When you call a film Idiots, it creates a certain expectation. You aren’t expecting well-mannered, well-appointed characters leading the story. That’s good for this new comedy, which has preview showings tonight and opens on Friday, August 28.

The film originally had an edgier title which has been toned down. It also made its debut at the Sundance Film Festival and is now getting a wide release. The film comes from writer/director Macon Blair, who gave us last year’s Toxic Avenger. It’s another story of lost people trying to find their way.

In this case, we focus on Davis (O’Shea Jackson, Jr.) and Mark (Dave Franco). They are both having a rough time and in desperate need for work. But they have vastly different approaches to life. Davis is buttoned up but seems to constantly make mistakes, which is how he got fired from his last post with a church.

Mark, meanwhile, is more of an avowed slacker. He got recently laid off, but it’s clear from the glimpse we get that he wasn’t exactly giving things his all. These two are paired together by a transport company, which isn’t an ideal match given their unique approaches to work and life. But it’s far from their only challenge.

The pair are tasked to help transport a wealthy teen, Sheridan (Mason Thames), to rehab. They mistake the task for a simple case of a wealthy kid getting in too deep with drugs. But there is much more to Sheridan’s story, and he makes the process as difficult as possible. Can Mark and Davis overcome their differences to get it done?

This is a wild film. But it’s also a film with an exceptional cast. We have Kiernan Shipka pop up as a stripper for a fun cameo. Later, we have Peter Dinklage and Nicholas Braun pop up as a couple wackos that are taken in by Sheridan’s story and then flip the tables. All those sequences are amusing, and it’s amusing to see these actors in wild roles. The problem is the consistency and flow here.

I like Jackson and Franco, and they form an interesting enough duo. They are an unlikely set of partners that develop, over the run of the film, a grudging respect and loyalty to each other. That aspect of the story works well enough to make the payoff in the Third Act somewhat intriguing.

But a lot of the work to get there feels overly long, disjointed, and lacking some comedy. Thames is a talented actor but his character here is too thin and too oddly constructed. By the time we get to the end, I still couldn’t get a read on what the script was trying to accomplish with Sheridan. But, more importantly, I didn’t much care.

There are a few laughs and a few over-the-top sequences that befit this kind of comedy. But even at 99 minutes this feels overly long. In fact, one of my favorite beats is the sequence between Jackson and Killer Mike as his pastor boss that kicks off the film. It made me laugh and seemed to set the stage for a film that doesn’t actually materialize.

Idiots will have its fans. It is a wild ride and has some memorable moments. But it doesn’t live up to its potential and fails to make use of a talented cast.

Idiots opens nationwide on Friday with limited early access engagements tonight.

Matthew Fox is a graduate of the Radio, Television and Film program at Biola University, and a giant nerd. He spends his free time watching movies, TV, and obsessing about football. He is a member of the FSWA. You can find him @knighthawk7734 on Twitter and as co-host of the Fantasy Football Roundtable Podcast.