Laid In America Review: Revisiting The Caspar Lee and KSI Movie

Back in September 2016, two YouTubers made a comedy feature film, we revisit the Caspar Lee and KSI movie Laid in America.

It was only a matter of hours ago since I watched Wild Ride, a podcast that legendary stuntman and comedian Steve-O did with YouTube sensation KSI.

Steve-O had done his research and discovered a certain feature film that KSI was a part of, much to his embarrassment, going as far as not recommending anyone watch it.

The second he said this, something stirred inside me and I had to go and check it out!

Thankfully, the movie is still on Amazon and various other streaming services to watch and as soon as the podcast was over I pressed play on this 2016 comedy flick for the very first time and you know what?

It wasn’t half bad!

YouTubers are known nowadays for branching out into all sorts of side hustles.

From boxing to music to acting and I pressed play expecting the movie to suck from start to finish but I’m genuinely glad I watched it, I was pleasantly surprised.

Whilst this movie was clearly somewhat of a film that KSI (real name Olajide William Olatunji) would much rather forget I definitely had a great time and it’s genuinely funny along the way.

The story is the very definition of cookie-cutter format as two young foreign exchange students are living in America and just before they fly back home to the UK they make a pledge to get laid.

Offers are on the table but the school bully is standing in their way as he won’t let them to the very party that holds their only shot at losing the big V before flying back home.

The bully only lets the lads into the party if they can bring two hot girls with them that don’t go to the same school as they do.

Which for two young lads who struggle to get a conversation flowing with any female is certainly the uphill battle.

Let the chaos begin.

Laid In America was written and directed by Sam Milman and Peter Vess and contains more famous faces than I was expecting.

With a cast including the incredible Madison Iseman (Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle), Gerry Bednob (40-Year-Old Virgin) and Bobby Lee (Pineapple Express) both KSI and Caspar Lee were in some great company.

What feels like a 90’s fusion of American Pie and Eurotrip with a modern twist of The Inbetweeners humour thrown in for good measure, Laid In America is a riot from start to finish.

From kidnapping to Pleasure Palace’s and online seduction classes the movie brings the best of the 90’s romp comedies forward many years.

The movie’s opening wouldn’t look out of place in an American Pie film and you can see the heavy inspirations that these 90’s virginity pact movies had on this feature.

KSI plays Duncan, a very confident young man who wants nothing more than to lose his virginity before he leaves the country. 

Caspar Lee plays Jack, his more timid and bumbling friend who’s more likely to freeze up at the first instance when even speaking to a girl let alone taking it any further.

Whether subconsciously or on purpose the set-up is perfect as each character suits the natural acting talent of both individuals.

Now I’ve got nothing against Caspar Lee but out of the two I felt KSI was the strongest performer on screen and limiting Caspar’s character to the more shy and timid role of the two also meant he had less lines to deliver and less chance of making mistakes.

KSI absolutely shines in this movie.

His comedic delivery is incredible and his genuine personality is allowed to shine rather than needing to act a certain way.

I’ve seen about three of his YouTube videos in my entire life but have mad respect for distinguishing himself away from the YouTuber stereotype and making his own mark in other areas including boxing and music as separate entities.

It’s not just oh look it’s that YouTuber in a ring.

It’s KSI, the Boxer.

It’s KSI, the musician.

In this podcast interview with Steve-O, they were discussing him as a person and how down to earth he is compared to American alternatives Jake and Logan Paul.

KSI said in the interview that he’s approachable and whilst to some degree I disagree with this I completely agree that he’s certainly the best of the three in terms of endearment and genuinely being a down to earth guy.

The only reason I don’t think he (or any big YouTuber) for that matter is approachable is because of how people handle fame.

In the limited duration podcast, KSI still comes across as a private person despite being a public figure and seems more likely to get annoyed at people coming up to him and bugging him than actively going out of his way to embrace a fan.

I could be completely wrong but knowing how much attention he must get and a day in the life of walking about in London with everyone stopping you every few feet for a photo. It’s got to grind.

This is where I feel the privacy and keeping himself to himself would play a big part.

But with all that said Laid in America certainly isn’t just a KSI movie. Caspar Lee plays his part as the softer friend of the two and his arc, whilst a little flimsy and beta male at times eventually comes full circle.

The one loud, one timid buddy road trip dynamic always works with the right two leads and production certainly picked two great characters for this particular movie.

All in all, I thoroughly enjoyed Laid In America, the film got a bad rep from critics but fans loved it and speaking as a fan of movies and not a fan of either YouTuber personally, I thoroughly enjoyed it too.

Whilst I think this is a film that would have resounded better in the later ’90s / early 2000s with an audience who was lapping up these hilarious romp comedies at the time, it still holds its ground years later.

Laid In America is currently streaming now on Amazon Prime.

Laid in America review by Sean Evans