| Welcome to the Jungle | |
| Director: | Rob Meltzer |
| Producer: |
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| Starring: |
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| Music: | Karl Preusser |
| Cinematography: | Eric Haase |
| Editing: | Harry Yoon |
| Studio: | Pimienta Film Company |
| Distributor: | Universal Pictures |
| Runtime: | 94 minutes |
| Country: | United States |
| Language: | English |
| Budget: | $3.5 million |
| Gross: | $230,851(US domestic video sales)[1] |
Welcome to the Jungle is a 2013 American comedy film[2] directed by Rob Meltzer and starring Jean-Claude Van Damme, Adam Brody, Megan Boone, Rob Huebel, Kristen Schaal and Dennis Haysbert. The film premiered at the 2013 Newport Beach Film Festival.[3]
An office team go on a two-day team-building seminar on a tropical island. The group includes Chris, a meek office worker and Eagle Scout; Phil, a manipulative bully who steals his ideas; Lisa, an HR manager and Chris' love interest; and Jared, a sarcastic slacker. However, when the pilot is found dead and Storm, their ex-Marine guide, is mauled by a tiger, the office workers must fend for themselves.
Phil tries to assume leadership, but the group votes for Chris. Phil immediately wants to sacrifice Javier so they can eat him. He finds some coffee and adds a hallucinogenic herb that induces an orgy among some of the coworkers. They split into two teams. Chris’ team consists of Lisa, Jared, and Brenda. Phil feeds his team more psychedelic herbs and sets himself up as God. Chris` team finds an abandoned building with supplies. Storm is revealed to be alive and not a marine. Chris' team is captured by Phil's group, and Chris beats Phil by pretending to be a better God. A ship rescues the workers, except Phil who is left behind. Storm is arrested for impersonating a marine. Chris gets Phil's job, but quits, taking Lisa with him. It is also revealed Jared is now dating Brenda.
Shooting took place in Puerto Rico in early 2012.[4]
Rotten Tomatoes, review aggregator, reports that 22% of nine surveyed critics gave the film a positive review; the average rating is 4/10.[5] Metacritic rated it 25/100 based on seven reviews.[6] John DeFore of The Hollywood Reporter wrote, "A decent cast is stranded on a desert island with a script best suited for campfire kindling".[7] Betsy Sharkey of the Los Angeles Times wrote that the film is not funny or clever enough to work as a satire or farce, though it is unclear for which the film was aiming.[8] Steven Rea of The Philadelphia Inquirer rated it 1.5/4 stars and called it a "bumble-headed throwaway".[9]