review: This Ravi Varma, Krishna Chaitanya, Archana starrer lacks proper thrills

Bad Trip Review: The Sony Liv show has a good backdrop but lacks gripping drama

• Avad Mohammad

Last Updated: 12.10 PM, Mar 10, 2023

Sony Liv's Bad Trip is about Abhi(Krishna Chaitanya), Ved(Ravi Varma), Santosh(Giridhar), and Jo(Ardika Sharma) who have their own issues in life. They meet in weird circumstances and together make a plan to kidnap Reya(Archana Sastry), the rich wife of a business tycoon. But as they kickstart their plan, they come across startling facts about Reay and her background and get stuck in an even more serious problem. What is it and how did they come out of it is the story of the eight-episode series.

Bad Trip is a kidnapping drama directed by Krishnakanth. He narrates the story of four loses in life and gives them a circumstance where they make a big kidnapping plan in order to become rich overnight. The story of each character in the group of four is nicely told in the initial part of the show. The scenes that showcase the prep for the kidnap and the manner in which their insecurities are showcased by the director are the best part. How a group of losers with low confidence attempt a big crime is the basic plot and this setup are impressive.

But it is the mid-episodes that get boring. Once the startling revelation about Archana Sastry's character happens, things get boring. The crime angle and the ones behind the whole setup are not elevated properly. On paper, Bad Trip has an impressive storyline with everyone trying to cross each other for money. But there is no proper emotion in the narration. Sometimes, the series lacks basic seriousness as the threat factor that the kidnappers need to undergo is missing.

Performances wise it is Krishna Chaitanya who is the best of the lot. He as the carefree rogue does his role convincingly. Archana makes a comeback and shocks us with her role. Her character revelation and the way she plays it in a bold manner are impressive. Giridhar as the tense cab driver was also very good in his role. Ravi Varma gets a good role and he too manages to impress in the last few episodes. Adrika Sharma was just about okay she has not been given the best lines.

One of the biggest drawbacks of Bad Trip is the cuss words used. They flow like water and every other dialogue has a cuss word which was not needed at all. The usage of such language will restrict the watching experience of the show with our family. The character of Jo is only seen using these cuss words which look vulgar after a while. Freedom of language in web series is okay but doing it to this extent is not done at all.

Also, Bad Trip suffers from the lack of proper conflict points. There is no proper villain and though the reason for it is justified in the end, the lack of a fear factor when a gang goes kidnapping is missing in the show. After a while, things become so easy for the audience to understand what will happen next. There is no wow fact or scenes that will shock you in the series. However, the characters are etched decently. The track of Ved and Jo is nicely thought of and gives an edge to the show.

The entire series is shot at night and the camera work is impressive. The editing is not that great as close to an episode can be chopped off to make things interesting. Music by Gyani Singh is not that great, especially, since the BGM should have been gripping but that is not the case. The production design, costumes, and locations chosen are very good. In a way, Bad Trip has the setup, performances, and chance of revealing great thrills but is made silly with mediocre narration.

Bad Trip has a good premise, a decent storyline, and able performances. But it lacks gripping narration and dragged scenes which is a must for a kidnapping drama. The usage of too many cuss words is also a big put-off and spoils the mood of the audience and makes this series a below-par watch.

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These TripAdvisor Reviews Are So Bad They Don't Make Sense

Posted: June 29, 2024 | Last updated: June 29, 2024

10 Hilariously Bad TripAdvisor Reviews

10. Eat Your Veggies

"couples stay away".

This couple thought they could relax and gorge on dessert while on vacation. What they didn't bargain for was a chef trying out the new healthy menu on them. Someone get them a bagel.

(via TripAdvisor )

9. Much Beach, Very Sand

“beach is too sandy. but clear water.”.

Have you never been to a beach before? Isn't sand kind of the whole point? Anyway, we're confused about what the actual complaint is here.

8. No Kiss Goodnight

“only adequate at half the price”.

This reviewer clearly didn't take the hint from housekeeping: there's some  attraction  between this occupant and the maid. See what we did there? But really, this is a case of when one man's trash ISN'T another's treasure.

7. This Place Is Abuzz

“find someplace else”.

Nature is an unpredictable beast. We could say that the hotel probably could have sprayed off the balcony, but clearly you're doing something wrong if you walk straight into a beehive.

6. I Drink Your Milkshake

“horrid experience never stay there”.

Someone's a little dramatic. We're hoping this manager was practicing his lines for an important callback. Otherwise, there are some Marxist anti-capitalist issues he needs to work out on his own.

5. We're Not In Kansas Anymore

“stay away”.

Clearly these people didn't get the memo that the third floor corridor was out of bounds to students. But is Fluffy really an "animal?" Three-headed dogs are definitely the things nightmares are made of.

4. Home Video Memories

We're all for open and honest communication between parents and children, but even this might have been a little premature.

3. You Serious Clark?

“wonderfully horrifying”.

We detect a hint of sarcasm here. On the plus side, Steven King should really write more travel reviews because this horror story setup has chills running down our spine.

2. Humble Brag

“do not waste your money here”.

We're not sure if this is a complaint against the hotel or just some cathartic writing to help feel better about a personal problem? Either way, we have to say we're impressed with the ingenious way you took matters into your own hands.

1. Hands Off

“dont go - its a rip off”.

To be fair, we're not exactly sure that a dolphin could hug you back, but we sure would like to see it try. Maybe tickling the dolphin next time instead of poking it would be a better plan, and the trainer will begin to relax around you.

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What is considered a bad credit score?

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Key takeaways

• A FICO score below 580 or a VantageScore of less than 601 is considered a bad credit score.
• If your score falls in the bad credit range, you will face less favorable outcomes with lenders (who may charge you higher interest rates), landlords (who could deny you housing) and maybe even prospective employers (who might reject you for a job).
• You don't need to live with bad credit. You can improve your score in various ways, such as making on-time payments and becoming an authorized user on the credit card account of a friend or family member with good credit habits.

A bad credit score is a FICO score below 580, meaning it falls in the poor credit range. Along the same lines, a bad score in the VantageScore model is one below 601, which would belong in the poor or very poor credit ranges. Scores in these ranges are often referred to by lenders as “subprime,” and people with bad credit scores may find it difficult to gain access to credit with favorable terms (or at all).

Bad credit makes many common financial activities more difficult, whether you’re applying for a personal loan or taking out a mortgage, and it can even prevent you from getting a new job. Those with bad credit might also find it harder to qualify for a credit card or get stuck with lower credit limits and higher interest rates if they are approved — something that could quickly make life unaffordable if they have to carry a balance, as 44 percent of cardholders do, according to Bankrate’s Chasing Rewards in Debt survey .

Here, we’ll break down what it means to have a bad credit score, as well as what impact it could have on your life and what you can do to fix it.

What is a bad credit score?

There are two widely used credit score types : FICO score and VantageScore. While both scoring models use a credit spectrum ranging from 300 to 850, their credit scoring ranges are somewhat different.

What is a bad FICO credit score?

In the FICO (that is, Fair Isaac Corporation) scoring model, scores range from 300 to 850. This number is designed to signal to potential lenders how risky a particular borrower is. If your credit score lands between 300 and 579, it is considered poor, and lenders may see you as a risk.

Here’s how the FICO credit scoring system ranks credit scores:

FICO credit scores

• Poor: 300-579
• Fair: 580-669
• Good: 670-739
• Very Good: 740-799
• Exceptional: 800-850

In October 2023, the average FICO credit score in the U.S. was 717 points , which is squarely in the good range. If you have subprime credit (less than 670), your credit score falls in either the fair or poor range and is considered to be below average.

What is a bad VantageScore credit score?

VantageScore is another credit scoring model that pulls data from consumer credit reports in order to calculate a credit score. In the VantageScore model, a score between 300 and 660 is considered a subprime credit score, with scores below 500 deemed very poor.

The VantageScore model breaks down its credit score ranges as follows:

VantageScore credit scores

• Very Poor: 300-499
• Poor: 500-600
• Fair: 601-660
• Good: 661-780
• Excellent: 781-850

The average VantageScore credit score in April of 2024 was 702 — well within Vantage’s good credit score range.

Factors that impact your credit score

Your credit score is based on the information in your credit report. Each of the three major credit bureaus (Equifax, Experian and TransUnion) builds a unique credit report based on the way you use the various credit accounts under your name.

Here are the five factors that make up your credit score , according to the FICO model:

Credit score factors

Keep in mind: VantageScore uses similar factors but slightly different terminology and category weights. Under the VantageScore 4.0 model, the factors that affect your credit score are payment history, depth of credit, credit utilization, recent credit, balances and available credit. Among these, payment history, depth of credit and credit utilization are the most important, weighted at 41 percent, 20 percent and 20 percent of your score, respectively.

It’s possible to have a high credit score even if you are weak in one of the five factors. If you are relatively new to credit, for example, you might not have an extensive credit history — and you might only have one or two credit cards under your name, which means you don’t have much of a credit mix yet.

However, if you make on-time payments, keep your balances low and avoid applying for too much credit at once, you can still build and maintain a good credit score.

The impact of a bad credit score

Overall, here are some of the unfortunate ways a bad score can impact you :

• Harder time getting credit approval: Lenders view borrowers with bad credit as a risk, which means they’re less likely to approve you for credit. Since banks and lending institutions typically have rigorous qualification standards for their products, getting approval for a loan or credit card can be difficult for anyone with a bad credit score.
• Higher interest rates and more restrictive terms on loans and credit cards: Some lenders have more lenient guidelines and will approve a borrower with bad credit for credit products. However, they’ll likely offset their risk by attaching a higher interest rate to the loan or credit card — meaning you’ll pay more in interest.
• Higher insurance premiums: Most states allow home and auto insurance carriers to check your credit scores as part of their risk analysis. Your insurer may consider your bad credit score an indicator of higher risk overall and charge you a higher premium.
• Tougher time renting an apartment: Many landlords run background checks that include credit information on potential tenants. While this is different from a credit check performed by a lender, your landlord may be able to see your payment history, overdue bills and other information. Ultimately, landlords may be less likely to approve a lease for applicants with bad credit than they are for tenants with good credit.
• Restricted career opportunities: With your written permission, it is legal in most states for an employer to review your credit report and use the information when making hiring decisions. Although some states have laws that restrict using credit information in the hiring process, other states don’t offer such protections.
• May have to make a deposit for utilities: Utility companies can and do perform background checks on those who seek their services. If your credit history is poor, you may be required to pay a security deposit in order to establish utility services.

All of these effects can weigh on your mind. According to a 2023 survey by FICO , 85 percent of Americans find that when their credit score is healthy, they feel more secure in general.

If you’re concerned your credit may be having a negative impact on your life, you can take proactive steps to raise your credit score.

How to improve a bad credit score

There are many ways to improve your credit score . Ultimately, it comes down to taking strategic action and consistently making strong financial decisions. Here are six steps you can take to improve your credit profile:

• Check your credit reports: Start by getting a free credit report from each of the three major credit bureaus at AnnualCreditReport.com , a government-authorized website. You can access these reports weekly. Dispute any errors and identify the negative information bringing down your score so you know where to focus your credit repair efforts.
• Avoid late payments: Since payment history makes up the largest portion of both your FICO and VantageScore scores, paying your bills on time is one of the best ways to build and maintain strong credit. Consider setting up automatic payments on your accounts to prevent late payments.
• Lower your credit utilization ratio: Your credit utilization ratio is another important factor in your overall credit score. A common rule of thumb is to keep your balances below 30 percent of your credit limit, although the highest credit score achievers typically use less than 10 percent of their available credit, according to one FICO study .
• Become an authorized user: If your credit history is thin or you just want to improve your payment history, consider asking a friend or relative to add you as an authorized user on their credit card account. Assure the person helping you that you don’t even have to use the card or even know their account number. This strategy can be beneficial if the person you ask has an account with a high credit limit, low credit utilization and a strong history of timely payments. However, any negative marks on that credit account will also affect your credit score, so make sure you only do this with someone you trust to use credit responsibly.
• Sign up for a secured credit card: Cardholders of secured credit cards open their accounts by putting down cash deposits as collateral, so their credit scores aren’t as important when it comes to the approval process. Because it’s much easier to get approved for a secured credit card than an unsecured one , these cards can be great tools for repairing or building credit. Many issuers even give you the opportunity to graduate to an unsecured credit card in their lineup once you’ve raised your score and have shown that you can use your card responsibly.
• Look into credit builder loans: Credit cards aren’t the only financial tools available for those with bad or no credit history. If you don’t feel like a credit card is right for you , consider getting a credit builder loan instead. These types of loans work in reverse from traditional loans. Instead of the bank giving you a loan and you paying it back little by little, the bank deposits your loan into a savings account or CD account and gives you access only after you’ve paid them back with routine monthly payments.

The bottom line

A bad credit score is a FICO credit score below 580 and a VantageScore lower than 601. If your credit isn’t where you would like it to be, remember that a bad credit score doesn’t have to weigh you down. You can take simple steps to improve your credit, such as signing up for a secured credit card or a credit card designed for bad credit , then making consistent on-time payments. With one of these tools, you might even see results quickly. It’s worth the effort, because good credit can lead to more opportunities and financial benefits.

Article sources

We use primary sources to support our work. Bankrate’s authors, reporters and editors are subject-matter experts who thoroughly fact-check editorial content to ensure the information you’re reading is accurate, timely and relevant.

“ What is a Credit Score? ” myFICO. Accessed on June 19, 2024.

“ What Is a Good Credit Score? ” Experian. Accessed on June 19, 2024.

“ Average U.S. FICO Score at 717 as More Consumers Face Financial Headwinds FICO. Accessed on June 19, 2024.

“ April 2024 CreditGauge Report: Loan Origination Rose ” VantageScore. Accessed on June 19, 2024.

“ The Complete Guide to Your VantageScore ” VantageScore. Accessed on June 19, 2024.

“ How Owing Money Can Impact Your Credit Score ” myFICO. Accessed on June 19, 2024.

“ How are FICO Scores Calculated? ” myFICO. Accessed on June 19, 2024.

“ Consumer Survey Reveals Key Relationship between Financial Confidence and Credit Scores ” FICO. Accessed on June 19, 2024.

“ Do Utility Companies Run Credit Checks? ’  Experian. Accessed on June 19, 2024.

“ Why Employers Check Your Credit Report and What They See ” Experian. Accessed on June 19, 2024.

“ Review your rental background check ” Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Accessed on June 19, 2024.

“ Does Credit Score Affect Car Insurance Rates? ” Allstate. Accessed on June 19, 2024.

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Mariners pummeled by Rays as road trip goes from bad to worse

ST. PETERSBURG – The juxtaposition in execution, production, competitiveness, performance and resilience over the first two games at Tropicana Field has been so stark, so glaring.

If 100 casual fans were forced to watch both games at Tropicana Field without any background of the season’s results and asked which team had a better record or was in a better standing for the postseason, none could reasonably say the Mariners.

The Mariners produced all of the variables in their equation of defeat – yet another dismal showing at the plate filled with strikeouts, a subpar outing from the starting pitcher and a bullpen implosion late in the game – resulting in an 11-3 pasting by the Rays.

“We’re not playing good baseball right now,” manager Scott Servais said. “You need a few things to go your way and when we make mistakes or walk a few guys, it has come back to bite us. We’re just not playing great baseball right, it happens over the course of the season.”

With Tuesday’s drubbing, Seattle has now lost every series on this three-city road trip from hell. They Mariners go into Wednesday afternoon’s series finale trying to avoid being swept for the first time this season.

“For a lot of us in this locker room, we’ve gone through this the last few years where we kind of understand that we’re gonna hit these stretches,” said first baseman Ty France. “You just lean on each other and use each other to get through it. It’s baseball. It’s hard, but you just gotta keep going. You look up and we still lead the division.”

For the moment.

The timing of this unavoidable stretch of bad baseball has come at the worst possible time with the Astros and Rangers playing much better.

When the Mariners opened the nine-game road trip with an 8-5 win over the Guardians, they had a 44-31 record and 10-game lead over both the Astros and Rangers, who were 33-40 at the time.

Since then, the Mariners have gone 1-6. Meanwhile, the Astros have won six games in a row and the Rangers have gone 4-2. Seattle’s lead over Houston is down to four games and the lead over Texas is at five games.

Knowing the bullpen was taxed from use this series and with several relievers unavailable to pitch, Luis Castillo tried to get the Mariners through six innings but couldn’t do it.

With the score tied at 2-2, he started the sixth having thrown 87 pitches and struggling to find any efficiency. Castillo got Isaac Paredes to pop out to third for the first out. But his command started to dissipate. He walked Richie Palacios despite being up 1-2 in the count. His next three pitches were nowhere near the strike zone. He threw more competitive pitches to the free-swinging Jose Siri, but a 3-2 fastball leaked in off the plate for another walk.

With Castillo at 103 pitches, manager Scott Servais had to go to the bullpen for a semi-fresh arm in the difficult situation.

Mike Baumann was called on to work out of the situation. The failure came on his first pitch – a 96-mph fastball. Left-handed hitting Taylor Walls yanked it into the right-field corner, just out of the reach of Dominic Canzone. It scored both runners with ease while Walls raced to third for a triple.

Both runs were charged to Castillo. His final line: 51/3 innings pitched, four runs allowed on five hits with four walks and four strikeouts.

In nine road starts this season, Castillo has a 2-6 record with a 4.58 ERA. In 51 innings pitched, he’s struck out 46 batters with 21 walks.

The inning continued to devolve quickly when the next batter, Ben Rortvedt, somehow got on top of a 95-mph fastball well above the strike zone. A pitch that was supposed to generate a swing and miss on a 1-2 count was deposited into the seats in right-center for a two-run homer and a 6-2 lead.

The Mariners cut into the lead when Mitch Garver hit a solo homer to left field in the seventh. He has homered in each of the games in Tampa.

Any scintilla of hope for a comeback was crushed in the bottom of the inning when Eduard Bazardo gave up three runs with some help from Cody Bolton.

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Jill Biden Could Make or Break Biden’s Campaign. She Says She’s All In.

If President Biden seriously considered departing the race, the first lady would be the most important figure other than Mr. Biden himself in reaching that decision.

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By Katie Rogers

Katie Rogers covers the Biden administration and the Biden family and reported from Washington. She is the author of a book on first ladies.

• Published June 28, 2024 Updated June 29, 2024, 1:15 a.m. ET

President Biden knew immediately after stepping off the stage in Atlanta on Thursday night that the debate had gone wrong. In those first stricken moments after a raspy, rambling and at times incoherent performance, he turned to his wife, Jill Biden.

Whatever was going to happen next in Mr. Biden’s last presidential race, after perhaps the worst moment of his long political life, was always going to come down to her. His wife of 47 years had entered his life all those decades ago, reluctant to get into politics but fully embracing his dreams and his belief that he would one day reach the White House.

Now, her 81-year-old husband looked at her after a disastrous 90 minutes onstage.

The first lady’s message to him was clear: They’d been counted out before, she was all in, and he — they — would stay in the race. Her thinking, according to people close to her, was that it was a bad night. And bad nights end.

“To say they’ve been in foxholes together doesn’t even begin to explain their bond,” said Elizabeth Alexander, the first lady’s communications director, who has been with Mr. Biden since his Senate days.

So Dr. Biden spent the 24 hours after the debate putting her decades as a political spouse to the test, projecting confidence and normalcy while effusively praising her husband. But, like the president, she is an intuitive political messenger who can sense the mood of a crowd. She knows that along with the cheering supporters, there are legions of people suddenly accusing her of forcing an old man to put one weary foot in front of the other.

If Mr. Biden were to seriously consider departing the race, allowing a younger candidate to replace him, the first lady would be the most important figure — other than the president himself — in reaching that decision.

“Jill is the final and most important voice. She knows him and loves him with a passion. She also knows everything about him. Most big decisions are made with Valerie and Jill in the end,” said John Morgan, one of Mr. Biden’s top donors, referring to the president’s younger sister, who has run nearly all of his political campaigns.

Indeed, as major Democratic Party donors connected Friday, by text, by phone or in person, one of the most immediate questions they asked one another was whether any of them knew how to get a meeting or a conversation with the first lady.

After nearly a half-century in politics, the Bidens view themselves as long-game people. And right now, neither wants the story of the president’s long political career — one defined by tragedy, resilience and unceasing ambition — to end on a stage in Atlanta, across the podium from former President Donald J. Trump, a man they both revile.

“He wants to win and she wants that for him, and for the country,” Ms. Alexander said. “She’s his biggest supporter and champion, because she believes in him, and she fears for the future of our country if it goes the other way.”

In front of supporters on Friday, the first lady embraced the talking points espoused by Democratic Party leaders, including the vice president, Kamala Harris , that Mr. Biden’s bad performance did not erase years of successful legislating.

“As Joe said earlier today, he’s not a young man,” Dr. Biden told a group of donors assembled in Manhattan on Friday afternoon, her third stop since leaving Atlanta. “After last night’s debate, he said: ‘You know, Jill, I don’t know what happened. I didn’t feel that great.’ I said, ‘Look, Joe, we are not going to let 90 minutes define the four years that you’ve been president.’”

Dr. Biden understood that the debate night had amounted to a serious misstep. The president had needed to walk into the debate hall and address concerns about his age. Instead, he walked onstage after six days of preparations and mock debates at Camp David and had little other than a raspy voice to show for it. (The White House said he had a cold.)

She listened as Mr. Trump mocked him. “I really don’t know what he said at the end of that sentence,” Mr. Trump said when Mr. Biden blundered an answer on immigration. “I don’t think he knows what he said either.”

She listened as the former president attacked Hunter Biden, Mr. Biden’s son whom she had raised since childhood and had stood by during a recent trial on gun charges, sitting front row in the courtroom as the worst moments of his addiction were recounted for the world to see.

And she watched as her husband looked wide-eyed and slack-jawed as Mr. Trump went on, angrily absorbing what was happening but largely unable to hit back.

Afterward, Dr. Biden held hands with the president, who walked gingerly down the stairs. The moment quickly went viral. At a campaign-organized watch party the Bidens visited shortly after the debate, she praised her husband for his performance. But critics elsewhere saw her giving him a virtual pat on the head for simply making it through the debate.

“You answered every question, you knew all the facts,” she said. “And what did Trump do?”

“Lie!” the crowd shouted.

Suddenly, a first lady who had skirted major controversies over the past three and a half years found herself in the cross hairs of people who believe she has been trying to hide his diminished faculties.

“What Jill Biden and the Biden campaign did to Joe Biden tonight — rolling him out on stage to engage in a battle of wits while unarmed — is elder abuse, plain and simple,” Representative Harriet M. Hageman, Republican of Wyoming, wrote in a social media post.

The Drudge Report , a prominent conservative-leaning website whose author, Matt Drudge, has soured on Mr. Trump, ran an unflattering photo of the Bidens on Friday with the headline “CRUEL JILL CLINGS TO POWER.”

The first lady and her advisers have long noticed similar claims on conservative websites, and are aware that they are leaking into the mainstream. Ms. Alexander said Dr. Biden views her “amorphous” role as “an act of service, rather than some mythical power grab invented by the dark corners of the internet.”

She added that the first lady sometimes felt hamstrung by the demands of the role , one rife with expectations and hidden trip wires.

“You have to be supportive, but not so supportive that your motives are questioned,” Ms. Alexander said, placing much of the blame on the internet, bots and a right-wing machine that fuels “every conspiracy.”

Advisers to the president and first lady downplay the idea that she has the ability to unilaterally pull the plug on the president’s re-election campaign and clear the way for another candidate four months before a presidential election. They acknowledge her unique influence and power in his life, but they say Mr. Biden is in control of his own campaign.

“There’s too much putting this on Jill,” said one of Mr. Biden’s top advisers, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss a family dynamic. But as long as Mr. Biden wants to run, advisers say, she will support him.

“When Joe gets knocked down, Joe gets back up,” she told the donors in New York. “And that’s what we’re doing today.”

Katie Rogers is a White House correspondent. For much of the past decade, she has focused on features about the presidency, the first family, and life in Washington, in addition to covering a range of domestic and foreign policy issues. She is the author of a book on first ladies. More about Katie Rogers

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