Movie 43

What can be said about Movie 43 other than that it’s a gross-out film that is sometimes hysterical, but, more often, in bad taste.

 

With 12 Directors, including Brett Ratner (X-Men), Griffin Dunne (An American Werewolf in London) and Peter Farrelly (Dumb & Dumber), 9 Writers and a slew of Producers and Executive Producers, Movie 43 is a baker’s dozen of vignettes loosely strung together as a film pitch by a demented, would-be screenwriter played by Dennis Quaid to a studio executive played by Greg Kinnear.

Some of these vignettes, like the first with Kate Winslet and Hugh Jackman, a “commercial” about Machine Kids and Terence Howard as the coach of a basketball team are brilliant.  However, most of the others are either cheesy or downright gross.

 

My film companion asked, "Why would someone like Halle Berry or Richard Gere agree to be in a film like this?"  I guess the answer is that actors like to act and there were some directors of note involved.  And, of course, there are at least 30 other actors of note that somehow got involved, so, I'm assuming it snowballed.

The one standout performer is Chloë Grace Moretz (Hugo) as a Middleschool Date, who brings dignity into what could have been a really gross vignette.

If you’re between the age of 13 and 30 and have either been drinking or smoking weed, you’ll probably love this film, but, most others may see it as the lowest form of  Hollywood humor.  It doesn’t have the wit that, for instance, Joan Rivers gives to TV’s Fashion Police.

 

It’s hard to rate this type of film, which varies so much from 0 to 5, so I have to split the difference and give it a 2+.