Jesus.
This film used to play all the time on the movie channels over here in the UK and so I must have watched this like a dozen times when I was 10 or 11. I guess my love of Waynes World sort of made me look past how insufferably awful this goddamn movie actually is. Also I was 10.
What's odd is that the smaller bits of the film kind of work. The cast are pretty great and the cameos fun, but Myers just doesn't work and it feels formless because he just can't anchor it down. Myers is odd because playing he seems utterly terrified of playing himself. Playing 'normal' seems to be a weakness for him and you can see him dashing for impersonations and wacky characters like a security blanket.
It's weird seeing Myers playing his Scottish father, as essentially the character is a more abrasive Shrek. It's kind of hilarious seeing the complete lack of change between Charlie MacKenzie and Shrek.
Nancy Travis just feels wasted because we can't know too much about her and as such she feels more like a piece of plot than an actual character. So as a comedy we've got a central character who feels too meek to be funny and he's too unlikeable/unknowable to make it feel like a proper thriller. You really don't give a damn if he gets an axe buried into his head.
It's also got the most painful representation of 'culture' ever. The opening scene in the coffee bar is a collection of the most loathable people ever committed to screen.
This film used to play all the time on the movie channels over here in the UK and so I must have watched this like a dozen times when I was 10 or 11. I guess my love of Waynes World sort of made me look past how insufferably awful this goddamn movie actually is. Also I was 10.
What's odd is that the smaller bits of the film kind of work. The cast are pretty great and the cameos fun, but Myers just doesn't work and it feels formless because he just can't anchor it down. Myers is odd because playing he seems utterly terrified of playing himself. Playing 'normal' seems to be a weakness for him and you can see him dashing for impersonations and wacky characters like a security blanket.
It's weird seeing Myers playing his Scottish father, as essentially the character is a more abrasive Shrek. It's kind of hilarious seeing the complete lack of change between Charlie MacKenzie and Shrek.
Nancy Travis just feels wasted because we can't know too much about her and as such she feels more like a piece of plot than an actual character. So as a comedy we've got a central character who feels too meek to be funny and he's too unlikeable/unknowable to make it feel like a proper thriller. You really don't give a damn if he gets an axe buried into his head.
It's also got the most painful representation of 'culture' ever. The opening scene in the coffee bar is a collection of the most loathable people ever committed to screen.
