Stand-up comic Larry the Cable Guy has a knack for picking projects that look almost too hard to endure.  His latest cinematic misfire, the military comedy Delta Farce, is cut from the same cloth as countless other movies I've watched while trying to fathom why their makers cared so little about how they turned out. 

During the week, Larry (Larry the Cable Guy), Bill (Bill Engvall), and Everett (DJ Qualls) are your average bunch of beer-swilling nobodies. But for one weekend a month, they serve as National Guard reservists -- although from their frequent skeet shooting and beer runs, the guys don't foresee much combat in their future. All of that changes one fateful day when the hardened and borderline insane Sgt. Kilgore (Keith David) arrives to whip them into shape for deployment to the war in Iraq. On the way to fight overseas, the guys end up getting accidentally dropped in the middle of Mexico, where they're quickly and inadvertently recruited into helping defend a small village from a ruthless crime lord (Danny Trejo), giving them the chance to be heroes despite getting a wee bit sidetracked from their original destination.

In a time of great unrest concerning the current war in the Middle East, it's not a bad idea to have a satirical film lighten the situation for both sides of the divide. However, a movie of that nature would require good laughs and a whip-smart intelligence, two things Delta Farce sorely lacks. This film churns out 90 minutes of unfunny gags and unimaginative puns, then caps things off with a quickie tribute to the men and women of the military. Unfortunately, it comes across more as a slap in the face than an homage. 

The gags are so obvious and telegraphed, you'd think the movie was co-produced by Western Union. About half the lines are lame jokes you expect to be followed up by the "wah-wah-waaaah" of a trombone (for instance: "Looks like we've got ourselves a Mexican standoff!" "Actually, down here, we just call it a standoff." *wah-wah-waaaah*). Viewing Delta Farce is like watching a bad stand-up comic with a budget, a guy whose act stinks but who thinks the longer he keeps going and the harder he pushes the stupid gags, the better the movie will be. 

In the end, Delta Farce amounts to a career low for everyone involved, and for a guy whose previous credits include Larry the Cable Guy: Health Inspector, that's saying a lot. Blue Collar Comedy Tour veterans Larry and Bill seem comfy enough, but the rest of the cast look embarrassed to be on the set, from Keith David doing a half-hearted retread of his quintessential tough guy act to Danny Trejo, who must've received one handsome paycheck just for having to sing karaoke.

The best thing about Delta Farce is that it's soon over. Other than that, it's a lame, unfunny, and often painfully bad little movie. They say war is hell, but Delta Farce may be even worse.

MY RATING: * (out of ****)

(Released by Lionsgate and rated "PG-13" for crude and sexual humor.)