The Binge is a 2020 American parody film directed by Jeremy Garelick and written by Jordan VanDina. A parody of The Purge, the film stars Skyler Gisondo, Eduardo Franco, Dexter Darden, Vince Vaughn, Grace Van Dien and Zainne Saleh.

The Binge
Official release poster
Directed byJeremy Garelick
Written byJordan VanDina
Produced by
  • Jeremy Garelick
  • Mickey Liddell
  • Pete Shilaimon
  • Will Phelps
  • Ryan Bennett
  • Michael Schade
Starring
CinematographyAndrew Huebscher
Edited by
  • Waldemar Centeno
  • Ian Kezsbom
Music byMatt Bowen
Production
companies
Distributed byHulu
Release date
  • August 28, 2020 (2020-08-28)
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

The Binge was released in the United States on August 28, 2020, by Hulu. The film received generally negative reviews from critics, although the performances of the cast, especially Vaughn's, were praised.[1][2]

A Christmas-themed sequel, It's a Wonderful Binge, was released on December 9, 2022, by Hulu.[3]

Synopsis

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In a parody of The Purge, all alcohol and drugs are prohibited the entire year, except on the titular Binge, where alcohol and drugs are permitted for 12 hours.

Cast

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Production

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In September 2019, it was announced Skyler Gisondo, Eduardo Franco, Dexter Darden, Vince Vaughn, Grace Van Dien and Zainne Saleh had joined the cast of the film, with Jeremy Garelick directing from a screenplay by Jordan VanDina, with LD Entertainment and American High producing, and Hulu distributing.[4]

Filming

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Principal photography began in September 2019 in Syracuse, New York.[5]

Release

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The Binge was released on Hulu in the United-States on August 28, 2020.[6]

Reception

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On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 22% based on 27 reviews, with an average rating of 4.6/10. The website's critics consensus reads: "The Binge starts out with the promise of a fun time, but gets sloppy on bottom-shelf humor and stumbles face down into the gutter."[7] On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 35 out of 100, based on 10 critics, indicating "generally unfavorable reviews".[8]

John DeFore of The Hollywood Reporter praised the performances of the cast, especially Vince Vaughn's part, despite stating that the characters have generally no outstanding or unusual characteristics, and that Jordan VanDina's script delivers absurdities, which leaves some questions unanswered.[1] Bill Goodykoontz of The Arizona Republic rated the movie three out of five stars, found Vaughn's part as one of the best aspects of the film through the personality of his character, and praised the depiction of a strong friendship between the characters, but stated that the film still fails to deliver enough good jokes.[2]

Molly Freeman of Screen Rant gave rated the movie two and a half out of five stars, found the premise of the movie quick and easy to apprehend, and complimented how the characters explore their world, but claimed that the film lacks an entertaining story, while finding the characters being undeveloped to be satisfying enough.[9] Tomris Laffly of RogerEbert.com rated the film two out of four stars, praised the complicity between the main characters and the sense of humor of the movie, but stated that Vaughn's shy performance as the villain is barely remarkable, and that the movie does not deliver enough humorous scenes for a comedy film.[10]

Sequel

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A Christmas-themed sequel, It's a Wonderful Binge, was released on December 9, 2022.[11] The film was directed by Jordan VanDina, and stars Kaitlin Olson, Tim Meadows, Eduardo Franco, Danny Trejo, and Dexter Darden.[12]

References

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  1. ^ a b DeFore, John (2020-08-27). "'The Binge': Film Review". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on 2022-04-30. Retrieved 2022-04-30.
  2. ^ a b Goodykoontz, Bill (August 26, 2020). "'The Binge' isn't afraid to lean into its own stupidity, thank goodness — and Vince Vaughn". The Arizona Republic. Archived from the original on 2022-04-30. Retrieved 2022-04-30.
  3. ^ Grobar, Matt (2021-12-21). "American High Gets Into Franchise Business With 'The Binge 2: It's A Wonderful Binge' As Hulu Greenlights Sequel; Jordan VanDina To Direct In Feature Debut". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on 2022-04-30. Retrieved 2022-04-30.
  4. ^ N'Duka, Amanda (September 20, 2019). "Vince Vaughn Set To Star In Hulu Movie 'The Binge' From American High". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on September 20, 2019. Retrieved September 21, 2019.
  5. ^ Herbert, Geoff (September 21, 2019). "Revealed: Vince Vaughn is filming Hulu party comedy 'The Binge' in CNY". Syracuse.com. Archived from the original on September 22, 2019. Retrieved September 21, 2019.
  6. ^ Spellberg, Claire (July 16, 2020). "New On Hulu August 2020". Decider. Archived from the original on July 30, 2020. Retrieved July 21, 2020.
  7. ^ "The Binge (2020)". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango. Archived from the original on 2020-08-21. Retrieved October 10, 2021.
  8. ^ "The Binge Reviews". Metacritic. Archived from the original on August 19, 2022. Retrieved September 2, 2020.
  9. ^ Freeman, Molly (2020-08-28). "The Binge (2020) Movie Review". Screen Rant. Archived from the original on 2022-04-30. Retrieved 2022-04-30.
  10. ^ Laffly, Tomris (August 28, 2020). "The Binge movie review & film summary (2020) | Roger Ebert". RogerEbert.com. Archived from the original on 2022-04-30. Retrieved 2022-04-30.
  11. ^ Jackson, Josh (July 27, 2023). "New Movies on Hulu". Paste. Archived from the original on 2023-08-31. Retrieved 2023-08-31.
  12. ^ Bernard, Emily (December 1, 2022). "A Guide to December's Exciting New Movie Releases, From 'Violent Night' to 'Avatar: The Way of Water'". Collider. Archived from the original on 2023-08-31. Retrieved 2023-08-31.
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