LolliLove (2004) User Reviews (16)

Love it? Oh would love more of it!

[twistedhooch · 7/10 · 22 April 2006]

As a fan of the good people at Troma's work and ideals, it was on visiting the Troma site that I stumbled on this gem; a mockumentary about helping the homeless by giving them lollies, Lollilove is a sharp satire about helping those less fortunate and a strong debut from Jenna Fischer, but not without flaws.

The characters are well written, and the cast are believable and funny. Even Lloyd Kaufman, in one of his stronger role, as Father Lloyd. James Gunn gets most of the laughs as the ridiculous artist husband, making a number of very un-pc statements - his character is improved for it. The editing, though, is the films trump card, making the film hold together better than most mockumentaries (and a lot of the Troma back catalogue for that matter), looking a lot more professional than its meagre budget justifies. Though Lollilove isn't your average Troma picture and probably won't please all Troma fans, this does share the Troma independent spirit and the dark macabre humour.

That said, there are flaws, the major one being its length; a 65 minute running time, which for a feature film is not long enough to be truly satisfying, at least to this cinephile; yes, the deleted scenes on the DVD would have harmed the film had they been included, but Lollilove would have benefited an extra day or twos shooting, and 10 minutes more the running length. One clumsy directorial choice was the bleeping of swearing, intended to make Lollilove more like a TV show, but seems out of place given the dark nature of humour. Also, a couple of points in the film the joke ratio isn't as strong as it could be, especially when compared to the work of Christopher Guest (a tough comparison point, being that he's an auteur of this genre).

Though not perfect, Lollilove is a wicked satire, a promising debut, and a good Troma title to boot. Perhaps to fully appreciate this film, it is necessary to note the low budget production values, and the work done between husband and wife Jenna and James Gunn. This is worth further investigation if your a fan of mockumentaries, and have a dark sense of humour.

They Do Smell: The History of LolliLove

[Tromafreak · 6/10 · 18 February 2009]

I love it, it's all they ever needed. All the cold, lonely nights, and the begging for change. Not to mention the drugs and alcohol. All that crummy luck had a solution all along, just staring us right in the face. Lollipops!! Of course, why didn't I think of that?

Jenna Fischer directs herself, as well as her husband, James Gunn as "superficial, clueless versions of themselves" in the smartest Troma comedy of the decade, or probably ever, Lollilove. Certainly more original than it may, at first, seem , Lollilove is a mockumentary about an incredibly self involved, yuppie couple,"James and Jenna". Jenna, an ex-model, is looking to get her name back out there, just a little notoriety. Maybe all these celebrities who start charities (only for the good of their careers) are on to something. Then again, all that stuff sounds kind of hard. After loads of soul searching, Jenna figures out a way to impress everybody without putting herself out too much. With the help of her husband, James "wrote Tromeo & Juliet" Gunn, Jenna buys tons of lollipops to hand out to the homeless, so they can realize that they matter. James is even using his "artwork" to design the wrappers, with positive slogans, and everything. So, those filthy bums can finally realize how special they really are. it's gonna be sweet!!

Wait, what? The company which makes these lollipops are now threatening legal action against the Gunns? Don't they know poor Jenna is only trying to be famous? I told you this charity stuff was hard.

Don't ever say (hot) women can't be funny. Jenna Fischer obviously knows what's funny, and it shows in some of her priceless facial expressions. And James Gunn is equally hilarious as a smug, germ-phobic jackass who is just a little too pleased with himself. These two really make this type of comedy work (the censors were actually a nice touch), which is not the usual type of comedy that the Troma team goes for, but somehow, that works as well, just an all around swell hour of entertainment. For more in hilarious mockumentaries (with food in the title) check out the more mean-spirited, Dirty Cop No Donut. Lollilove is mostly for those who appreciate edgy satire, but, especially recommended to those who just plain love to laugh. 8/10

An intelligent comedy from Troma...wonders never cease

[Red-Barracuda · 6/10 · 24 September 2017]

A yuppie couple want to give something back to the community. They have a scheme which involves giving out special lollipops to the homeless. They believe that the homeless could learn self-worth via lollies wrapped in special wrappers covered in inspirational slogans and drawings.

This low budget mockumentary is quite surprisingly a product of the Troma studio. I say unexpected as their brand of comedy could best be described as 'wilfully stupid', whereas this film contains a comedy of a far subtler variety. The two stars are Jenna Fischer and James Gunn, who also wrote the thing. It's a very good bit of work from them as they both put it great comic performances as the narcissistic couple who are so self-obsessed they never realise just how ridiculous their foolish scheme is. The writing too is pretty good with a lot of black comedy and satire. But the most impressive thing for me was that I found myself actually laughing aloud a few times which is more than happens with most comedies. Not a bad effort at all.

Who knew the solution to homelessness was so simple?

[lewiskendell · 6/10 · 23 November 2010]

"That the lollipops of Lollilove may propel homeless people to going out and do something good with their lives. Feeling good about themselves. Perhaps getting a job. Maybe using birth control."

Lollilove is a pretty funny flick, but in a very dark way. Jenna Fisher must have quite the black sense of humor to write something like this, because many of the jokes cross the "politically correct" line in a way that you'd expect from Sarah Silverman, not from the angel-faced woman that so many people have become fans of because of The Office.

This mockumentary follows a vapid, shallow, wealthy couple (played by Jenna and her ex-husband), who feed their own vanity by coming up with an absurd scheme to help the homeless...by founding a charity named Lollilove. A charity that aims to inspire and help those living on the streets by giving them a lollipop every week. Lollipops with (supposedly) life-changing artwork and slogans written on custom (and very expensive) wrappers. The story follows them trying to procure a corporate sponsor and funding to get their "charity" up and running, and then we see them and a few of their friends put their plan into action. The relationship of the couple also gets tested by the strain of their efforts, and starts to deteriorate as Lollilove comes together.

As I said, this is a pretty dark comedy. You have to have a specific sense of humor to "get" it. When the jokes work, they work very well (the homeless man that confronts Jenna with his..."desires" near the end left my side hurting from laughing), but there are also some that fall flat. Still, for such a low budget production, I though Lollilove was fairly impressive. At the very least, fans of Fisher should check it out.

Light Fun

[samkan · 6/10 · 31 May 2013]

I watched this nine years after it was made; i.e., post Jenn Fischer fame. Although nothing daring or inventive (Hollywood airheadedness has been spoofed since...well, Hollywood.) Gunn and Fischer play off one another so very well and manage to come off marginally believable in a satire that is decidedly unbelievable. Interestingly, the use of profanity is put to great effect to contrast people who have deluded themselves yet momentarily step into the real world and therein swear like sailors. Had you asked me in 2004 I'd have guessed Gunn would be the one placed in a hit TV show, though Fischer shows some real acting chops here (in fairness, THE OFFICE never challenges Jenn). In contrast to one of the COMMENTERS suggestion that LOLILLOVE might have been made longer to achieve feature length, I think editing off 10 or fifteen minutes would better serve the work. Would like to see these two in another spoof though that'll never happen as they were married when LOLLILOVE was made but are now divorced. I'm wondering if the wedding footage in LOLLILOVE was the real thing.

It's gonna take a lollilove

[jfgibson73 · 7/10 · 24 September 2009]

Watching this movie, I felt like I was looking over Jenna Fischer's resume. Like Owen Wilson in Bottle Rocket, this was a comedic performance that makes the case for why Jenna should be a star. Considering where her career has gone, I guess it worked. Some sitcom stars get their start by doing stand-up. Then, someone from a network or studio likes them enough to develop a series around them. I can imagine Jenna wrote and directed this to get her name out there.

It is done in the mockumentary style, so popular now in the age of irony. Yes, as another poster commented, Christopher Guest does do it better. But Lollilove was good enough most of the way that this didn't distract me. I even started to enjoy James Gunn, whose character seemed to obvious to bring any genuine laughs. Bottom line: a fun hour with a very likable cast.

Makes You Appreciate Christopher Guest

[konky2000 · 4/10 · 22 May 2006]

This film really makes one appreciate just how brilliant Christpher Guest's mockumentaries are. It also makes one realize that a TV show like The Office is much harder to make than it might appear.

All that naturalistic mockumentary acting looks so easy, but if this film, Lollilove, proves anything it is that mockumentaries can be very hard to make.

There aren't any glaring mistakes in the film's production, but rather none of the elements of the film are done to the level that needs to be done to make these films work. The acting is just a tad overdone, the writing is slightly implausible, and the camera-work is amateur. All those small mistakes add up to bring the entire thing down to the level of mediocrity.

To be fair, the film seems like more of a casual side project than an attempt at film-making history. It seems that the actors obviously knew the film was kind of a lark and not something that should be taken very seriously. In fact, low budget films like this almost never get put out on DVD, so it is pretty interesting from that standpoint.

Even if you are a die hard fan of the genre, though, I would say that you could miss this film without any regret at all.

Total Garbage.

[bizzyziggy · 1/10 · 3 July 2022]

How did this get greenlit? It's awful. Nothing redeeming whatsoever about it. Not funny. Thankfully, Jenna got away from the poison that is James Gunn.

Excellent and hilarious!

[bela_bombastic · 10/10 · 4 January 2007]

Knowing that this movie was made with such a tiny budget really is amazing. The idea is just genius: a yuppie couple decide to give out lollipops covered in "designer wrappers" hoping to inspire the homeless to get jobs, stop doing drugs, or even stop blowing up planes (with James' characters Mustafa and Osama bin Awesome). Of course, their idea is met with a lot of skepticism as well as downright anger, but Jenna and James fight through this negativity and get to live out their "dream." And fail. It's not politically correct, and it's not glossy or perfect, but goddamnit, that's the way movies should be! See this movie!

Low budget and still a waste of money

[andrewkazanas · 1/10 · 30 January 2023]

Really? I'm tired of these turds with 4+ stars wasting my time. Let's get some honest reviews on here! I said all that was needed in less than 100 characters so here is 500 form the Declaration of independence..

The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen united States of America, When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.--That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, --That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn, that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right....

Hilarious

[dr.al · 10/10 · 29 March 2006]

One of the most scathing, crude, funny, spot on satires I've ever seen. If you're looking for the darkest of satire unencumbered by a big studio that try's to be PC about everything this is the movie for you. Take time out to watch the outtakes, deleted scenes and all of the extras on the DVD. I don't think I've ever laughed so hard. Fantastic.How they got everyone together without laughing long enough so they could complete this is a feat I'll never be able to do. Just the idea for the movie, passing out lollipops covered in wrappers that contain uplifting phrases and inspirational paintings - and then thinking that this will in some small way help homeless people, is inspired. Truly unique - and hilarious.

Mockumentary at its finest

[manfesto · 8/10 · 9 March 2006]

This movie is mockumentary at its finest - never so outlandish that it's implausible, yet significantly funnier and wittier than what happens in day to day life.

The movie as a whole centers around the trials and tribulations of a would-be Hollywood power couple as they struggle to start a nonprofit organization to help the homeless, with only their naivety, narcissism, and good intentions to guide them. Jenna, the self-proclaimed "Martha Stewart" of fund raising, and her obsessive-compulsive egomaniac "artist" husband James are looking to help the homeless thru "inspirational" art wrapped around lollipops but just can't seem to get the idea off of the ground, whether it be a lack of support from others or an internal tiff or two in their marriage. Absolute hilarity ensues as they work to conquer both. It's not that they don't know that there are problems in the world - it's that, being of well means, they have no idea how to approach the problems at hand. They always innocently see the world through the eyes of the well privileged and are left wondering why nothing seems to go right.

Their naivety is, more than hilarious, touching. As narcissistic as their idea of inspiring the homeless is, you want very much for them to succeed, because in a less-than-perfect world where nobody helps the homeless at all, you at the very least appreciate the seemingly sincere (though misguided) efforts of these two, and you want not to ruin the dreams of those so innocent.

The movie on a whole is a bit rough around the edges - many parts were improvised, and this shows through on a few of the more inconsistent scenes. It sometimes helps scenes to come across as more natural, but more often than not it feels like somebody forgot a line and was trying to cover up. Still, on a whole, this movie is hilarious, touching, and very much worth your time should you come upon it at your local video rental store.

AS AN L.A. EX-PAT, THE OBSESSIVELY SELF-ABSORBED NARCISSISTS PORTRAYED HERE BRING BACK FOND MEMORIES

[Tony-Kiss-Castillo · 9/10 · 27 February 2024]

Reading aother Review, I felt motivated to watch and review this film. LOLLILOVE got a firm hold of me 10 minutes in...and never let go! Here's a MOCKUMENTARY, set in the L. A. area (Where else, right?), that focuses on the foibles of charity volunteers who do what they do not out of any blind, selfless "Mother Teresa" style commitment to others, but basically because of how it makes THEM feel!!!

With LOLLILOVE, the term "LOW Budget" really doesn't apply...It's more like: "NO Budget"! Apparently, the female lead, Jennifer Fischer(Jenna) also directs, co-wrote the screenplay, provided the storyline and is credited as Illustrator! But if you want a real example of wearing many hats, her husband, Peter Alton, serves as Narrator, Screenplay Co-writer, Composer of Original Music, Film Editor, Cinematographer, Sound Recordist and Graphic Artist! WOW...Talk about a One-Man-Band!

Invariably, these tiny, totally unpretentious film projects are much more successful at making me laugh than your typical, 100-Million-Dollar-Overblown-Formulaic-Hollywood "Comedy"! LOLLILOVE is no exception.

As a Los Angeles area ex-patriot, the obsessively self-absorbed narcissists portrayed here bring back fond memories! Like those self-mesmerized Hollywood publicists, who gradually convince themselves of the veracity of the B. S. press releases they spin for their clients, the would-be-do-gooders in LolliLove seem to have brainwashed themselves into the firm belief that handing a homeless person a designer lollipop with an artsy Pollyanna-style feel-good message on the wrapper will be a life-changing event that will instantly put them on the fast-track to 12-Step Rehabilitation and unbridled success!

Oh, yes...And all this for only a measly $250,000 in charitable, tax-deductible contributions...Why can't they seem to find any contributors?!?! It's inspired, all-in-good-fun, biting satire at its best.

9*********.... ENJOY! / DISFRUTELA!

Any comments, questions or observations, in English o en Español, are most welcome!

The Troma movie that Everybody will like!

[Ton_O · 10/10 · 5 February 2008]

Directed by and starring Jenna Fischer who most people will know from her role in the American version of The Office TV series. Her very natural acting abilities make it very easy to forget that the documentary LolliLove you are watching, is actually a skillfully scripted and directed film. Fischer wrote her directorial debut with Peter Alton and (uncredited) her real-life husband James Gunn (writer of the Scooby Doo films, Dawn of the Dead remake and Tromeo and Juliet and writer/director of Slither) . Gunn also plays her husband in the film as well, and as he has shown briefly in Tromeo & Juliet, his acting is of the same lifelike quality as Jenna's. Lollilove is about those people who try to do the right thing by devoting themselves to a charity project for all the wrong reasons and without any genuine knowledge or understanding of the badly treated individuals in our society they try to help, and even worse so: without any interest in them apart from the opportunity to show off as a better person themselves. And the saddest thing is that they don't even know or realize this themselves. A very dark comedy that is never too funny and sometimes gut-wrenchingly showing the mental poverty of those who are looked upon as being well off. With this film as her debut as a film director, it should only be common sense to be confident that Jenna Fischer has a rich career ahead of her. The feature film is done justice with a rich collection of extra's on Troma's DVD presentation that would make Criterion proud. A very informative and entertaining audio-commentary by Fisher and Gunn with Peter Alton and producer Stephen Blackeheart (100 million BCfriends, a very detailed behind the scenes documentary and a rich collection of deleted scenes and interviews with the Gunns, but also historic film introductions with James Gunn and Stephen Blackeheart from various Troma films, exclusive footage from the set of James Gunn's Slither and much more. Also starring Linda Cardellini (E.R., Broke Back Mountain), Jason Segel (CSI), Joan M. Blair (Donnie Darko, E.R.), Lloyd Kaufman (Terror Firmer) and many more, this is a star studded film that would have been a huge hit if it wasn't released by a blacklisted small independent film studio. Do yourself a favor and see this film. Buy it. Enjoy it. Highly recommended!

An excellent satire that oddly enough makes you think.

[Wade_C · 10/10 · 21 April 2020]

2004, Year of Shrek 2, Spider-Man 2, The Incredibles, Sideways, Harry Potter 3 or whatever, but I never heard of this. LolliLove sounded a little odd at first, not gonna lie. When I saw it was a satire and it starred Jenna Fischer and James Gunn, two of some of my favorite filmmakers, I was sold.

Now, Amazon Prime is doing 7 day trials, and this movie was on there. It's on Vudu and Tubi for free as of 4/20/2020, so anyone with internet has no excuse to not go check it out, Right now, Stop reading this review, Just watch it.

So, I decided to check it out, It was 6:45 AM, I needed to get to sleep so I could get back to writing when I woke up. It was only 64 mins, so I decided to check it out.

From the beginning, There's narration from someone who I'm willing to bet was just a friend of the Gunns (at the time at least, considering now Fischer and Gunn are divorced) and after he helped write Jenna write it, he said "I WANT TO BE THE NARRATOR!" Jenna and James probably looked at him like he was nuts, but they needed a narrator, so there we go. We got whoever Peter Alton is. The narration isn't bad, although I still think it'd possibly be better without it. HOWEVER, Due to this being a satire, I can understand why so I can't be too angry at it considering I probably would've wrote narration for a satirical documentary if I was the writer.

We immediately, after some amazing shots of California, get straight into the Gunns talking about their marriage (they're divorced). They do share chemistry for sure, They work as a couple in the film about as well you'd expect from a real-life couple, What I'm saying is, They work. Gunn and Fischer are both extremely likable, despite how many lines of Gunn's tend to be offensive (I was not offended because honestly who cares) and Fischer's lines tend to sound somewhat selfish. However, Their acting is so excellent that we can't help but like them.

Immediately, Once they begin the charity work, The hilarity begins. Fischer begins calling probably every single company in California (although I'm going to guess the calls were staged). It's hilarious to see this woman scream curse words at random Company peeps and Gunn seeming to fail at almost everything he attempts to do. Gunn becomes obsessed with the drawings. He urinates on paper, He screams at the paper, It's awesome to see Gunn play this ridiculous version of himself.

Eventually, After Fischer continues to be hilarious and Gunn feel like a crazy slasher killer about his drawings, Someone named Larry Fitzgibbon, a company person, gives them a chance. They begin their presentation, and this is where a subplot about their marriage comes in. After the presentation, Larry seems as if he's going to give them the money-- BEFORE he wants to see the lollipops.

This is where that marriage plot begins to kick in, Gunn blames Fischer for the lack of lollipops and then they improvise something. However, Gunn takes all the credit, and as they leave, They speak to a woman who wants to volunteer. Gunn then calls her beautiful (THE woman who wants to Volunteer, by the way), which causes Fischer to give her infamous death stare for anyone familar with her filmography/her role in The Office (US). Then once they're about to get in their car, They break. Fischer goes nuts and screams curse words once more (and it's still funny and awesome to see this actress going nuts to her husband who's playing a self-obsessed/selfish character). Her husband in this film is portrayed as kinda your average self-obsessed character, He even plays GTA instead of helping her with the lollipop artwork!

There's also a lot of cameos by actors and actresses like Judy Greer (who per usual feels like she's bored out of her mind), Jason Segel, and Linda Cardellini, who were dating according to the narrator. There's a funny scene involving Fischer, Gunn, Segel, and Cardellini where the Gunns ask for over 250,000$ for this "LolliLove" charity, in which Segel and Cardellini deliver surprisingly good performances for the cameo roles they have. They pretty much shut the Gunns down as soon as they ask for it.

This kinda begins the characters' downward slope, but I've already explained what went down from there.

Overall, I won't get in to what happens after all the events I mentioned because that is where this film gets better (although it was excellent to begin with) and even somewhat shocking (Lloyd Kaufman has a freaking cameo man!). Overall, Just see it, It's an excellent satire that makes you curious about what would happen next? Due to Fischer and Gunn's divorce, I'd love to see a sequel with Jenna Fischer and Lee Kirk, her now-husband, trying something bigger and better, They have two kids, so maybe that could make a sequel much more interesting! Oh well, It'll probably never happen unless an actual studio asked her to make it, but oh well.

We can at least hope for it to one day happen.

One day.

One day.

Worths to watch Lollilove's every second

[tunceryildiz · 8/10 · 26 December 2008]

Being a fan of low budged documentaries, i find the scenario quite extraordinary. It's not easy to keep the difference and originality of scenario when making mockery about the clichés.

After watching some part i started to think whether Lollilove was gonna turn out to be a simple mockery or criticism of local situational documentaries, but thank God it was not one of them. Script, roles, screen play, naturalism keeps Lollilove pretty genuine. People's weird approach to charity, show business side of charity, useless and pointless presentations, dumbness of a so called artist who illustrates his wife raped, an inharmonious couple who emphasis their happiness in front of cam,.. and so many staff were target and nicely annihilated. Illustration of rape was hilarious and outstanding by the way.

Sarah and Jenna were saying "lollilove" so cute that i'd make a donation with pleasure.

Just an hour is filled with many sarcastic details and humor, it really worths to watch its every second carefully.