Writing and directing a murder mystery doesn't lead people to implicate its writer/director as a murderer, or as inherently mysterious. Yet when you're Jens Pilegaard and you write and direct a wonderfully eccentric nut job comedy like Arizona Seaside, it's hard not to presume that Pilegaard must in Real Life be gloriously off-the-rails. It's just how it works.

Whether or not that's true, Arizona Seaside picks up the stick and slaps you with it early and often. One look at the log line portends what lies ahead: "A Kazakhstan girl crosses paths with a sweet conman moonlighting as a Robin Hood for stray animals." Game on! As the film opens up its metaphorical bathrobe and exposes its goofball self to the audience, we see a weirdly solid storyline relationship develop between the Kazakstani runaway wanting to be a country music superstar (!) and the anal-rententive, business-minded bloke Pilegaard shrewdly counterpoints her against. Despite a cast as large and as wildly unique as the comedic ideas flying in and out, Arizona Seaside admirably holds its focus on these two core characters throughout this cleverly absurdist ride.

If you're the type who needs comparables, sketch-driven mainstays like Saturday Night Live (when at the height of its powers) and the legendary Monty Python are legitimate reference points, as is Chevy Chase's Vacation series: All utilize the outlandish melded with a coherent story. Through to the end, Arizona Seaside is as fun as it is funny.

This is a fun offbeat comedy with colorful characters. Worth watching!

Honestly, I don't get why this film receives such good ratings here. I understand that some will appreciate its trashy charme and like it but I don't see how someone can put this on the same shelve as some top movies.

I had two major problems with this movie. The first one is that it quite randomly jumps through settings and sometimes even time, which makes it ridiculously hard to follow the story because you always have to keep in mind what happens first and who is involved. The second is that it's actually a bit stereotypical. I don't know if it's because of "Borat" but what do Americans have with Kazhakstan? Why is it always depicted like the last communist bastion of the world? I'm quite convinced modern times have arrived there as well and America should be a bit more respectful (And no, I have nothing to do with Kazhakhstan) That said, I just don't see the point in this movie. There are better regular movies, there are better trash movies. Some ideas were charming, most weren't. Many people seem to like it though and if you develop sympathy that's of course perfectly fine. Judge for yourself.