Every filmmaker, no matter how acclaimed they are, has a movie they regret making. It could be a product that doesn’t end up exactly as they envisioned it, or maybe they are James Cameron and began their careers directing Piranha II. Every filmmaker has their share of jobs they wish audiences could forget. For James Gunn, director of the beloved Guardians of the Galaxy films, that skeletal remains buried deep in the closet is none other than Movie 43. What’s Movie 43, you might be asking, or perhaps, more importantly, what happened to movies 1 to 42? The answers to those questions are almost as disappointing as the movie itself.
A Comedy for the Endtimes
On paper, Movie 43 sounds incredible. The project was conceived by producer Charles B. Wessler, a frequent collaborator of the Farrelly Brothers. The idea was to make a film that reunited some of the most acclaimed actors and comedy filmmakers in the industry, giving them free rein to come up with all sorts of crazy skits.
The “43” in the title refers to a banned film within the movie that would supposedly lead to the destruction of humanity. While the movie didn’t end civilization as we know it, it almost destroyed the careers of everyone involved in its making, including Peter Farrelly, Hugh Jackman, Halle Berry, Gerard Butler, Chris Pratt, and even James Gunn.
Critics hated Movie 43. The “film” holds an impressive 5% on Rotten Tomatoes, with reviews criticizing the movie’s poor attempts at humor, scatological themes, and how much the producers wasted the potential of everyone involved.
But how did someone like James Gunn get involved in such a misguided project? Well, according to the man himself, it was all Elizabeth Banks’ fault.
Beezel the Cat
For his Movie 43 segment, Gunn went with an appropriately bizarre approach. His skit centers on Amy (Elizabeth Banks,) a woman who just started dating Anson, played by Josh Duhamel. Unfortunately for her, Anson has a weird relationship with his cartoon cat, Beezel, who frequently fantasizes about keeping Anson all for himself. Yes, Beezel wants him in “that” way.
Gunn has never been afraid of some edgy humor. In fact, he was fired from Disney over some old jokes he made on Twitter. Though he survived the whole fiasco, it’s safe to say Gunn is far from being the most “family-friendly” director in the industry.
Yet, his Movie 43 skit transcends the limits of bad taste to absurd limits. The Beezel segment was so spectacularly offensive that even in a movie determined to push every conceivable boundary, it couldn’t make the main cut. Instead, it was unceremoniously relegated to the mid-credits sequence – a fact that speaks volumes about a film whose main runtime includes Hugh Jackman with a neck scrotum.
Perhaps the most telling detail about the whole debacle is that Gunn himself has never watched the finished product. In a Facebook Q&A, he playfully (or perhaps not so playfully) blamed Elizabeth Banks for dragging him into the project. It’s the kind of desperate deflection that screams, “Please stop asking me about this movie!” And honestly, who can blame him?
In the end, Movie 43 serves as a reminder that even the most talented filmmakers can stumble into cinematic quicksand. But while most directors’ worst films are merely bad, Gunn managed to participate in what many consider one of the most catastrophic collaborative efforts in modern cinema. Thankfully, he bounced back spectacularly – though I suspect he still checks under his bed for cartoon cats before going to sleep.
Oh, and if you’re still wondering how terrible Beezel truly was, you can watch most of the skit on YouTube. You’re welcome!
RELATED: What Happens If James Gunn’s Superman Flops?
Movie 43 |
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A series of interconnected short films follows a washed-up producer as he pitches insane story lines featuring some of the biggest stars in Hollywood. |
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| Studio: Rogue, Virgin Produced, GreeneStreet Films, Charles B. Wessler Entertainment |
| Running Time: 94 minutes |
| Release Date: January 25, 2013 |
| Cast: Elizabeth Banks, Kristen Bell, Halle Berry, Leslie Bibb, Kate Bosworth, Gerard Butler, Josh Duhamel, Anna Faris, Richard Gere, Terrence Howard, Hugh Jackman, Johnny Knoxville, Justin Long, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, Chloë Grace Moretz, Chris Pratt, Liev Schreiber, Emma Stone, Jason Sudeikis, Uma Thurman, Naomi Watts, Kate Winslet |
| Director: Steven Brill, Peter Farrelly, Will Graham, Steve Carr, Griffin Dunn, James Duffy, Jonathan van Tulleken, Elizabeth Banks, Patrik Forsberg, Brett Ratner, Rusty Cundieff, James Gunn, Bob Odenkirk, Steve Baker, Damon Escott |
| Writers: Steve Baker, Ricky Blitt, Will Carlough, Tobias Carlson, Jacob Fleisher, Patrik Forsberg, Will Graham, James Gunn, Claes Kjellstrom, Jack Kukoda, Bob Odenkirk, Bill O'Malley, Matthew Alec Portenoy, Greg Pritikin, Rocky Russo, Olle Sarri, Elizabeth Wright Shapiro, Jeremy Sosenko, Jonathan van Tulleken, Jonas Wittenmark |
| Genre: Comedy |
| Box Office: $32.4 million |
