Bert Kreischer's The Machine Trailer: A Riotous Russian Action-Adventure 23 Years In The Making

23 years ago, comedian Bert Kreischer was better known for his partying antics as "the top partyer at the Number One Party School in the country," according to Rolling Stone. He ended up spending a summer in Russia that went kind of haywire, earning him the nickname "The Machine" and giving him an impressive story to tell for the rest of his life about being a part of a train robbery while not even speaking Russian. His shirtless stand-up story is the stuff of internet legend and kickstarted Kreischer's career as a comedian. Now, decades later, he's starring in a movie that returns him to where it all began, with Russians, robberies, and a whole lot of ridiculous antics.

The red-band trailer has arrived for "The Machine," which follows a fictionalized version of Kreischer and his dad (played by Mark Hamill!) after they're kidnapped by Russians and forced to be a part of some other crime in retaliation for Kreischer's train heist all of those years ago. It's always great to see Hamill doing comedy and the tone of the trailer is pitch-perfect.

The original "The Machine" video is one of my favorite stand-up bits of all time, but even I've been a bit nervous about the prospect of stretching the idea out to fill an entire movie. Fortunately, it looks like screenwriters Kevin Biegel and Scotty Landes have taken a fun meta approach that will have both a younger Kreischer (Jimmy Tatro) living out the wildness of the original story in flashbacks and the current day one living through a new adventure when his past comes back to bite him. The idea is a lot of fun and the direction by Peter Atencio looks stylish in the trailer, with lots of fun action shots. All in all, "The Machine" seems like it could be a total blast. 

Here's the official synopsis for "The Machine":

"Set 23 years after the original story which inspired it, 'The Machine' finds Bert (Bert Kreischer) facing familial crisis and the arrival of his estranged father (Mark Hamill) when the ghost of his booze-soaked past arrives: a murderous mobster (Iva Babić) hellbent on kidnapping Bert back to the motherland to atone for his crimes. Together, he and his father must retrace the steps of his younger self (Jimmy Tatro) in the midst of a war between a sociopathic crime family while they attempt to find common ground."

Ok, I'm ready for it to be "The Machine" season already. Thankfully we won't have to wait too long to get more of Hamill and Kreischer going toe-to-toe, because "The Machine" hits theaters on May 26, 2023.