#11 Bucky Larson Born to be a Star

The Movie: Bucky Larson: Born to Be a Star 2011. Written by Adam Sandler, Allen Covert, and Nick Swardson Directed by Tom Brady Staring: Nick Swardson, Christina Ricci, Stephen Dorff, and Don Johnson

Looking back on the last week and a half, I see a pretty solid compendium of bad movies (and horrendous crimes against human thought, like A Haunted House 2) However this is the very first movie I've reviewed so far that has a 0 on rotten tomatoes. It's a movie I've been intrigued by for the last 4 years, and I can't wait to share it with you.

Bucky Larson: Born to be a Star is such a strange film. It could be written off as another hokey Happy Madison production, this one capitalizing on internet fame and pornography. The Happy Madison brand has, recently, come under fire for being... well a barrage of unfunny jokes written by a bag of mentally challenged dogs falling down a hill. And I mean, that's all totally warranted. Aside from The Wayans, who makes worse movies than Adam Sandler? Not only bad, lazy. these movies are the laziest things that don't have the word MOVIE at the end of the title. Sandler has even gone on record saying that he does them to go on vacations. It's a ringing indictment of the idea of film in a way. If someone as lazy and apathetic as Adam Sandler can make movies (infuriatingly successful movies) then what kind of art form is this.

But here's the thing about Bucky Larson...

It's not lazy.

I mean it's terrible. It's just dreadful. It's a movie about a mentally handicapped(?) Iowan named Bucky Larson (Nick Swardson) who becomes a porn star (even though he has a micro-penis) and honestly that's all you need to know about the plot of this movie. It's really dumb, and a lot of it is really really dreadfully bad... but it's not lazy. Every person in the film is working their tails off even though the script isn't doing them any favors. The portrayal of Bucky could have been really offensive, but honestly, Nick Swardson does a really good job imbuing the character with heart. Despite the character being super dumb and the plot not making sense, that's quite a feat. I don't know what it is about this movie, but I can't hate it. I've tried. 

This is a movie where Stephen Dorff (already, yuck) gives a monologue about how, when he was 9, his pants fell down and everyone saw how big his dick was (it blocked out the sun, and  gave him his porn name Dick Shadow) It's really awful, and Dorff isn't very good, but he sells it man. He's working hard. So is Don Johnson (who is too good for this world let alone this movie) who plays down-on-his-luck producer Miles Deep (there are a lot of jokes about porn names) who first recruits Bucky. He tries to get his girlfriend (Christina Ricci) to leave him, and when he's found out, the heart break is real. I mean the set up is unbelievable, and I don't care, but I see the character caring. I see Don Johnson caring.

I think that's the most important aspect of any artistic endeavor. Effort is this intangible that you just can account for. Happy Madison would be a better brand (or at least a more interesting brand) if all of their movies were more like Bucky Larson: Born to be a Star

Should you watch this movie? ... no. Unfortunately even with the effort put in, this film isn't worth your time. Everyone works hard, and it's bizarre as all get out but it's probably not worth your time.

Where can I watch this movie? It's free on Crackle

Thanks for reading everyone. I'm really having fun doing these. If you have ideas, please leave a comment.