The Friars Club Comedy Film Festival screened a sneak peek of Dax Shepard and David Palmer’s Brother’s Justice this past weekend to see what viewers would think since they’re still putting the finishing touches on the film. According to the filmmakers, the trailer won’t be out for a while, but keep an eye out for the film in the next three months or so.

Do you remember when Dax Shepard showed up at the 2006 Teen Choice Awards in a red karate training uniform? Well, if you watch Brother’s Justice, it all makes perfect sense. The film is a mockumentary written and co-directed by Shepard that documents his pursuit of becoming an international Martial Arts action star. It is one of those hilarious films about making a film, except this one is friendlier to viewers not so familiar with the movie making process. Shepard is joined on screen by an entourage of stars who make guest appearances: Tom Arnold, Bradley Cooper, and Ashton Kutcher, to name a few.

The acting was probably the best part of the entire film. Dax’s comic timing is just right, taking advantage of the awkward moments as they come, and the stars all had great “chemistry”—in a completely manly, nonromantic way. According to the filmmakers, it was not unusual for scenes to be improvised, where the cast only had the scene’s overall idea to guide them. They were all so into their parts that half the time, I couldn’t tell if the footage was real or staged. You will love Shepard and want him to get that Martial Arts role—even when you’re laughing so hard because his instructor is being the crap out of him. I walked into the theater expecting some laughs and boy did I get them.

The music choices help to complete the film by providing the right comic touches. However, I wish they had better transitions between scenes. That was the only aspect of the timing that was awkward, in a bad way. Also, the ending was not the satisfying one I was looking for. The story of the movie is set up as Shepard’s journey towards a goal, but I’m not sure if we ever find out whether or not it was achieved.

Throughout the film, Shepard is constantly forced to confront the question of whether or not he is good at what he does, comedy wise. Judging from the way the film was put together, I’d say Shepard knows comedy and how to do it right. And the film has some great moments that are worth seeing, however, they are mainly just those: moments.

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