"Bottom's Up" (2006)
Directed By: Eric MacArthur
Starring: Paris Hilton, Jason Mewes, Brian Hallisay, Jon Abrahams, David Keith, & Nicholle Tom
MPAA Rating: "R" (for sexual content, nudity, language and drug use)
Paris Hilton has not had what I would call "a quality run in Hollywood cinema". In fact, she has had about the furthest thing from it. After a brief role in the horror disaster, "Nine Lives", and another role in the mediocre drama, "The Hillz", it seemed as though she was finally getting her career on track with a starring role in the effective slasher flick, "House of Wax" (2005). While she did not give an award-worthy performance, she still held her own and gave audiences what they wanted--a fun chase scene and a gruesome death scene. This is her follow-up to that movie and, unfortunately, she has regressed back into the straight-to-video market with "Bottom's Up". This is an unfulfilling film with painfully-awful direction and no chemistry between the two leading stars: Jason Mewes and Paris Hilton. The plot is thin and barely supports the weak romance that seems to be more a second-thought rather than a main plot line. On the upside, the cast is likable and the jokes, though few and far between, do work, for the most part. Overall, this is a better-than-average straight-to-video film, but it still reeks of predictability and recycling. There is hardly an ounce of originality and the movie really only deserves one watch, preferably on television, if anything at all.
Owen Peadman (Mewes) is a bartender in Minnesota who heads to Hollywood to take part in a bartending competition to raise money for his father's small restaurant. He stays with his flamboyantly gay (and yet in denial) uncle Earl (Keith). When the competition does not work out well for Owen, he takes to working with his uncle at an entertainment television station, as well as working his way into the Hollywood social circle. After a chance-meeting with wealthy socialite, Lisa Mancini (Hilton) and her actor boyfriend, Hayden Field (Hallisay), Owen is pulled into a world of betrayal, bigotry, and seduction--a world that will change him forever and may lead him to the love of his life. But, Hollywood is never a kind place to reside and, for Owen, keeping his head above water may prove to be far more difficult than he originally thought. This plot sounds like it could make for an excellent movie. Unfortunately, it doesn't. "Bottom's Up" only delves into this plot in the most shallow ways, delivering characters that we can't really care about and back stories that are flat and uninteresting.
The performances in "Bottom's Up" have a certain blah feeling about them. They certainly don't stand out and are instantly forgettable. Paris Hilton does what is required of her. She will not be winning an Academy Award any time soon, but she certainly shows that she is molding her acting skill into something more than she showcased in "Nine Lives". Jason Mewes, unfortunately, disappointed me. He could do so much better than this, but it seemed as though he expected the movie to be forgotten so he merely gave a dull performance and collected that paycheck. There is a certain charm about David Keith--a charm usually wasted on horrible horror flicks that wind up on the Sci-Fi channel. Here, he hits the nail on the head. Brian Hallisay does an okay job for his first role in a movie. My biggest question for Jon Abrahams is: why are you even in this movie? Did you just want so desperately to star with Paris Hilton again that you accepted a small, unimportant role in a straight-to-video comedy? What a bad career decision on his part! The rest of the cast fits into that blah feeling I mentioned earlier.
When this movie ended, I had such a distinct feeling of indifference. I didn't like the movie. I didn't dislike the movie. I just didn't care either way. Erik MacArthur's direction is absolutely horrible and the brief animated sequences inserted along the way come off as cheesy and bothersome. What was the point of these? MacArthur also directed a short film, featuring the same characters from this film (played by different actors and actresses, of course). The short was named "Life Makes Sense If You're Famous". If this idea was originally planned for a seven-minute short, why would you want to stretch it out into a movie that is eighty-nine minutes long? The logic behind that choice simply befuddles me. It explains why the movie seems as though the plot is stretched so thin and why the pacing is patchy and slow in many places. Overall, I would say that there really isn't any reason why you should watch this movie unless it is on cable one night and nothing else better is on. But it still isn't a bad movie, thanks mostly to the likable cast.
Final Thought: Though not bad, there is no reason to watch it.
Overall Rating: 4/10 (C+)
Directed By: Eric MacArthur
Starring: Paris Hilton, Jason Mewes, Brian Hallisay, Jon Abrahams, David Keith, & Nicholle Tom
MPAA Rating: "R" (for sexual content, nudity, language and drug use)
Paris Hilton has not had what I would call "a quality run in Hollywood cinema". In fact, she has had about the furthest thing from it. After a brief role in the horror disaster, "Nine Lives", and another role in the mediocre drama, "The Hillz", it seemed as though she was finally getting her career on track with a starring role in the effective slasher flick, "House of Wax" (2005). While she did not give an award-worthy performance, she still held her own and gave audiences what they wanted--a fun chase scene and a gruesome death scene. This is her follow-up to that movie and, unfortunately, she has regressed back into the straight-to-video market with "Bottom's Up". This is an unfulfilling film with painfully-awful direction and no chemistry between the two leading stars: Jason Mewes and Paris Hilton. The plot is thin and barely supports the weak romance that seems to be more a second-thought rather than a main plot line. On the upside, the cast is likable and the jokes, though few and far between, do work, for the most part. Overall, this is a better-than-average straight-to-video film, but it still reeks of predictability and recycling. There is hardly an ounce of originality and the movie really only deserves one watch, preferably on television, if anything at all.
Owen Peadman (Mewes) is a bartender in Minnesota who heads to Hollywood to take part in a bartending competition to raise money for his father's small restaurant. He stays with his flamboyantly gay (and yet in denial) uncle Earl (Keith). When the competition does not work out well for Owen, he takes to working with his uncle at an entertainment television station, as well as working his way into the Hollywood social circle. After a chance-meeting with wealthy socialite, Lisa Mancini (Hilton) and her actor boyfriend, Hayden Field (Hallisay), Owen is pulled into a world of betrayal, bigotry, and seduction--a world that will change him forever and may lead him to the love of his life. But, Hollywood is never a kind place to reside and, for Owen, keeping his head above water may prove to be far more difficult than he originally thought. This plot sounds like it could make for an excellent movie. Unfortunately, it doesn't. "Bottom's Up" only delves into this plot in the most shallow ways, delivering characters that we can't really care about and back stories that are flat and uninteresting.
The performances in "Bottom's Up" have a certain blah feeling about them. They certainly don't stand out and are instantly forgettable. Paris Hilton does what is required of her. She will not be winning an Academy Award any time soon, but she certainly shows that she is molding her acting skill into something more than she showcased in "Nine Lives". Jason Mewes, unfortunately, disappointed me. He could do so much better than this, but it seemed as though he expected the movie to be forgotten so he merely gave a dull performance and collected that paycheck. There is a certain charm about David Keith--a charm usually wasted on horrible horror flicks that wind up on the Sci-Fi channel. Here, he hits the nail on the head. Brian Hallisay does an okay job for his first role in a movie. My biggest question for Jon Abrahams is: why are you even in this movie? Did you just want so desperately to star with Paris Hilton again that you accepted a small, unimportant role in a straight-to-video comedy? What a bad career decision on his part! The rest of the cast fits into that blah feeling I mentioned earlier.
When this movie ended, I had such a distinct feeling of indifference. I didn't like the movie. I didn't dislike the movie. I just didn't care either way. Erik MacArthur's direction is absolutely horrible and the brief animated sequences inserted along the way come off as cheesy and bothersome. What was the point of these? MacArthur also directed a short film, featuring the same characters from this film (played by different actors and actresses, of course). The short was named "Life Makes Sense If You're Famous". If this idea was originally planned for a seven-minute short, why would you want to stretch it out into a movie that is eighty-nine minutes long? The logic behind that choice simply befuddles me. It explains why the movie seems as though the plot is stretched so thin and why the pacing is patchy and slow in many places. Overall, I would say that there really isn't any reason why you should watch this movie unless it is on cable one night and nothing else better is on. But it still isn't a bad movie, thanks mostly to the likable cast.
Final Thought: Though not bad, there is no reason to watch it.
Overall Rating: 4/10 (C+)