Laughs were few and far between for the audience, in mixed up film that had no idea how to handle what might have been a decent idea. This is no film for Rogan. Where's Jim Carey when we need him to play a lovable loser - to emote some feeling and invite the audience into his world.
A billboard stated for the film, "The World Needs a Hero" or some such nonsense, and in other hands, with other writers and another director, it might have worked; the audience might have been drawn into a loser's world, as that loser tries to connect to reality, to his alcoholic mother, a blond bimbo (Anna Faris) at the cosmetic counter and a sweet coffee server (Collette Wolfe) at a donut shop - both of whom turn in credible performances.
But there wasn't a shred of emotion here - I don't think anyone felt any sympathy for the character, nor was there anything for which to cheer. Whatever was missing was really missing. This movie has yet to be made.
All around Rogan, a decent cast of odd-ball characters mostly well-played, with Ray Liotta playing the cop - a roll neither funny nor pathetic; it should have gone either way, but this movie lost its way in the first five minutes and tried to make it up for it by using the "f" word and all of its variants every other line - but not even the "f" word, funny as it can be sometimes, could redeem this script. Liotta looked game, but mostly lost. Was he doing someone a favor? His brilliant sleezebag performance in "Crossing Over" reveals an actor with ability and depth. He should have stayed home on this one.
And then at the end, the flasher (yes, there's a flasher here) shows up one more time to frighten women and terrorize the mall. Played by Randy Gambill, this poor actor should be sent flowers and apologies from everyone involved in the film - the man's a flop, so to speak. With full frontal nudity in an endless chase through the mall, we're well acquainted with Gambill's anatomy - I hope he got paid lots of bucks for this one, but if he were hoping to advance his acting career with this caper, he's likely to come up short, so to speak. And it all ends with horribly bloody moment - what is this? This is not comedy any longer - it's blood and brutal.
This is one of the worst films I've ever seen - Rogan should have had the sense to can this film and put it away for archaeologists to find. Writer/Director Jody Hill needs a vacation from Hollywood - whoever green-lighted this project needs to go along.
Oh well, enough already.
Don't bother seeing it. Don't even rent it. Except if you're a Ph.D. student in failed films.
I observed (for $10.00) and now I report - stay home tonight, or as a friend of mine used to stay, "Kicking bricks barefoot in the dump would be more fun."
No comments:
Post a Comment