Pixels displays more comedy 0's than 1's

Campy comedy classics enjoy box office success and sometimes critical acclaim thanks to memorably offbeat humor. Although Pixels may not rank with the likes of Airplane! and Spaceballs, its surprising assortment of hilarious one-liners burnish an otherwise lackluster film.

Pixels starts in 1982, when three teen friends—Sam, Will, and Ludlow—dominate the arcade scene, winning Pac-Man, Centipede, and Donkey Kong tournaments. At the Arcade Games World Championship, Sam (Adam Sandler) places second to archrival Eddie “The Fireblaster” Plant (Peter Dinklage). NASA records the event, launching the videotape and other elements of culture on a rocket ship into space.

Years later, a distant alien civilization misinterprets the recording as a declaration of aggression, sending oversized versions of classic video game creatures to attack Earth. Will (Kevin James), now president of the United States, enlists his former gamer buddies and Eddie to instruct American and British armed forces in strategies for defeating the arcade-characters-come-to-life.

But the film itself only occasionally comes to life. Pixels puts viewers through several yawn-inducing segments. The only function of a blandly blooming romance between loner Sam and divorcée Lt. Col. Violet Van Patten (Michelle Monaghan) seems to be to push Pixels beyond the one-hour mark. And James and Sandler, each lost in limbo between funny and straight man, score few comedy points.

But Ludlow (Josh Gad) provides several needed jolts of humor. Many of his throwaway lines caught me off guard, making me roar with laughter. Just after the invasion, Sam reconnects with Ludlow, who is trying to stay off the CIA’s radar because of his wild conspiracy theories. “The Zapruder film was edited!” Ludlow shrieks. “JFK fired first!”

Later, Ludlow approaches Violet and remarks admiringly, “You smell so nice, like the book of Genesis.”

Although it’s a movie about video games, Pixels (rated PG-13 for some language and suggestive comments) is definitely not for children. The frequent use of a profanity referring to women should merit sticking the film with a PG-31 rating. And Pixels hovers in its own awkward, quasi pro-gay limbo. Military commanders embrace then push each other away. And during his Chris Farley-channeling pep talk with rough, tough, buff soldiers, Ludlow goes down the line, slapping each one on the rear end to their disapproving looks.

If the film does make a point, perhaps it is this: Lamentably, many modern video games reward individuals for nothing more than their ability to maximize virtual carnage. But at the dawn of the video game era, boys, as they blasted their way through Asteroids and Galaga, pretended they were saving the world. Pixels confirms many grown-up boys still cling to that fantasy.