Really? Adam Sandler, Nick Swardson, and Allen Covert are responsible for the screenplay, and they should take a lot of heat for this one. I guess you were all high on crack cocaine, or some other type of illegal drug, when you wrote this screenplay, because this was one the worst comedies I’ve ever seen.
I’ve said this before, and I’ll say it again, I don’t have a problem with raunchy gross-out comedies, but the vulgarity should be delivered in small doses, because the jokes and humor will lose their steam, when you go too over the top, and Bucky Larson is a prime example of some serious overkill. Okay, we get it. Bucky (Nick Swardson) has awkward and horrendous beaver teeth. You don’t need to point this out in every other scene. Bucky’s teeth were obviously abnormal. You could tell by just looking at them, but they ran the “Bucky has ugly teeth!” joke into the ground here. Bucky has a very, very small dick. This isn’t funny, but they wouldn’t stop mentioning Bucky’s misfortunes down below. Also, Bucky’s “porn talent” left me speechless. I wasn’t in awe of “Bucky’s porn talent.” I couldn’t believe what I was seeing on the screen, and his talent did cause a couple of facepalms. I can’t go into details about Bucky’s talent, but I will say this, it wasn’t funny at all. It was incredibly stupid and creepy, and they wouldn’t stop forcing this throughout the film. Oh, and I couldn't understand the “Bucky has a funny accent joke” in this film. Bucky sounds like a goofball throughout the film, but he doesn't have an accent.
The humor in this film is absolutely dreadful, and I just couldn’t laugh. They were trying to present the Bucky character as an inspiration for men here. He was the goofy and awkward guy, who could score hot and attractive women like his girlfriend in the movie. Kathy (Christina Ricci) was the attractive love interest here, and she wanted to like Bucky for who he was. She accepted his extremely nerdy personality. Bucky was supposed to be the hero for the Average Joe or awkward nerd, who could never pick up a hot woman. “Bucky gives me hope! I can do it!” That was the idea, and they really try to push the “be yourself” message throughout the film. I’m sorry, but the Bucky character in this film is way too over the top. They wanted Bucky to be the loveable geek in this film, but Swardson’s character was so damn annoying. I didn’t want to root for him, and I didn’t want to feel for Bucky. I just wanted him to disappear from the movie, because Bucky Larson drove me nuts the entire time. I can get behind the awkward nerdy character, IF he undergoes some changes in his personality, but I saw the same Bucky Larson at the very end of the film. Bucky didn’t have that one moment of redemption, and he didn’t change. I saw the same Bucky Larson throughout the entire film, and this is one of the many reasons why I couldn’t stand this character.
Dick Shadow (Stephen Dorff) was supposed to be Bucky’s rival, but I couldn’t buy into their feud, or lack thereof. Shadow is the cocky and popular big shot male porn star, and Bucky is the goofy nerd, who threatens his throne. Shadow obviously hates Larson, because he doesn’t see him as a problem at first, but Larson starts to become popular, and he steals the show at a porn film award show. Dorff can be a real jerk in this film. He does humiliate and taunt Bucky every now and then, but his feud with Bucky feels so pointless and random. Dick Shadow doesn’t do anything to derail Bucky’s porn career or personal life. He just comes off as this random asshole, who wants to poke fun at Bucky every now and then. I guess they were trying to build a feud, but nothing happens between these two, Shadow’s antics don’t affect Bucky’s life at all, and Dorff’s presence felt so meaningless.
Bucky Larson: Born To Be A Star is one awful, awful comedy, and Nick Swardson is one of the bigger problems in this film. Don’t get me wrong, I actually like the guy, but he is not a star. Swardson isn’t capable of carrying a film as the lead man. He can be funny as a supporting character or sidekick/lackey, but he was awful as the main character in this film. Swardson doesn’t deserve all of the blame, because the Bucky character was horrendous, but in the end, Swardson couldn’t deliver. He didn’t elevate this film in any way, and having a shitty character didn’t help. Swardson should stick with the supporting roles, because he really drags this film down most of the time.
I will always love Christiana Ricci, but the majority of her films are just horrendous. Some of them are borderline unwatchable, and Bucky Larson: Born To Be A Star is one atrocious comedy. This is a film about porn, so there are a good amount of attractive women here, but the eye candy isn’t enough. The over the top and raunchy humor drove me nuts. It wasn’t funny at all, and the jokes lose their steam very quickly. Plus, the overwhelming mediocre acting didn’t help anything. I hated Creature with a passion, but Bucky Larson is a strong contender for the worst film in 2011.
Final Rating: 0/10
Aside from the terrible premise, there’s another issue I have with this movie:
ReplyDeleteWhy is it that almost everyone Bucky meets in the film immediately wants to say and do cruel, hurtful things to him? I understand the audience wanting to do so because Bucky is irritating as fuck, but in the context of the film, it doesn’t make much sense.
First Clint the crazy supermarket manager goes off on Bucky, then we get the verbal abuse from both the diner staff and Gary the roommate, and now Dick Shadow is going out of his way to humiliate Bucky in front of a large crowd of people, purely because he can.
I can only guess the boys at Happy Madison were trying to generate sympathy for Bucky, but let’s face it, that’s impossible; Adam Sandler is many things, but he’s not a miracle worker.
Apologies for the late response.
DeleteBeen a while since I watched this one, but yeah, generating sympathy is possibly the only thing I can think of. I guess they were going the route of dragging Bucky through the dirt, so it feels more rewarding when the loser has his big moment.
One comparison I can think of, is The Waterboy. Bobby constantly gets treated like crap and bullied, so you’re waiting for that moment when he finally decides to show everyone he’s not a doormat.