Australian director David Michôd, whose last film was 2019’s “The King,” is back in the crime genre, although it doesn’t seem to resemble his “Animal Kingdom” one bit, rather, it’s a pitch black stoner comedy. It also sounds very extreme.
Back in July, I had posted a reaction for Michôd and A24’s stoner comedy “Wizards!” The person who watched it was thoroughly repulsed by it. Supposedly, there’s a shit-eating scene that will have many people talking.
One of the stars of “Wizards!”, Franz Rogowski, tells IndieWire that the film is being edited, again, and that Michôd is still trying to find the right version for his film:
As far as I know, they had a version, and now they are editing a new version. They’re still looking for the right tone.
“Wizards!” (exclamation mark included) follows Pete Davidson and Rogowski as two pothead beach-bar operators who find a bag of stolen money. Their attempts to keep the money a secret start to unravel as the plot gets knottier.
I gathered a few reactions earlier in the summer, the consensus from the test screening seemed to be split. Here’s a reaction:
What I saw was absolutely the most pointless film of the year. Two loser friends who bought an island resort accidentally find a duffel bag full of cash after a guest disappears mysteriously and leaves clues to an island where it’s buried. Sean Harris comes along and starts asking about any information as they try to keep it a secret, his psychotic tendencies start testing them and there is a moment where they are forced to eat shit, literal shit, a 5 minute moment of Rogowski eating a solid turd and Davidson eating liquid shit. It’s trying to be something in the vein of “The Beach Bum” and “Smiley Face” but there isn’t enough weed to save it.
“Wizards!” skipped the fall fests. I was told “SXSW makes the most sense,” which means it might be premiering in March.
Michôd is writing and directing “Wizards!” His past directing credits include “Animal Kingdom,” “The Rover” and “War Machine.” None other than Joel Edgerton gets a story credit here. As mentioned, A24 is handling the film.