Bruner’s Blunders: Movie 43 (R)

With 12 directors, 20 A-listers and a 6-million dollar budget many thought that they were sitting on a masterpiece.  However, Movie 43 was not the masterpiece they were hoping for. With five nominations and four wins ranging from “worst Movie of the year” to “ worst screenplay”, this movie is hailed as the worst movie of all time.

Movie 43 is an anthology film featuring several short films, each healmed by a different director and cast, these films range from Robin’s Superhero Speed Dating to Chris Pratt’s Relationship Problems. Despite the variety of different tones and flavors, nothing sticked. The movie tries unbelievably hard to be as over the top and vulgar as possible and it achieves its goal but sacrifices every humorous bit as a side effect.

Never before have I seen a film that tried so hard to cater to stupid teenage boys and still fails. This movie came out in a time where every movie wanted to be American Pie and Movie 43 fits this category perfectly with the obscene amounts of nudity, sex, drugs, and slapstick violence. 

Its honestly sad to watch so many talented people being confined to the poor script and directing because there is some really solid talent in this movie with the likes of Chris Pratt, Uma Thurman, Hugh Jackman, and Emma Stone and the chemistry between them was there, and with the right crew this movie could have been one to remember. Around the 40 minute mark there is the scene where Halle Berry and Stephen Merchant are playing Truth or Dare in a restaurant during a date and it had the potential to be very endearing while still keeping to the humorous nature, however, the antics begin with Merchant grabbing the rear end of a biker and Barry blowing out the candles of a blind kids birthday cake. The tone immediately switches back to the lazy excuse for comedy that the movie has resorted to so far with the skit ending with both characters getting plastic surgery to look like people of Asian descent. 

Overall Movie 43 deserves the hate that it gets. I went in with high hopes that this movie would be a hidden gem that I could enjoy with friends. I wasn’t expecting a masterpiece but I definitely wasn’t expecting the dumpster fire that I had to condemn my eyeballs to gaze upon for an hour and a half. I strongly discourage anyone from ever seeing this movie and I would rate it a two out of ten. Vulgar comedy is a guilty pleasure for many, however this one should be avoided at all costs.