If you're looking for the 1925 film, see Go West. For the 1940 comedy film, see Go West (1940).
Go West is a 2023 Western-Comedy film created by clean comedy network JK! Studios, this being their first full-lengthed theatrically released film. It is directed by Stephen Meek and Jeremy Warner and written by them and the rest of the JK! Studios crew, including Natalie Madsen, Whitney Call, Matt Meese, Mallory Everton, Jason Gray, Stacy Harkey, Adam Berg, and James Perry, all of whom star in the film alongside Sean Astin, who voices the film's narrator.
Set in the mid-1800s, a widow Aveline Jenkins (Madsen), and a ragtag group of weirdos and strangers begin their journey westward, facing dangers, comedic mishaps, and possible death by dysentery together.
The film was released in theaters in the US on August 11, 2023, after a two-week exclusive release run in Utah starting July 19th, and a one-week release run in both Arizona and Idaho starting August 4th. At present, it's available for purchase or rent on Amazon Prime. It's also available on Vudu for free with ads.
Previews: Official Movie Teaser Trailer
, Official Theatrical Movie Trailer, Cast/Writer Movie Interview
Go West (2023) provides examples of:
- Advertising by Association: The trailers and other promotional material highlight how the film's star's the original cast of Studio C, as well as comedian Sean Astin playing the narrator.
- All of the Other Reindeer: The trailers indicate that Aveline is a social pariah in her hometown, as the other townspeople call her a "cursed widow".
- Bait-and-Switch: There's no shame in admitting that you thought the reason why Kit 'Kitty' Carson talked funny was because he was kicked in the groin by a buffalo... it was the throat. Everyone else in that scene thought it was groin as well. Also, the fact that Kitty LOOKS the part of a gruff mountain man, only to speak with a bizarre high-pitched voice.
- Bizarre and Improbable Golf Game: A running gag has two men, Sir Clarence and Sir Chesterton follow Aveline and her wagon train up the Oregon Trail. They're adamant about playing through their shots, no matter how bizarre or dangerous a place their balls land.
- Black Comedy: Cora and Aveline sing a peppy song about Cora's dysentery while traveling down the trail.
- Deliberate Values Dissonance: Widow Jenkin's sole reason for heading west is to stop her teenage daughter from getting married, though the other characters lampshade how this is common for the period they're in.Aveline: My daughter, she's getting married!Elijah: Oh, that's great!Aveline: She's fifteen!Elijah: Historically, still great!
- Deal with the Devil: At some point, the Captain sells his soul to the Devil for a garish hat with matching boots. As did The Beast... and Aveline and Elijah's twins.
- Gender-Blender Name: Robert Failure Gladstone... is a woman.
- Ill Girl: Cora Jenkins to a 'T', she had been suffering from dysentery, among other diseases throughout the movie.
- Pastiche: In the Cast/Writer interview, the cast states that the comedy in the film is an homage to the comedy styling of Monty Python.
- Quest to the West: Obviously, given the title.
- Shout-Out: The frequent mentioning of dysentery is likely one of the
infamous lines from The Oregon Trail.
