Bad Trip

A film built out of hidden camera pranks. The structure is simple: there is an invented story about two friends travelling from Florida to New York, and every event inside it is performed in front of real people who have no idea. So the actors are Eric André, Lil Rel Howery and Tiffany Haddish; everyone else is a passer-by. After each scene the crew explains and obtains permission. The most discussed sequence is at a zoo. The people on the tour are genuinely visitors and know nothing; the keepers were in on it, because the scene was shot in a private area requiring permission. The gorilla is a performer in a costume. The surprising thing is how people react: most try to help, offer advice, embrace them. André said there is not a single fake reaction in the film, and that becomes its actual subject. Before you watch, know this: the humour is extremely crude and some scenes are sexual; there is also a staged car crash and a staged attack. Most of the people pranked took it well, but the ethics of frightening people without their knowledge is never examined by the film itself.