'Aqua Teen' too filling as a movie

When it comes to "Aqua Teen Hunger Force," the bizarre cult hit from Cartoon Network's Adult Swim, you either love it or hate. At first I fell into the latter camp. I just didn't get it. Talking foods that live on the Jersey shore … huh? But after spending freshman year in the dorms where the show was on someone's TV at any and every moment of the day, I grew to love it (mainly due to the "Frat Aliens" episode). Now with "Aqua Teen Hunger Force Colon Movie Film For Theaters," the show is the latest of many TV comedies like "Reno 911" and "Borat" to hit the big screen. Unfortunately, it doesn't work as well as the others did.\nLike many TV shows transferred to the big screen, the film spoofs action movies by having the plot revolve around some doomsday/big adventure/save-the-day kind of thing. In this case, the show's main characters Frylock (Carey Means), Master Shake (Dana Snyder) and Meatwad (Dave Willis) stumble upon a Bowflex-like workout machine that, if assembled, will enslave mankind, forcing humans to work out 24/7. The machine eventually lays eggs and the crew tries to stop it with the help of series regulars The Mooninites and Plutonians. The movie makes the mistake of having the machine abduct the show's best character Carl, the middle-aged balding overweight neighbor, cutting his screen time drastically (thus only allowing for a few of his usually hilarious perverted comments).\nAnd just like any TV-to-screen transfer, there's the difficulty of turning a 30-minute show into a 90-minute one. That task is even harder for "Aqua Teen," considering the episodes usually last about eight minutes. This is what ultimately brings the movie down. A show like "Aqua Teen" isn't meant to revolve around a plot, rather it's better suited for a series of random events (which technically the film is, just in a different way). Ninety minutes is just too much for this. That being said, the movie does have its high points. The opening sequence is a vulgar throwback to those old "let's go to the concession stand" commercials that aired before movies, only this one has the soda telling you to suck on its straw and to beat the meat of the hotdog. Willis' vocal work as the young, naïve Meatwad (who usually just comes off as mentally challenged) is always good for a laugh, even when the dialogue isn't the best. \nBuying the DVDs might cost a few more dollars, but it's worth it. You'll have the choice to watch the show whenever and stop it as you like before it overstays its welcome. I left the theater as the end credits started, which I was later told was unwise. Apparently there are some funny scenes after the credits, so you might want to stick around for that. At the end, all I felt was a strong desire for another "South Park" movie and hope that "The Simpsons Movie" doesn't befall the same fate.