Review of Movie 43 (2013) by Nesbitt10 — 20 Jun 2013

If you think Hugh Jackman sporting a pair of testicles dangling from his chin is funny, I've got some great news for you. The marketing team must have had a hell of a time trying to sell "Movie 43" to the general public because it's a comedy that really isn't about anything. It's a series of skits strung together by a barely cohesive narrative. Of course, there have been many skit films before "Movie 43," but this is the first film to be backed by a major studio and to have a litany of A-list actors, actresses, and filmmakers involved.

The film is centers on an unkempt "screenwriter" (played by Dennis Quaid), who is trying to pitch his movie to a Hollywood executive (played by Greg Kinnear). Much like the rest of the movie, their situation begins to spiral into absurdity, and in between we are treated to a series of mock ads and strange scenarios that increasingly build on their gags until they just eventually sort of end.

"Movie 43" fares best in its first half, as the film's opening half hour boasts a number of amusing shorts including a bit of silliness featuring Naomi Watts and Liev Schreiber as parents who take the home-schooling concept to very dark places. However, the film begins to lose steam somewhere around the midway point, inundated with sketches that are completely pointless and desperately unfunny. The second half of the film is loaded with skits that are either disastrously overlong or problematic; quickly losing any appeal that might be left.

If the sketches have any unifying style, it's that they go for shock value over genuine laughs most of the time. "Movie 43" is best suited for in the home-entertainment market, where these short story dilemmas can be hashed out between bong rips and consuming large amounts of alcohol.