Well how very embarrassing! It's been just over a week since we wrote our feature - 13 Movies to Watch in 2013. Since then two of the films on that list have already been released: Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters and Movie 43. Hansel and Gretel has been getting panned by almost everyone whose reviewed it and Movie 43...well, it's disappointing.
Movie 43 is basically a compilation of sketches written by a large group of writers and starring many famous faces, all strung together loosely on a very weak plot.
Now it should be said that American audiences have a slightly different version of Movie 43 to those of us in the UK. All of the sketches are the same in the two versions, however the plot tying the sketches together is different. The American version focuses around a struggling scriptwriter played by Dennis Quaid pitching the sketches to a film-maker played by Greg Kinnear. However, the UK version focuses on a group of three teenage boys searching for the most awful, shocking movie ever: Movie 43. On their way through the shady corners of the Internet they find the sketches that make up the majority of the film.
Really though, it doesn't make a huge amount of difference as neither versions of the film have impressed critics, not just because the plot isn't good, but because the sketches just aren't that great.
Now you can find a lot of critics out there who are completely destroying this movie in their reviews, and while I agree it isn't a good film, it's not as awful as some are making out to be.
Being a sketch comedy it's bound to be hit and miss, but it's just a shame that there's quite so much miss with all the talent attached. Anna Faris is excellent at what she does - comedy - but her sketch where she longs to be pooped on by her long-term boyfriend just isn't funny at all.
Then there are the sketches that are more middling in quality. The sketch starring one of the most talented new actors around, Chloe Grace Moretz (Kick-Ass, Hugo) being ridiculed about her first period has one or two funny lines but overall just isn't very funny.
Meanwhile, the sketch "Veronica" starring Emma Stone is also disappointing. Stone is one of my favourite actors at the moment and capable of some great comedic moments as proven in Easy A, however her sketch in Movie 43 again provides a few funny lines before just getting pretty dull.
Hugh Jackman and Kate Winslet's scene also disappointed with the whole "Hugh Jackman has testicles growing out of his neck" gag getting old pretty quick.
In fact, this is something that happened with most sketches and was possibly the biggest problem - most of them only really had one joke, and just kept repeating that one joke until it dies painfully.
However, that's not to say there's no laughs to be had in Movie 43. Each sketch typically had at least one or two lines that were funny - although, whether its a good thing that some near-20 minute long sketches only had one or two funny bits is yours to decide.
Plus, there were some sketches that I really did like. "Homeschooled" starring Liev Schreiber and Naomi Watts I found genuinely funny all the way through! "Super-Hero Speed Dating" also provided some solid laughs, albeit not quite as many.
The parody adverts inserted between sketches were also very funny, including an appeal from the society for the prevention of cruelty to children inside machines. It is just as weird as it sounds.
Overall though, it's fair to say that Movie 43 doesn't make the most of the talent attached to it at all. The stars involved do seem surprisingly enthusiastic about their parts in the film and do the best they can with the script they're given. Unfortunately, it can't stop the fact that Movie 43 is a very disappointing comedy.
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