Review of Bucky Larson: Born to Be a Star (2011) by Jordan D — 15 Sep 2011

This brilliant deconstruction of Adam Sandler movies, and of Hollywood "blockbuster" cliches, is worth its weight in gold. Not that that will make it easier to sit through -- you've got to do a lot of thinking to get through the initial pain of watching.

It's well known that Adam Sandler has outgrown his infantile, baby-voiced six-year-olds-in-a-man's-body parts to become a mainstream actor in romantic comedies and occasional serious star vehicles. It is also now apparent that he is still being pitched the same tired old horseshit that he saw from his early successes and odd Saturday Night Live characters.

And he's sick of them.

So he and his production team sat down to explore every mindless cliche that attaches to just such a movie. And then, along the way, thought to include every "small-town-boy-dreams-big-in-the-city movie, and every "little guy stomped by the big, bad stud" movie. And blow them up. Throw in a few jabs at "Boogie Nights," and a brilliant use of Don "Beer Can" Johnson as the pron director, and you have a brilliant movie that's bound to enchant every Frenchman who's ever worn a beret.

From its initial (but soon-dropped) awful visual production valuea at the start, to the over the top. . . . well, everything, this is a bold , daring, and ultimately brilliant movie.

That will be hated by every critic to see it.

Why should they waste time enjoying the thought behind it when they can pan it on its superficial flaws.

Which permeate every frame. Which is the point.

For movie lovers only.

By the way, if Sandler and the other producers were *serious* in making this movie on the first, basic level -- if this movie is what it seems to be -- they should be lined up against Graumann's [Mann's] Chinese Theater and shot. . . .

Repeatedly.