Search Party (film)


Search Party is a 2014 American comedy film directed by Scot Armstrong in his directorial debut, and co-written with Mike Gagerman and Andrew Waller based on a story by Gagerman and Waller. The film stars T.J. Miller, Adam Pally, Thomas Middleditch, Alison Brie, Shannon Woodward, and Krysten Ritter. The film was released in 2014 internationally, but was not released in the United States until May 13, 2016, by Focus World.

Plot

Daniel "Nardo" Narducci is having a bachelor party with his best friends, Jason and Evan. Nardo tells his friends he isn't sure he is doing the right thing while under the influence of marijuana. The next day in the middle of the wedding Jason tries to stop Nardo from getting married, which makes the bride Tracy storm out.
Tracy goes alone to the honeymoon vacation in Mexico. Nardo goes after her to get her back, but on his way he is carjacked and left naked. He calls Jason for help. Jason puts Evan in the car while he is asleep and heads towards Mexico. They stop in California to get a fake ID because Jason has lost his.
Nardo arrives at a town in Mexico and calls again, he is next to a wire service company and Evan offers to send him money through it. They go to a casino to meet a friend who can help them transfer the money. Evan hits on a girl in the casino, but she drugs him and takes him to a room to steal his kidney. Jason finds Evan and eventually rescues him from the criminals. While escaping, one of the criminals shoot them with burning arrows and one arrow hits the car, the car then burns and explodes.
Failing to get any money, the woman who agreed to help Nardo gets angry and he runs from her and jumps right into a cocaine pickup truck. When found, he is tied to a chair. At some point Nardo frees himself, jumps into the truck and drives away. He gets to see Tracy through a hotel window but before he gets to her, he gets caught by a guard and sent to jail.
After that, Nardo sends for help by making a phone call to Evan. The rescue is successful, and Nardo and Tracy get married.
The post-credits scene shows that Berk is coming for revenge.

Cast

In March 2010, it was revealed that Sony had picked up the spec-script 'Road To Nardo' written by Andrew Waller and Mike Gagerman, with Scot Armstrong directing and producing the film. It was also announced Ravi Nandan, Neal Moritz, would produce alongside Armstrong under their Original Film banner, with Ori Mamur executive producing. In June 2011, it was revealed that T.J. Miller had been cast in the lead role of the film. In August 2011, Thomas Middleditch was cast in the film landing the title role of Nardo. In March 2013, it was revealed that Universal Pictures had acquired the film, from Sony who dropped the film. In April 2013, it was revealed that Adam Pally had joined the cast of the film. That same month, Shannon Woodward was cast in the film. In May 2013, Alison Brie joined the cast of the film.

Filming

began on May 1, 2013, and concluded on June 27, 2013.

Release and Reception

Universal Studios originally set a release date for the film for September 12, 2014, however the date was pushed back, being released in France on December 10, 2014. and in the United States on May 13, 2016. The film received poor reviews from critics and audiences alike, with 11% of critics giving a positive review based on 19 reviews, according to aggregator site Rotten Tomatoes. On Metacritic the film has a weighted average score of 22 out of 100 based on 9 reviews indicating "generally unfavorable reviews".