Rude, dumb but ultimately harmless, Movie 43 is a meta comedy about the power of contractual obligation
Apparently ten years in the making, “Movie 43” is what I suspect Forrest Gump’s mother would have described as being like a box of chocolates: you never know what you’re going to get. I always felt sorry for that woman – with everything she had to endure in her life, nobody ever took the time to show her the little card which tells you which chocolates are which. It was probably stuck on the inside of the lid.
Unfortunately, there’s absolutely no sign of that little card with “Movie 43” so you’d best be prepared to bite into the odd coffee crème along with the delicious caramels or those ones with the little bits of nuts in them. Best described as a comedy sketch anthology (actually, it’s best described by the phrase “What the fu..?” but moving on…), there’s going to be a lot of people who don’t like this movie. The great thing about it though, is that if you don’t like this movie, don’t worry – there’ll be another one along in about ten minutes. The humour ranges from the surreal to the scatological and rarely if ever rises above sophomoric but there’s plenty of fun to be had. I laughed out loud at a few of them, found a couple a bit flat or off the mark but at no point did I want to stop watching.
Most of the fun comes from seeing big Hollywood stars taking part in the most bizarre and offensive comedy sketches. Sure, we’re used to seeing Elizabeth Banks, Anna Faris, Johnny Knoxville and Sean William Scott grossing it up for laughs, but Halle Berry? Richard Gere? Kate Winslet? Even Hugh Jackman proves he has the cojones to take on bizarre comedy and play it with deadpan sincerity. Greg Kinnear and Dennis Quaid pull heavy duty in performing the odd framing device that barely holds the sketches together.
Yes, for all its faults there’s some serious star power involved in this. If you believe the rumour mill, George Clooney refused to take part and Richard Gere tried his best to not be available, but the producers waited their stars out and shot the scenes when they were available. Overall, it was probably worth the effort.
Feeling like a 21st century cousin of John Landis’ 1977 cult classic “The Kentucky Fried Movie” (Zucker, Abrahams & Zuker’s big break), “Movie 43” is a great DVD to get for a Friday night in with your mates. With a few drinks inside you, the funny sketches will be funnier and the not-so-funny sketches won’t seem as bad. In fact, for a really good night, do a double bill of “The Kentucky Fried Movie” and “Movie 43”. It’ll be a hoot. I’ll bring some chips and dip. And maybe a box of chocolates.
