Mr. Woodcock opens today, PopWatchers, and if you’ve been following the ongoing saga behind this comedy, you can appreciate just how special today is. For a while, it was looking as if this funny flick — in which Billy Bob Thornton (pictured) plays an evil P.E. teacher who sets up home with the mother (Susan Sarandon) of a man (Seann William Scott) whom he used to terrorize in school — was never going to come out. It has been on the shelf for more than two years, gone through multiple release dates, and been largely overhauled after test audiences turned their noses up at an early cut.
Lord knows, I’ve been following the progress of this movie very closely, ever since I visited its set way, way back on May 25, 2005. (I remember that day vividly, because I went straight from Mr. Woodcock‘s Culver Studios soundstage to a party where I met a filmmaker I had barely heard of, Judd Apatow, who invited me to watch an early cut of a bawdy farce he had just finished shooting, The 40-Year-Old Virgin. It’s been that long.) And, I’ve gotta say, I’m sorry to have seen the movie struggle to make it to the screen. Its original screenplay, when I read it two and a half years ago, was remarkably sharp. The mood on the set was upbeat; Thornton smiled as he spoke warmly about the film: "It’s a good one. I think the director’s really good, Craig Gillespie. I think he’s making a really good movie, and I’m looking forward to it." And I saw a lot of promise in the scenes that I watched first-time feature director Gillespie shoot (and it’s clear that he’s got the chops, if the buzz from the Toronto Film Festival about his latest movie, Lars and the Real Girl, is to be believed). I even saw a cut of Mr. Woodcock at a screening about a year ago and thought it was perfectly fine (not Superbad great, mind you, but certainly serviceable).
So what the heck happened? The notion that test audiences didn’tlike early versions of the film only partly explains the long delay.Did Thornton’s Hollywood heat cool after the similarly themed Bad News Bears and School for Scoundrels flopped? Was it, as EW’s Marc Bernardin states in his C+ review of the film, a matter of this very tame, middle-of-the-road comedy being unable to keep up in the post-Apatow world? Or maybe, as I surmised in today’s Box Office Preview, sometimes a movie is just a dud.
Whatever the reason, I have two questions for you. Does knowing thata movie had been gathering dust for a really long time before finallyopening in any way deter you from seeing it? And will you be paying tosee Mr. Woodcock this weekend — or ever?
Yes, delays usually signal to me the film is not so good. (The Invasion comes to mind, as well as Lucky You), and I probably won’t see this movie because it looks like every other Thornton comedy.
I don’t think delays, re-shoots and bad buzz always mean death for a movie. The Bourne Identity had the same problems, and it became a blockbuster franchise. Somehow I doubt we’ll see that kind of response to Mr. Woodcock, but I try not to judge a movie until I see it.
A two year delay in release is always a bad sign. What movie has had a two year delay and was good?
I’ll see this movie when its on DVD, which will probably be a few weeks from now if the reception to this movie’s as bad as the studio seems to think it would be.
Shame really. Billy bob’s a fantastic actor who’s been stuck in “crappy movie” doldrums for a while. The man was uncanny in Primary Colors, so I know he can rock it when they put him in the right role. Would someone please give Billy Bob some decent roles?
Long delay = sucky movie (i.e All the Kings Men). Only once in a while will a delayed film be great, like The Bourne Identity.
GOB, I stand corrected. Bourne was indeed delayed by at least a year and turned out to be an outtasite movie.
But I’d wager that Bourne’s the exception and not the rule.
EP Santo, Once Upon a Time in Mexico was also delayed for 2 years and I thought that was a pretty awesome movie.
I had no desire to actually see this film in the first place. Delay or no delay.
Billy Bob creeps me out and I wouldn’t pay to see him in anything.
Ugh test audiences! I haven’t seen the film, but it seems that the test audiences reaction (rather than any sort of on-set problems) are what ailed this movie. Seems like the test audienced any sharpness and wit that may have been in the original screenplay right out of the film, leading to the tame flop the EW review described.
I also agree with EP…why is Thornton stuck doing all these stupid comedies. In addition to Primary Colors, he was fantastic in “A Simple Plan” (underrated). And if he insists on doing comedies, find something worthwhile like “Bad Santa.” Anything with Seann William Scott attached to it just doesn’t seem like a winner these days.
Mr. Woodcock sounded like a stupid movie to begin with, delayed or not. With so many other quality or interesting movies out in the past two weeks, its a skipper. I might see it on tv when it comes to HBO.
Most of the time, a long delay and a troubled production means a terrible movie. But sometimes it turns out the opposite — just look at Titanic. I won’t be going to see this, however.
I think there’s a difference between a delayed release and a movie that’s been gathering dust. I don’t really give it a thought if the movie’s delayed because they’re still working on it. I probably won’t go see it if I hear it’s been sitting on a shelf.
This is the third film that I’ve read about that this has happened to “The Assassination of Jesse James…” and “Southland Tales” are the other two. I don’t know if it’s a case of studio execs interferring or directors tinkering (actually that is the case with Southland Tales) but it doesn’t exactly inspire confidence.
I first heard about the WWII movie “The Great Raid” with James Franco and Joseph Fiennes years before it finally got released. Of course, it was one of those movies that got messed up under that whole Weinstein/Miramax mess, but when it came out, it was disjointed, both overlong and sketchy. Too bad, the story itself could have been great.
1. If the movie is something like Dark Knight, then it doesn’t matter how long it took to make. But if it’s Snakes on a Plane I wouldn’t even bother.
2. I’ll watch Woodcock maybe when it’s on video, but most likely when it’s on cable.