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  • Mr. Woodcock

    A young author (Seann William Scott) learns that his mother (Susan Sarandon) is marrying his former gym teacher (Billy Bob Thornton), a man who made his life hell during high school.

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    REELZ REVIEW
    "Say it ain't so, Billy Bob...."  [more]
    — Thomas Leupp

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    • Thomas Leupp

      ReelzChannel.com, September 12, 2007


      Mr. WoodcockBilly Bob Thornton is one of my favorite actors, particularly when he's playing an unrepentant a**hole. Even when he's at his worst -- like in Bad Santa and the recent Bad News Bears remake -- there's something inherently likeable about the guy, an indefinable quality that makes his characters' most revolting flaws seem somehow forgivable. But, as we learned with School for Scoundrels, one evil Billy Bob does not a good comedy make. They still require things like, oh, I don't know, a decent script, perhaps.


      Such is the case with the dreadfully unfunny Mr. Woodcock, in which Thornton plays a particularly abrasive gym teacher by the name of -- you guessed it -- Mr. Woodcock. Not such a bad concept. After all, few places embody the painful awkwardness of adolescence than middle school gym class, that brutal realm where a pubescent boy's every physical flaw is held up to the spotlight. It's the perfect stage for acerbic antics of evil Billy Bob, right?


      License to WedWrong. I knew Mr. Woodcock was doomed the minute I saw the poster (upper right). You see, good comedies don't need posters with bad visual puns to sell themselves, and Mr. Woodcock's poster eerily resembles that of License to Wed (middle right), another dreadful comedy that came and went in a flash earlier this summer amidst a barrage of negative reviews. Both posters feature their movies' three main characters arranged in a not-so-subtle reference to the human reproductive system -- female for License to Wed, male for Mr. Woodcock.


      In the case of Mr. Woodcock, the metaphor is clear: Mr. Woodcock is a d*ck. To his left is Seann William Scott, who plays John Farley, a former student of Woodcock's who managed to survive the daily browbeating to become a world-renowned self-help author. To the right is Susan Sarandon, who plays John's mother Beverly. She happens to be engaged to Woodcock, which is why Seann William Scott is scowling at Thornton.


      The Female Reproductive SystemMr. Woodcock's first ten minutes, in which evil Billy Bob viciously berates his meek pupils, are intermittently hilarious, but it's all downhill from there. I kept waiting for the moment when the movie would turn the corner, when some of the wickedly funny dark humor of Bad Santa would emerge, but it never did (probably because it's PG-13 -- darn it, why didn't I check beforehand?). The battle between Farley and Woodcock, obviously intended to be the source of most of the comedy, quickly grows stale when it becomes apparent that Scott's character is woefully uninteresting and unrelentingly bland. Gaylord Focker he ain't.


      ReelzChannel Rating:  4


      Disagree?  Let me know at tleupp@reelzchannel.com.

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  • Crew

    Director Craig Gillespie
    Producer Bob Cooper
    Producer Keith Goldberg
    Executive Producer Kent Alterman
    Executive Producer Diana Pokorny
    Executive Producer Michele Weiss
    Writer Michael Carnes
    Writer Joah Gilbert

Summer Movie Guide

MOVIE NEWS

Tuesday, January 15

Friday, September 14

Wednesday, September 5

  • Scott in talks to enter Kelly's Box

    Seann William ScottAfter Southland Tales debuted to a decidedly negative reception last year at Cannes, Richard Kelly's long-awaited sophomore project was plagued by rumors that the film might never see the light of day in the U.S. Thankfully, Sony finally put the speculation to rest last month when they announced that Southland Tales will open November 9th, with a running time considerably shorter than the 180 minute behemoth screened at Cannes.

    Kelly's apparent sophomore jinx hasn't done anything to sully his reputation in Hollywood. The Donnie Darko director is already hard at work on his third project, the horror flick The Box, with Cameron Diaz set to star. And now it appears like Southland Tales star Seann William Scott might be coming aboard as well.

    In an exclusive interview with ReelzChannel.com, the Dukes of Hazzard  star (lest we forget) revealed yesterday that he's currently in talks to join the cast of The Box, though details have yet to be ironed out. Scott describes Kelly's third film as "interesting and weird. It's gonna be a movie that people either love or hate. And I kinda like those films."

    An interesting and weird Richard Kelly film?  Imagine that.

    Scott's latest movie, Mr. Woodcock, opens September 14th.


    Mr. Woodcock - Trailer

    Seann William Scott battles gym coach Billy Bob Thornton

    Posted 09/05/2007 by Thomas

    Cameron Diaz | Richard Kelly | Seann William Scott | Thomas Leupp | Southland Tales | The Box | Mr. Woodcock

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