as we told you it would, in this column back in december
the film, which stars mel gibson in his first major role after scandal tainted
his reputation in hollywood, fell flat on its beaver
ticket sales were just over $100,000, popcorn sales were twice that
what to do - take your film to the festival in cannes
ah, the french...so loving, so forgiving, so forgetful
at cannes, where psycho movies and furry animals go down better
the viewers laughed loudly several times during a screening
and even applauded at the end, it helped that mel and jodie where there
the beaver, which is not in competition for best picture
shifts between comedy and drama as it follows gibson's character
through a radical therapy to regain his mental health
radical therapy, well at least different
using (and abusing) a plush beaver with a cockney accent
as a ventriloquist's hand-puppet
gibson's character completes a radical about-face in terms of mental health
the local stores in malibu must have sold out
there are many folks in that town who need an about-face
foster, who stars and directs has been defending her payday, i mean, friend
saying that gibson is a professional and has made light of his personal problems
but after recordings surfaced of him yelling at his ex-wife
most people are just plain afraid of mel's dark side
but that dark side of gibson was needed to play the beaver man
what it was like to direct gibson, whose private life was in turmoil
foster described him as 'the least neurotic actor' she had ever worked with
gibson's character starts out in the depths of clinical depression
drinking himself into a stupor before he tries to hang himself in the shower
with dark subject matter and wry sense of humor
the movie failed to find an audience in the US
americans don't like wry and dark, so they didn't go
so the movie, like the beaver, lost it's ass
foster skirted the question of money altogether
this movie is not about money, we got money
this movie is about beaver
and my next film will be about a cat
- the french will love that one too
