THE WORST MOVIE OF 2012
Nov 6th, 2012 | By Andrew Mercado | Category: Featured, MoviesThere are some amazing movies on right now that I really should see. There’s KILLING THEM SOFTLY starring Brad Pitt from the Aussie director of CHOPPER, Andrew Dominik. There’s LAWLESS starring Guy Pearce from the Aussie director, John Hillcoat. There’s THE SESSIONS starring Helen Hunt from the Aussie director Ben lewin. But no, instead I chose to go see MENTAL starring Toni Collette (pictured) from the Aussie director P. J. Hogan.
The only reason I went to see the film was because of Herald Sun movie reviewer Leigh Paatsch who wrote that even if someone paid him $100 as he walked out the cinema door, it wouldn’t make up for the pain and suffering he had just been through. Now that, I thought, is a disaster that needs to be seen on a big screen. What I was unprepared for, however, was the disturbing way in which P. J. Hogan trashed his own movie MURIEL’S WEDDING but making MENTAL a sequel of sorts. Like MURIEL, it’s filmed on the Gold Coast but this time it’s set in Dolphin Heads instead of Porpoise Spit. Once again, there is a politician cheating on his wife and ignoring his children. THE SOUND OF MUSIC replaces Abba as the pop culture reference but even WELCOME TO WOOP WOOP used this touchstone (and other Rodgers and Hammerstein musicals) so much better.
In short, the film is horribly unfunny and does indeed end with Toni Collette lighting her own fart. Liev Schreiber plays an unfunny Steve Irwin type character. Rebecca Gibney plays a fat wife. Anthony La Paglia plays the sleazy politician. Deborah Mailman plays a psych patient. And a bunch of kid actors have no reason to shine. But it’s Kerry Fox, she of CLOUDSTREET fame, who gives a career worst performance as a totally unbelievable housewife who cleans her driveway with a toothbrush. In one (memorable for all the wrong reasons) scene, the neighbouors came round to mentruate on her white couch. Yep, it’s that kind of movie.
So let’s hope the Razzies take note of this instant Aussie classic. Millions have been wasted and it’s been a box office flop. But if you love train crash cinema, rush to see it now.
I only see a couple of movies a year and sadly this was one of them.
Disappointing film on many levels. The actors I think did as well as could be expected given the material fed to them, but it amazed me that names like Toni Collette and Anthony LaPaglia dared to be involved in this. They surely can’t be that hard up for cash… or have the Hollywood offers dried up completely.
I suspect they did it to be in an Aussie film but they picked the wrong one, to be sure, to be sure.
I loved it!!!