Loved The Last Movie Star so I streamed this on Amazon. I came away underwhelmed. A little too much Penn Jillette for one movie and basically one joke about his character being obsessed with Missi Pyle.
17 Reviews
One Trick Pony
mstrsjulie5 June 2018
An interesting, but 'toothless' experiment.
johnerael3 July 2018
Warning: Spoilers
I had the privilege of catching Penn JIllette's Director's Cut at a screening in LA.
You may or may not remember back in 2013 Penn JIllette and director Adam Rifkin announced their plans to 'Make Penn Bad' and produce his thriller screenplay. By November 2013, they had successfully crowdfunded their film to the tune of 1.1 million dollars.
Of course, I sincerely doubt that covered all the costs of making the film, which looks pretty good, aside from the moments when it's not supposed to. But we'll get into that.
Full disclosure, I know Penn, and he knows me . I should hope so, I've been nearly naked on stage with him a few times (he had clothes on). Also, I'm a fan of Penn's, and have been for a very long time.
In any case, Director's Cut is good... it's uh... Good. It's not bad. In fact, it's good. In fact, on a purely conceptual side, it's genius. It's one of those ideas where when you first hear about it, you're like "Duh! Why has no one thought of that before?! A director's commentary (slash) cut that tells a different narrative than the actual film that is being commented on. YES!!!"
I was really excited about this project. I even read part of the screenplay when they were doing their fundraiser, which may have altered a few of my expectations.
But I'm pretty sure in a couple instances, Mr. Jillette and Mr. Rifkin just fell short of their intentions. For example, in the screenplay there's a note that the film within the film will be a cop movie that's "done earnestly. Not campy at all." This isn't the case. I suspect that the cast and crew may have thought they were doing a sincere job with it, just like Al Jolson may have thought that he was doing a sincere homage to the talented black people he knew. I will say the cinematographer sure as hell was (good job, Scott Winig), but the film within a film definitely came off as campy.
What you see on screen are really talented actors, having fun by pretending to be terrible actors in a bad cop movie. I could just see Rifkin giving them direction: "Go on, have fun with it; it's a B cop movie. We've all seen those. We know how cheesy they are. No reason to commit and let the material speak for itself."
See, that's the problem that a lot of people fall into when they are doing something comedic, satirical, or tongue in cheek; they don't take it seriously, and that reads on screen. If you want a joke to truly pay off, you need a director and performers who are going to commit, and you definitely had the right cast. I mean, Harry Hamlin?! The man was in Clash of the Titans for God's sake.
There is one exception to this, and it's pretty ironic since his role was extremely over the top, and he's definitely not known to be an actor. Teller's performance is downright stunning. You may not notice it at first because he's only on screen for like 3 minutes, and, again, it's a very over the top character, but that man commits!
I say this with no hesitation: Teller gave the best performance of the movie. You can actually see most of his performance on the Director's Cut Youtube channel.
And, as Teller actually told me with words after the screening, the writing for his scene was perfect. We knew everything about this man's character, his motivation, even his moral compass within 60 seconds. Penn nailed that scene, and, clearly, understood that character.
Sadly, he didn't put nearly as much thought or care into the main character of the movie, the one he plays; the 'director'. It's a very shallow and cyclical character.
He's a character who dresses and acts weird. Why? Because he's weird! His character stalks an actor who he's in love with. Why? Because he loves her. He has poor social skills. Why? Because he doesn't have any friends.
I'm not asking for a character backstory or anything; a fully realized character doesn't even need one. A good villain is often better without too much exposition. But we, as the audience need to believe that we know something about this character, even if it's just his intentions or instincts. 'Weird with a PG level of creepy' isn't a fully realized character; it's affected and stagy.
As Penn's character says in the screenplay; "the better the villain, the better the movie." This movie didn't have a good villain. It also didn't have a villain with a story arch. I mean, the entire plot and very concept of the film is built around this character, and he is the same from beginning, middle, to end. Nothing that actually happens to him seems to affect his weird and oddly enthusiastic demeanor. He doesn't appear to have any 'triggers' or weaknesses that have any effect on the actual story. Our main character has no stakes!
Maybe Penn liked the idea of a bad guy who was perfectly content to be his weird self regardless of circumstance. Maybe he thought his character was an 'unshakable villain'; instead, it just comes off Magoo. And this could have sincerely paid off as well, if, for example, after we watch Magoo blindly bumble through most of the obstacles, we learn that his only solution to complete the film is to create a life size stop motion puppet out of Missi Pyle's body parts... or whatever! We needed something that was a genuine revelation.
Sure, the 'director' kidnaps Ms. Pyle, and kidnapping is a very big deal in real life, but we're so desensitized to hostage situations in movies that it's usually a pivotal plot point in half of the family friendly movies ever made. Seriously, the last 3 Disney movies I saw all had at least one hostage/kidnapping situation.
So there was no revelation. This movie was genuinely toothless. There were a couple moments of mild discomfort, but nothing that your average 10 year old couldn't handle.
Without giving away any details, because the details don't actually matter, this had a very quirky and cute ending.
It's the kind of ending that you would choose to attach to this kind of plot if you were doing a short film because the audience wouldn't have time to fully believe or invest in your world, so you can't ask them to go to any truly horrific places with you, and expect that journey have a genuine impact.
But Penn and Adam had us for 90 minutes. We were there! We were invested! We were waiting for them to go for the gusto. Whatever that turned out to be. I mean, this is an original idea, and they got there first! Imagine if Blair Witch had ended with the kids realizing that they were being pranked, and then they get picked up by their moms and dads.
Even forgetting Blair Witch, we live in a post-RedLetterMedia/YouSuckAtPhotoshop world! You need to take the gloves off, especially if you have a genuinely unique idea.
If you get somewhere first, you don't pose for an ironic selfie. You climb on top, and shove your flag in that mountain!
I don't know. Maybe they just didn't want to take it to that next harsh level. And 'Make Penn Bad' is a lot catchier for a fundraising campaign than 'Make Penn a Weird and Oddly Loveable Antagonist'. I mean, Penn is a family man, and this does come off less like a scary story told by your best friend, and more like a mildly dirty joke told by your dad or uncle.
Sadly, it could have been a much funnier joke, had they committed to the setup.
In an interview, Penn said "I'm always interested in how things that we trust automatically can be used against us. I mean, that's what magic is, really. It's finding a way to lie to yourself. A director's commentary seemed like the perfect way to kind of get people to be betrayed. With a director's commentary, it's a different kind of trust, but it's still a kind of artistic trust. What if the person talking to you doesn't know what the f--- they're doing?"
Fascinating, right? I wanna be artistically lulled into a false sense of security by a guy who might be taking me to a place I didn't want to go.
Well, forget it. As soon as the movie starts rolling, they give away the entire plot. Not that this project has been kept under tight wrap or anything, but I wanted to see a gradual transition
Instead, the entire plot/joke/concept is telescoped to us within the first 30 seconds. So there was no genuine setup and therefore no good payoff.
I'll tell you one of the ways they did this was with those obnoxious scribbled on titles that are supposed to 'read' as amateur, but anyone who has spent any amount of time with graphics software, which is literally everyone who owns a computer knows that it's actually more difficult to produce crap like that than adding regular titles. I know it sounds like a minor point, but the whole manipulated title sequence could have been a cool easter egg or plot device for those savvy enough to notice the difference in fonts and shadow effects or whatever. Especially if those added effects start to look lamer and more homemade as our protagonist has to keep downgrading his editing system because of his changing circumstances, thus helping to tell the story!
Everything was given away upfront, which means we were, whether intentional or not, treated like rubes. But that is one of the great dilemmas: is it better to treat your audience like morons or create something enigmatic that risks making your audience feel like morons. I mean, no creator wants to do either, but you can't always tell how things are going to come off. And to Penn and Adam's credit: I never once felt dumb or lost while watching their potentially convoluted film. So that's good. And again, it was good... It was... Let's call it an interesting exercise in filmmaking; one that I'm sure a lot of would be filmmakers would enjoy seeing if only to realize the potential of such a work of art.
Live commentary
kosmasp16 April 2017
Since Laserdiscs and even more so DVDs and Blu Rays (and who knows what's next apart from streaming), the special feature that involves filmmakers and stars or crew commenting on the movie you're watching, the question is, if sometimes the movies may only be entertaining or watchable with the audio commentary on. It's certainly true with most films by Uwe Boll and it's a feature you get here for free.
I do wonder if there will be an audio commentary for this one. Which would be breaking more than just a fourth wall, which the movie incidentally does already. It's funny and it's a gimmick, that does pay off if you like this sort of thing. Some jokes (most of them actually) are not really sophisticated, but rather low and simple. Still this was a lot of fun to watch and the actors obviously had fun doing this. Sit back, relax and enjoy this silly fun too then
I do wonder if there will be an audio commentary for this one. Which would be breaking more than just a fourth wall, which the movie incidentally does already. It's funny and it's a gimmick, that does pay off if you like this sort of thing. Some jokes (most of them actually) are not really sophisticated, but rather low and simple. Still this was a lot of fun to watch and the actors obviously had fun doing this. Sit back, relax and enjoy this silly fun too then
Surprisingly Good
arfdawg-111 November 2019
The commentary is the movie
BandSAboutMovies11 November 2018
Warning: Spoilers
People always ask me, "Why do you still buy movies on DVD?" That upsets me. Probably not as much as questions like, "What are you going to do when they stop making DVD players?" and "Why don't you just stream everything like a normal person?" Beyond enjoying the tactile feel of physical media and not wanting to lose access to the movies I've already purchased, I really enjoy listening to commentary tracks. But what about a movie whose entire storyline is within the commentary track?
The voice on that track comes from Herbert Blount (Penn Jillette), who crowdfunded a movie starring his favorite actress, Missi Pyle (Gone Girl). Yep, this movie plays with reality by inserting real actors and actresses into a film that isn't real. Harry Hamlin and Hayes McArthur also play themselves and their characters in the film within a film (director Adam Rifkin also is in this). Herbert uses his chance to be in the film Knocked Off - that was his crowdfunding reward - to kidnap Missi and re-edit the film himself.
To get really meta, this movie was also crowdfunded.
The best scene in the film is one of the rare moments where Penn's partner, Teller, speaks. It's a creepy little scene and not as over the top and goofy as the rest of the film. I kept waiting for all the talking to add up to something profound but like the worst commentary tracks, it just ends up getting in the way of the actual film. I get what the filmmakers were going for, but once the joke is told and then explained several times, it's no longer funny.
The voice on that track comes from Herbert Blount (Penn Jillette), who crowdfunded a movie starring his favorite actress, Missi Pyle (Gone Girl). Yep, this movie plays with reality by inserting real actors and actresses into a film that isn't real. Harry Hamlin and Hayes McArthur also play themselves and their characters in the film within a film (director Adam Rifkin also is in this). Herbert uses his chance to be in the film Knocked Off - that was his crowdfunding reward - to kidnap Missi and re-edit the film himself.
To get really meta, this movie was also crowdfunded.
The best scene in the film is one of the rare moments where Penn's partner, Teller, speaks. It's a creepy little scene and not as over the top and goofy as the rest of the film. I kept waiting for all the talking to add up to something profound but like the worst commentary tracks, it just ends up getting in the way of the actual film. I get what the filmmakers were going for, but once the joke is told and then explained several times, it's no longer funny.
Whoa! Wasn't Expecting This
MrsOrange12 November 2019
With this premise and the paring of Penn and Adam Rifkin, I was expecting this film to be hilarious but I didn't expect it to be so nasty! I really liked the way that they used this wild way of making a movie but part of me was left wanting more strong female characters. I get that it's from the perspective of the lead character who is a horrible man but I still think they could have found a way to make the female characters feel more than one note. That being said, this movie is wild, it's hilarious and it's very weird. Will watch again.
Got Really Annoying Really Fast
soulcrisis284 October 2021
This movie isn't funny, in fact after about 15 mins I was ready to throw my remote through the screen just to shut Penn up! Oh and all his dumb goofy faces he makes through this entire thing, never have I ever, wanted to punch someone in the face so hard, in my life. Skip this garbage.
Entertaining and original movie.
ejonconrad7 July 2016
Full disclosure: I contributed enough to the crowdfunding site to get invited to the premiere and meet Penn and Teller, so I would have enjoyed the experience even if the movie had been terrible. Luckily, it wasn't.
The plot is pretty original. It's about - surprise - a crowd funded movie. One particular contributor - Herby Blount, played by Penn - donates enough money to hang out on the set and even film with his own hand-held camera. It turns out he's obsessed with Missi Pyle, who, like all the actors, plays herself. He uses his footage together with raw footage he steals from the movie to cobble together his own version of the movie, in which he's the hero. What we're supposedly watching is the director's cut of *that* movie, with his commentary. How meta is that? The result is something of a cross between a classic "movie within a movie" and a "found footage" documentary.
It's really two separate movies. They create a good part of the movie "Knocked Off", a low budget but completely credible slasher/horror movie, and they also create Herby's amateurish additions and edits. During the Q&A, they claimed all of "his" editing and special effects were done with free software that a crazy person really could use.
The acting is quite good. The main characters in the "movie" are Missi Pyle and Harry Hamlin. She in particular does a good job of playing both her role and herself playing her role.
Of course, the whole thing is narrated via Herby's (Penn's) "director's commentary", and that's where all the humor comes in - and it is very funny.
All in all, a quite enjoyable movie.
The plot is pretty original. It's about - surprise - a crowd funded movie. One particular contributor - Herby Blount, played by Penn - donates enough money to hang out on the set and even film with his own hand-held camera. It turns out he's obsessed with Missi Pyle, who, like all the actors, plays herself. He uses his footage together with raw footage he steals from the movie to cobble together his own version of the movie, in which he's the hero. What we're supposedly watching is the director's cut of *that* movie, with his commentary. How meta is that? The result is something of a cross between a classic "movie within a movie" and a "found footage" documentary.
It's really two separate movies. They create a good part of the movie "Knocked Off", a low budget but completely credible slasher/horror movie, and they also create Herby's amateurish additions and edits. During the Q&A, they claimed all of "his" editing and special effects were done with free software that a crazy person really could use.
The acting is quite good. The main characters in the "movie" are Missi Pyle and Harry Hamlin. She in particular does a good job of playing both her role and herself playing her role.
Of course, the whole thing is narrated via Herby's (Penn's) "director's commentary", and that's where all the humor comes in - and it is very funny.
All in all, a quite enjoyable movie.
Movie is Wild and Hillarious
nickmiles-268867 April 2020
Quite a bland movie with not very funny plot as it seems to be. A gimmick may pays off but some jokes are not that sophisticated. Though movie is wild and hillarious but I am expecting more from the female characters.
Genre buster
neighthd14 June 2018
Confusing gimmicky mess
Floated211 April 2024
The description of this film wasn't as clear as how it would turn out as watching. The writers tried to make it something more clever and thought provoking than typically how it should have been. It isn't entirely bad but it feels quite forced to a point where it becomes annoying with the constant narration through the film. It ruins the flow of the actual film as the character of Herbert (the director narrating) is incredibly unlikeable, annoying and is the center of attention. It started off as intriguing with the constant obsession of the character of Missi Pyle then turned further thought provoking. Overall this film is nothing but a gimmicky mess and it's nowhere near funny as it should have been.
I Had a Great Time!
adwood426 June 2018
As good as I hoped
vulpes97212 May 2018
Full disclosure I was part of the crowd funding for this movie. So understand also that the anticipation has been building for a very long time. Over the years we have been hearing how good the movie turned out but for a large part of us we have only just now got to see the final product. If I wasn't part of the crowd funding for this movie I would have still loved it. It had me laughing the whole way through. So often when trying to make a movie like this it comes across as trying too hard, however in this I think they managed to hit the right balance.
Even though knowing so much about this movie going in didn't spoil it for us, I'm still going to give it some time before discussing some of the finer details. I will say this, you can't make a movie like this without an incredible group of talented people. Missi Pyle was simply phenomenal as always ;). I can't wait to watch this over and over again.
Even though knowing so much about this movie going in didn't spoil it for us, I'm still going to give it some time before discussing some of the finer details. I will say this, you can't make a movie like this without an incredible group of talented people. Missi Pyle was simply phenomenal as always ;). I can't wait to watch this over and over again.
Creepy, Dark and Hilarious!
xjeff-250-6390548 June 2018
Others have already explained the plot so I won't go into that here. Let's just say that Director's Cut has a lot more layers than you might expect. The underlying cop drama is beautifully shot and Herbie's director's commentary is very funny.
There are numerous throw-away one-liners and inside jokes and some of the special effects will have you laughing out loud.
The car chase near the end was spectacular!
There are numerous throw-away one-liners and inside jokes and some of the special effects will have you laughing out loud.
The car chase near the end was spectacular!
Delightfully Creepy
facebook-100446 June 2018
Okay. I, too, crowdfunded this movie and got to see it at the LA premier last month. But I can honestly say it is a wonderfully meta crowdfunded movie about a crowdfunded movie and a crazy crowdfunder who takes his crowdfunding duties a little (or a lot) too seriously. I rank Penn & Teller Get Killed amongst my all time favorite films, which I mention because I suspect you might need a particular sense of humor to appreciate that movie as well as Director's Cut, but if you get it, it's awesome. I am proud to have helped in my little way to get it made. If you like quirky, self-referential, fourth wall shattering, intelligent and irreverent art, this movie might just be for you in a big way.
Awesome writing!
dtboice6 June 2018
Loved this movie. It gave me an almost behind the scenes feeling. It was like I wasn't watching a movie but more like peeking in on something really, really weird happening. The writing was on point, funny but in a really smart and creative way.
Pure Genius
wesleypengelly30 July 2020
Penn does with movies what he does so expertly with magic and illusions. He shows us how the sausage is made with his commentary. He blends humor into the film by making the narrator unreliable and buffoonish. This movie is not about "The Movie". This is an awesome example of meta movie making and tearing down the fourth wall.
Extremely clever and original. I want more of this!!!
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