In a world where the Transformers and Fast and Furious movies shatter box office records, Hollywood has proven that you don’t necessarily need steak for sizzle. There’s always been a place in Hollywood for films that are so bad, they’re enjoyable. However, Mr. Right, a dark comedy starring Sam Rockwell and Anna Kendrick, took that a step further, making a movie that is objectively terrible, undeniably wonderful.
Mr. Right: Blending Wonderful and Terrible
What is Mr. Right about? Martha (Kendrick) is a 30-something, fresh off an ugly break-up, struggling to find her footing in single life. She meets, and promptly falls for, the goofy, aloof Francis (Rockwell), and they begin a whirlwind romance. The twist? Francis is a hit-man. Or at least he used to be. Throw in his former employer (played by Tim Roth), and a bunch of ambitious gangster and you get a dark comedy full of gags and giggles.
The Wonderful
Much like in any form of entertainment, if the performers are having fun, the audience will have fun. And this movie, simply put, epitomizes that. Anna Kendrick fully dives into Martha, and gleefully shouts lines like “I like turtles, you dick” throughout the film, while Rockwell puts Jim Carrey to shame with some of the best/worst overacting you’ve ever seen.
All the actors fully commit to admittedly shoddy dialogue and predictable plot points, gleefully neglecting all the rules of cinema. The movie is non-stop fun from credits to credits, almost despite itself.
The Terrible
Some of the dialogue in this movie is just atrocious. Almost every single one of Rockwell’s lines sound like they were written by a 13 year old, and a lot of the profanity feels so out of place that it would make Samuel L. Jackson blush. In fact, most of the movie feels like it was written by a bored teenager, hyped up on Mountain Dew.
As much as Rockwell loves playing the goofy, crazy guy, he goes a little too far in this movie. Whether it’s his fault or just the writing, he hams it up so much that Johnny Depp thought he should calm down.
In essence, this is a movie about a sociopathic assassin that gives a young woman stockholm syndrome. The movie attempts, and fails to poke fun at mob movie tropes, but just comes off more Scary Movie than Scream. None of the characters are fleshed out enough for anyone to be emotionally invested, and there are so many subplots running at once that the ending feels a little rushed.
Why It’s Great
Mr. Right is a movie that you will trash for hours, only to insist your friends watch. In a time where every movie ever made is only a few clicks away, Mr. Right has the potential to achieve cult movie status. It’s terribly written, and not for film students, but it’s so much fun that you can’t help but watch it from beginning to end, at least twice.
Mr. Right is just terrible as it is wonderful, and if you’re in the market for a charming distraction, you won’t be disappointed. There aren’t flying sharks or girls named Lisa, but this movie is so bad, it’s good, great, and outstanding.