I don't believe I have ever sit through an entire comedy film before without even cracking a smile until I watched Bernie Mac's dud, Mr. 3000. With one-sided jokes, uneven editing, and a very poor story, I am surprised that anyone would enjoy watching this film. It is quite possibly the worst representation of Mac's humor that I have ever seen. I am not sure what the filmmakers were trying to achieve with this film, but it felt like there was plenty of editing left on the floor, a bad match for Bernie Mac, and an overall story that really just didn't spark at any time. From the beginning of this film until the very anticlimactic and predictable ending, I didn't laugh one bit and this was supposed to be "very funny" (if you look at the cover box). There was something amok with this film, and I plan to discover what it was.
Casting was a downer for this film. Outside of Mac, there was really no showcased talent. Angela Bassett was completely miscast as a believable sports writer. I felt she really hindered the film with her wishy-washy performance that never seemed to go anywhere. She kept jumping in and out of character that it felt as if she was just interested in the money instead of the script. There was something emotional there, but (as I will go into later) it seemed as if it was all edited out to allow more face time of Bernie Mac. I do believe that the ultimate downfall of this film was Bernie Mac. There was nothing funny about him in the least bit. The writing gave him nothing to build upon, the direction seemed very stale giving Bernie a very plastic image when he moved, and Mac's acting was not the best for this role. I am not sure if there was supposed to be more emotion behind his character, or perhaps more emotion in the story, but there was not one good scene with Mac that I can recall. A good way to grade this is to count how many times you doze off during this film, and for me it was four which is not a good sign. The relationship between Michael Rispoli and Mac seemed forced to the extent where they looked and felt like actors just reading their lines. Was there any rehearsal in this film? It felt as if everything was done on the first take, then the rest of the cast took the day off.
As if the acting wasn't the tip of the iceberg, I felt this was the worst story contrived for a film. Here is where I get a bit fuzzy. Was it the story that needed some definite attention, or was it the editing? I couldn't tell which was worse. Every time we would get moving in a decent direction, suddenly we were pulled back in another without any warning or reason. Two scenes that I can think about were when Mac talks to the star player about being a team player and overnight he listens to Mac. How believable was that? Where was the tension, the ultimate realization, and the gritty truth? I saw none of this, could it have been edited out or was it the story just didn't allow it? The second was when Mac found his fame again. This came out of left field, caused some trouble with the story and characters then suddenly fixed itself without any warning or repercussion. Who could have allowed this to happen? Mr. 3000 felt like a High School freshman's term paper that forgot to connect the paragraphs. I just felt like I was jumping around the baseball field without any parental guidance. This film shamed the Baseball Hall of Fame, and I am surprised that they did nothing to try to stop it. Tom Arnold was in it for God's sake. Can nothing be said for that? Nonetheless, with sub-par acting and a story without any consecutiveness, I had to wonder why this film did so well. I remember Bernie Mac as this stylish comedian with a voice that speaks to the American public, not Stan Ross, an unfunny baseball player who seems to have a chip on his shoulder for no apparent reason. Could we not get any backstroke on this character? Again, story or editing, which do I blame? If you couldn't tell already, I completely disliked this film. The customers at my video store seem to want this title more than any other title, and I cannot for the likes of me figure out why. There are no redeemable scenes in this film or anything worth enjoying. This was a disappointing film with its lackluster performances and shoddy story. The only great aspect that this film had going for it is that it continued to fuel my complete hatred for the sports genre film.
Overall, skip it. You are missing nothing and, in fact, by not watching this film you will probably end up enjoying the work of Bernie Mac much more. For me, my eyes have been ruined and my overall taste of Bernie Mac has fallen quite a few notches on the infamous POLE OF COMEDY!
Grade: * out of *****
Casting was a downer for this film. Outside of Mac, there was really no showcased talent. Angela Bassett was completely miscast as a believable sports writer. I felt she really hindered the film with her wishy-washy performance that never seemed to go anywhere. She kept jumping in and out of character that it felt as if she was just interested in the money instead of the script. There was something emotional there, but (as I will go into later) it seemed as if it was all edited out to allow more face time of Bernie Mac. I do believe that the ultimate downfall of this film was Bernie Mac. There was nothing funny about him in the least bit. The writing gave him nothing to build upon, the direction seemed very stale giving Bernie a very plastic image when he moved, and Mac's acting was not the best for this role. I am not sure if there was supposed to be more emotion behind his character, or perhaps more emotion in the story, but there was not one good scene with Mac that I can recall. A good way to grade this is to count how many times you doze off during this film, and for me it was four which is not a good sign. The relationship between Michael Rispoli and Mac seemed forced to the extent where they looked and felt like actors just reading their lines. Was there any rehearsal in this film? It felt as if everything was done on the first take, then the rest of the cast took the day off.
As if the acting wasn't the tip of the iceberg, I felt this was the worst story contrived for a film. Here is where I get a bit fuzzy. Was it the story that needed some definite attention, or was it the editing? I couldn't tell which was worse. Every time we would get moving in a decent direction, suddenly we were pulled back in another without any warning or reason. Two scenes that I can think about were when Mac talks to the star player about being a team player and overnight he listens to Mac. How believable was that? Where was the tension, the ultimate realization, and the gritty truth? I saw none of this, could it have been edited out or was it the story just didn't allow it? The second was when Mac found his fame again. This came out of left field, caused some trouble with the story and characters then suddenly fixed itself without any warning or repercussion. Who could have allowed this to happen? Mr. 3000 felt like a High School freshman's term paper that forgot to connect the paragraphs. I just felt like I was jumping around the baseball field without any parental guidance. This film shamed the Baseball Hall of Fame, and I am surprised that they did nothing to try to stop it. Tom Arnold was in it for God's sake. Can nothing be said for that? Nonetheless, with sub-par acting and a story without any consecutiveness, I had to wonder why this film did so well. I remember Bernie Mac as this stylish comedian with a voice that speaks to the American public, not Stan Ross, an unfunny baseball player who seems to have a chip on his shoulder for no apparent reason. Could we not get any backstroke on this character? Again, story or editing, which do I blame? If you couldn't tell already, I completely disliked this film. The customers at my video store seem to want this title more than any other title, and I cannot for the likes of me figure out why. There are no redeemable scenes in this film or anything worth enjoying. This was a disappointing film with its lackluster performances and shoddy story. The only great aspect that this film had going for it is that it continued to fuel my complete hatred for the sports genre film.
Overall, skip it. You are missing nothing and, in fact, by not watching this film you will probably end up enjoying the work of Bernie Mac much more. For me, my eyes have been ruined and my overall taste of Bernie Mac has fallen quite a few notches on the infamous POLE OF COMEDY!
Grade: * out of *****