Latest news with #BlankCheck
Buzz Feed
23-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Buzz Feed
17 Inappropriate Actor Age Gaps In TV Shows And Movies Between Adult And Child "Couples"
1. Brian Bonsall was only 11 years old when he filmed a literal makeout scene with a grown woman in Disney's Blank Check. He had just turned 12 when the movie came out, and Karen Duffy, the older woman, was just shy of her 32nd birthday. Disney Karen played an undercover FBI agent in the movie, so, like, she definitely should have arrested herself by the end of it. Instead, the characters shared a long "goodbye kiss," which served absolutely no point and easily could have been replaced with a simple hug. Karen was born in May of 1962, and Brian was born in December of 1981. 2. Mila Kunis was only 14 when she lied about her age to get cast on That '70s Show. She was 15 when it came time to film her first-ever kiss, and costar Danny Masterson bet Ashton Kutcher — who was 20 at the time — $10 to French kiss her with tongue. Ashton Kutcher previously spoke about how awkward and inappropriate it was when it came time to shoot their first kissing scene together, saying, "It was really weird. I was like, 'Isn't this illegal? Like, am I allowed?' ... She was 14! She was like my little sister." But a newly resurfaced interview from The Rosie O'Donnell Show revealed that costar Danny Masterson bet Ashton $10 to kiss Mila with tongue. Ashton laughed while telling the story, and Rosie replied, "And then the cops showed up, and you got arrested?" to which Ashton said, "They should have, but they didn't." 3. Keira Knightley was 17 when she filmed Love Actually. She played a married woman in the movie and was 18 when it was released. Her onscreen husband (Chiwetel Ejiofor) was 26, and the home-wrecker (Andrew Lincoln) was 30. Universal Pictures In the movie, Keira had kissing scenes with both actors. She was born in March of 1985, Chiwetel was born in July of 1977, and Andrew was born in September of 1973. 4. Trina McGee was 28, married, and a mom in real life when she first appeared as Angela, a junior in high school, on Boy Meets World. Rider Strong, aka Shawn Hunter, played her love interest, and he was only 17 at the time. Trina McGee recently revealed that she was also six months pregnant while filming the "And Then There Was Shawn" Halloween episode in Season 5. She was born in September of 1969, Rider was born in December of 1979, and their first episode together ("Boy Meets Real World") aired in October of 1997. 5. Taissa Farmiga was 16 when she started filming American Horror Story: Murder House. She had her 17th birthday just a few weeks before the series premiered, and her onscreen love interest, played by Evan Peters, was 24 years old. 6. Hilary Duff filmed A Cinderella Story when she was only 15 years old, and she turned 16 when the movie was released. At that same time, her onscreen boyfriend, Chad Michael Murray, was just shy of his 23rd birthday. 7. Emmy Rossum turned 17 a couple days before production started on The Phantom of the Opera, while the two men who vied for her love, Patrick Wilson and Gerard Butler, were 30 and 33, respectively. Warner Bros. Pictures 8. Frankie Muniz was just 17 when his Malcom in the Middle character started dating Reagan Dale Neis, who was 26 years old at the time. Reagan was born in September of 1976, and Frankie was born in December of 1985. Their characters started dating for the first time in a 2002 episode. 9. Maitreyi Ramakrishnan is more than a decade younger than her onscreen boyfriend in Never Have I Ever. She was 17 when she was cast and 18 when the series premiered, and at that same time, Darren Barnet was 29 years old. 10. Danielle Campbell was 14 when she started shooting Disney Channel's Starstruck. Her love interest in the movie, played by Sterling Knight, was 20 years old. The movie came out on Valentine's Day in 2010, two weeks after Danielle Campbell's 15th birthday and only a couple weeks prior to Sterling Knight's 21st birthday. 11. Katherine Heigl was only 14 when she filmed My Father the Hero. She had just turned 15 by the time the movie came out, and her love interest, Dalton James, was just shy of his 23rd birthday. Touchstone Pictures Katherine Heigl was born in November of 1978, and Dalton James was born in March of 1971. 12. Keira Knightley was only 17 when she filmed that kissing scene in the first Pirates of the Caribbean movie, and Orlando Bloom was 25. The movie started shooting in 2002 and was released in July of 2003, just a few months after Keira turned 18. She was born in March of 1985, and Orlando Bloom was born in January of 1977. 13. Taylor Momsen was only 15 years old when her Gossip Girl character started getting romantically involved with 23-year-old Chace Crawford's character. The CW Taylor was born in July of 1993, and Chace was born in July of 1985. 14. Corbin Bleu is the youngest core cast member from High School Musical. He was 16 years old when they filmed the movie, but Monique Coleman was literally 25. Disney Channel Everyone in the cast was playing a junior in high school, but Corbin was the only one to accurately be that age in real life. He was born in February of 1989, and Monique was born November of 1980. 15. Cameron Monaghan is nearly a decade younger than his onscreen husband, Noel Fisher, in Shameless. Cameron was 16 when they started filming and 17 when the series premiered, while Noel was just shy of his 27th birthday. Showtime Cameron was born in August of 1993, and Noel was born in March of 1984. 16. Aimee Teegarden was only 16 when she started filming Friday Night Lights. She was newly 17 by the time her character got into a romantic relationship with Zach Gilford's character, and he was just shy of his 25th birthday. NBC Aimee was born in October of 1989, and Zach Gilford was born in January of 1982. 17. And finally, Selena Gomez was a full decade younger than her love interest in Another Cinderella Story. She had just turned 16, and Drew Seeley was literally 26 years old. Warner Premiere Selena Gomez was born in July of 1992, and Drew Seeley was born in April of 1982.
Fox News
31-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Fox News
'Family Ties' child star guilt-ridden over impersonator who attacked multiple women
As a former child star, Brian Bonsall knows all too well about the pitfalls of fame. In the latest episode of Investigation Discovery's new series, "Hollywood Demons," the "Family Ties" actor – who famously played Andrew Keaton on the 1980s sitcom – details his early years of stardom, the downfalls that eventually led to decades of substance abuse, and the immense "guilt" he feels after one obsessed man began impersonating him while he embarked on a "random terror against women." "[Family Ties] pushed me to the limelight to a point where I couldn't walk down the street," he said of finding fame at an early age. Bonsall, who was also featured in films such as "Father Hood" with Patrick Swayze, Disney's "Blank Check" and "Father and Scout" with Bob Saget, retired from acting when he was in his mid-teens and quickly turned to substances, particularly alcohol, as a way to cope with the transition. "Child actors face mood disturbance, not having their production world that family that came to know and rely on, and then start reaching for substances to fill that pain and regulate those emotions," said Dr. Drew Pinsky, who is featured in the documentary. "I found comfort in drinking because it was an escape from this reality of not really feeling like I fit in," Bonsall said. "After getting into drinking, it led me to living on the street, DUIs all the time and crazy places that you would never imagine being or seeing yourself." Between 2007 and 2010, Bonsall was arrested multiple times for assault, DUIs and violating probation. Things took a scary turn in 2013. Bonsall, who was playing in a band at the time, had discovered there was a man who had been impersonating him as a way to victimize women. "He had a bunch of my tattoos in the same places," Bonsall said. "It seemed that someone had adopted Brian's identity. He presents himself as former child star from 'Family Ties' and he actually gets tattoos identical to Brian's in order to start his random terror on women," Dr. Drew added in the episode. After going to the police department in Boulder, Colorado, Bonsall said he was told to "handle this [himself]." "This cop did not take me seriously at all, and maybe that's because I was borderline the town drunk at the time," Bonsall said. Nathan Loebe, the man who had been impersonating Bonsall, was arrested in 2017 and convicted of raping and terrorizing at least seven women over a 12-year span in 2021. He was sentenced to 274 years in prison. "I remember meeting him," Bonsall said in the documentary. "I remember his crazy eyes. I met him in 2004 in jail when I was there for my second DUI. I guess he got really obsessed with me right off the bat." Bonsall said it's still really difficult to grasp that his fame had something to do with Loebe's obsession. "It's really hard to tell that story," he said. "For one, it's hard to not cry. There's definitely a feeling of guilt. Those girls, they wanted to go on a date with me because I was a child actor." Bonsall said it "clicked" in his head that he had met this person "because of some of the mistakes" he had made throughout his life. "It's really hard to tell that story. For one, it's hard to not cry. There's definitely a feeling of guilt. Those girls, they wanted to go on a date with me because I was a child actor." In January 2016, Bonsall hit rock bottom and decided to get his life back on track. "It clicked for me. My drinking led to bad things," he said. "I was going to die." Now, the dad-of-one is going on nine years of sobriety. In an interview with Fox News Digital, Dr. Drew said it's common for child stars to experience "genetic burdens" that can lead to inevitable downfalls. "People have certain genetic burdens. People have certain childhood experiences," he said. "The point I always made is, my friend, Danny Bonaduce, always told me, 'I know lots of child stars. I was a child star.' He goes, 'The ones who really had trouble, had problems with their parents, had childhood trauma of one type or another, and that's for sure.'" Dr. Drew said, "It's the added stress of being parentalized or being treated as an adult, as a child, which, you know, again, having adult responsibilities, living in an adult world, that's traumatizing. And then these intense relationships that rupture all of a sudden, that's traumatizing. So there's a lot that can accumulate that can affect young people." WATCH: 'HOME IMPROVEMENT' STAR RICHARD KARN REACTS TO CO-STAR ZACHERY TY BRYAN ARRESTS Monday's episode of "Hollywood Demons" also details the rise and fall of other former child stars, including Dee Jay Daniels ("The Hughleys"), Zachery Ty Bryan ("Home Improvement") and Orlando Brown ("That's So Raven"). Earlier this year, Bryan, who has had multiple run-ins with the law over the years, allegedly choked and punched an unidentified woman during a domestic dispute that led to his arrest on Jan. 1. The woman accused the "Home Improvement" actor of choking her and punching her in the face multiple times, according to an incident report provided to Fox News Digital by the Myrtle Beach Police Department. In July 2023, Bryan was arrested after authorities in Oregon were called regarding a physical domestic dispute between Bryan and an unnamed woman, Fox News Digital confirmed at the time. He was then charged with two counts of assault in the fourth degree. In 2024, Bryan was arrested in Oklahoma on a DUI charge, Fox News Digital previously confirmed. After he declined to take a sobriety test, he was placed in the front seat of an Oklahoma Highway Patrol vehicle and taken to jail. During the car ride, Bryan apologized to the arresting officer for "liking to drink." "I'm just a good dude, man, I don't know why everybody – I'm sorry, I like to drink," Bryan told Trooper Kendrick Johnson. Brown, who starred as Eddie Thomas alongside Raven-Symoné on the popular Disney Channel show "That's So Raven" from 2003 to 2007, has also had his share of legal troubles. In the documentary, an ex-girlfriend detailed Brown's erratic behavior while in a relationship with the former child star. In 2022, Brown was arrested and charged with domestic violence. An arrest report obtained by People magazine at the time alleged that a person claiming to be a relative said Brown was acting "crazy" and "came at him with a hammer and knife in a threatening manner." The relative also claimed that Brown had been staying at his home for about two weeks because Brown "is homeless, and he did not want him to go to a homeless shelter." In 2018, during an episode of "Dr. Phil," the actor admitted he had been drinking a lot, using drugs and selling crystal meth. Daniels, who played Michael Hughley for four seasons of the ABC sitcom from 1998 to 2002, was arrested in 2011 following an altercation outside a California bar that led to the stabbing and death of a man. The former actor and two other men were charged with street terrorism due to witness testimony that they shouted gang-related terms, as well as premeditated murder, and attempted premeditated murder, according to Entertainment Weekly. In the documentary, Daniels, who was acquitted of his charges, detailed the emotional moment he found out his TV dad, D.L. Hughley, showed up to court as a character witness. "I felt esteemed, honored, that I haven't talked to my pops in so long and the fact that he's still my pops, and that we still have that pops/son relationship, because I didn't know we had that," Daniels said in the documentary. "Hollywood Demons" airs Mondays at 9 p.m. on Investigation Discovery.
Yahoo
11-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
G$ Lil Ronnie's Baby Mother 'Not Trippin' Over Daughter's Death Because She'll Be Buried In Gucci
G$ Lil Ronnie and his five-year-old daughter R'Mani's deaths were tragic news, but their remaining family members want their lasting memories to be positive. His baby mother recently expressed how she planned to make sure her daughter was dressed to the nines when she is buried. Shamon Jones took to social media to describe how she prefers to grieve. 'Yeah, y'all ain't gonna lie, I grieve a little different y'all,' she said on in a video. 'Y'all took my baby, but I'm not muthaf**kin' trippin' on that sh*t… Bi**h, he give em' and he take em'. Bi**h, we all gotta die around this bi**h. I ain't f**ked up about it. I'm f**ked up about how she left around this bi**h, but I ain't f**ked up about it.' As for R'Mani's burial clothing, she will be dripped out. 'Cause y'all know, y'all wasn't f**kin' with my baby around this bi**h,' she said. 'And she goin' out this bi**h in style. Gucci everything. Yeah… Bi**h, and baby daddy gon' be proud of everything. Ni**a, shout out to Petey… The three stoogies. Ni**a, James Carroll… Ni**a, the tax man.' Check out the video below. G$ Lil Ronnie and his daughter R'Mani were killed at a car wash in Forest Hill, Texas, earlier this month. Jakobie Russell, one of the suspects, turned himself in to the U.S. Marshals and was booked into Tarrant County Jail on charges of capital murder. He could be facing the death penalty if he is convicted. The other suspect, Adonis Robinson, was arrested in Livingston, Texas. David Hernandez, the Forest Hill Police Chief, believes that Ronnie's music could have been the cause of his untimely death. 'Based on the music industry that he's a part of, it is all part of the investigation,' Hernandez recently stated. 'Everything that's being put out is being reviewed and analyzed by the Texas Rangers, so we don't have any specific motive at this time.' Ronnie's last release was 'Blank Check' in August 2024 and he had not put out an album since 2023's Literally. His 2018 track 'Hoodfame Killuminati' was his biggest record, according to Spotify, with over three million plays. Listen below. More from Police Identify Suspect In G$ Lil Ronnie And Daughter's Murder Case Texas Rapper G$ Lil Ronnie And 5-Year-Old Daughter Killed In Car Wash Shooting Drake Shows Off New $15 Million Texas Ranch
Los Angeles Times
07-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Los Angeles Times
How to have the best Sunday in L.A., according to Adam Devine
Adam Devine ('Workaholics,' 'Pitch Perfect'), who reprises his role as youth pastor Kelvin Gemstone on the HBO televangelist comedy 'The Righteous Gemstones' for a fourth and final season that begins airing (and streaming on Max) Sunday, won't share many details about how the Danny McBride–created series ends, besides that it goes out big. 'It ends with a bang,' Devine said in a recent interview with The Times. 'And I think people are really going to love it.' He's far less reticent when it comes to talking about things like the basketball-themed birthday party in the works for his son (he and wife Chloe Bridges welcomed their first child in February 2024), which 'Gemstones' co-star would make the best weekend wingman in the City of Angels ('Obviously it's going to have to be Danny,' he said. 'Danny knows how to have a good time') and his ideal Sunday itinerary in L.A., which starts with table pancakes and ends with a scroll through whatever garbage his Instagram algorithm is serving up. This interview has been lightly edited and condensed for length and clarity. 9 a.m.: Snap into some table pancakes at Blu Jam CafeI would take a leisurely morning, get up, do my stretches — really limber myself up for the big day that I'm about to have — and then we're hitting the town. I think I'd probably go to the Blu Jam Cafe on Melrose [Avenue]. It's this cute little spot, and there's usually a line, especially on Sundays. But you can walk up and down Melrose and do some shopping while you wait for your table. I try to eat a little healthy, so I always get the protein scramble. But then I'm a naughty boy and I'll order blueberry pancakes for the table as well so everyone can have a pancake. But most of the time it's just me and my wife, so it's basically a stack of pancakes for the two of us, which is a perfect scenario. Maybe I'll have a mimosa or two. 10:30 a.m.: Grab some hot nuts at the Original Farmers MarketThen I love going to the Original Farmers Market and just walking around. When I first got to L.A. [from Iowa at 18], I didn't know what to do or where to go, and people said just go to the Grove and walk around. And that's how I found the Farmers Market. I thought I'd discovered this hidden jewel and was like, 'Does anyone know about this place?' Then I walked in, and yeah, people know about this place. I love all the little old little stands. I like getting habanero pistachios [from the Magic Nut & Candy Co.] so I'll do that and then walk around with my hot nuts. I had my first-ever celebrity spotting here. He was the limo driver in the movie 'Blank Check,' and he was at that tiny little bar in the middle [Bar 326] drinking a beer. I don't even know the guy's name, but it floored me to see someone that I'd seen in the movies. I wanted to sit next to him and order a beer, but I was only 18 years old, so I couldn't do that. So I was just eating hot nuts from afar staring at the limo driver from 'Blank Check,' and he could have been George Clooney to me. Noon: Make for a matinee at the GroveI'd [hang at the Farmers Market] for maybe an hour or so and then catch a matinee at [AMC the Grove 14]. Even though it's a big theater chain. I love the Grove, and I love that theater. It's one of those places where my wife and I have been going for years, and it was one of the first movie theaters I went to when I first came to L.A. — that and the ArcLight, RIP. The last movie I saw [at the Grove] was 'Gladiator II.' 3 p.m.: Enjoy a date with Ms. Pac-ManThen I might go to Barcade in Highland Park. It's sort of for my generation — the older millennials — who actually did go to arcades in the malls. Now we get to play all these old arcade games we remember from our childhood and have a couple beers while we do it. Embarrassingly, [the game I'm really good at] is 'Ms. Pac-Man.' It's the nerdiest game to play, but I'll go and spend 50 cents and play for an hour. And all my friends are like, 'Do you want to do something else or go anywhere else?' And I'm like, 'I'm good right here.' In fact, I'm such a dork about 'Ms. Pac-Man' that I have a tabletop version at my house, but when I go to Barcade I'll still play. Don't tell my wife, but Ms. Pac-Man is my mistress. 5 p.m.: Dip into a French dipThen I probably would go to Philippe the Original downtown. The straight [classic beef] French dip and the potato salad are my one-two punch. I get such a kick out of seeing the guys who have worked there for 40 years. It just goes to show how good they are to their people [and] what a good work environment it must be. They've worked at the same place for 40 years and they can still find happiness doing the same job they've done forever. It always just puts a smile on my face. 7 p.m.: Catch a Clippers gameI'd either stick around downtown — maybe there would be a Dodger game going on — or make the long drive over to the Intuit Dome and catch a Los Angeles Clippers game. Their stadium is really impressive; I've been four or five times already this season, and you just walk in and [the cameras] scan your face. Then you can go to the little store and you just grab a popcorn and a soda and walk right out. And it scans your face [and charges your credit card]. At first I was like, 'Oh, my God! I am so famous that they recognized me!' And then I realized my face was up on the screen. And [the biometric ticketing and concessions] allows you to spend more time in your seat watching the game. This is a Lakers town, and I know that. But I bet on the Clippers maybe 15 years ago now, and I'm still riding with them. And I'll ride with them forever. I had season tickets for about eight years, and I loved it. But then I just was out of town so much working that I couldn't end up going to so many games. My [favorite] Clipper of all time would have to be Blake Griffin. When he joined, it turned the Clippers from a garbage basketball team into the Lob City days, which were the most fun. It was Chris Paul, Blake Griffin and DeAndre Jordan, and it was suddenly a show. And it was a better show than what the Lakers were doing at that time, so it was exciting to be a Clippers fan. Now we have Kawhi [Leonard] and James Harden, and it's a different type of show. And, honestly, it might be better basketball. But I miss those lobs. 9:30 p.m.: End the night where the career beganI think I would probably try to end my night at the Hollywood Improv comedy club. That was my first job when I moved to L.A. when I was just a kid. I would answer phones during the day, and at night, I would be the door guy. When I left — because my comedy and acting career was taking off — they told me I had been the worst door guy in what was then their 35-year history. I was 20, but I looked like I was 15. And my voice hadn't dropped yet. Anytime there were hecklers or someone was drunk and rowdy, instead of telling them to leave, I would have to go get someone else to tell them to leave. But working there really was my big break because I got to see the best comedians in the world every night. And then the manager, Reeta Piazza, told me I should start carrying a change of outfits in case a comic didn't show. I did, and when a comic was running late, they'd ask me if I could kill five or 10 minutes. Eventually I started to kind of garner attention, and I got [invited to become one of the New Faces of Comedy at] the Montreal Comedy Festival because they'd seen me there. And then I got the attention of Comedy Central, which led to me getting my show 'Workaholics.' [Before that,] we might try to squeeze in some sushi at Yamashiro. As kitschy as it is, it's got great views of the city, and the sushi is pretty good as well. 11 p.m.: Surf the Instagram algorithmI wish I would say that I just crack open the L.A. Times and get my news in or do anything useful [before bedtime], but I probably would just stare at Instagram and watch my algorithm feed me more garbage. [It's] a little embarrassing [because] it's all either babies giving their dads a little side eye or teenagers trying to fight their teachers, because my algorithm is all over the place.
Yahoo
04-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Bong Joon-ho and Robert Pattinson's Mickey 17 Is One Messy Trip to Space: Review
The post Bong Joon-ho and Robert Pattinson's Mickey 17 Is One Messy Trip to Space: Review appeared first on Consequence. The Pitch: If Mickey Barnes (Robert Pattinson) was on Earth, you'd say he had the worst job on Earth. However, he works in space as an 'Expendable' — a man who's agreed to be killed and 'reprinted' infinitely on a colonization expedition to the far-off planet Nilfheim. When we first meet Mickey, he's Mickey 17, having been killed 16 previous times while completing hazardous tasks or in the name of scientific experimentation. But the not-so-bright Mickey doesn't mind it that much. If nothing else, he's in love with a fellow crewmate, the fierce but loyal Nasha (Naomi Ackie), who gives him reason to live (and then live again). When a planet-side mission doesn't end up killing him (for once), Mickey 17 returns back to his ship, only to discover that a new Mickey has already been printed — a major violation of the rules about reprinting humans. That's only one of the problems Mickey's got, though, thanks to the despotic failed politician and wife (Mark Ruffalo, Toni Collette) running this operation, and the real dangers of the planet outside… Director Bong's Blank Check? It's been over five years since the groundbreaking Oscar wins of Bong Joon-ho's Parasite, building up no shortage of anticipation about what the singular South Korean director might tackle next. Mickey 17 probably isn't the follow-up anyone was really expecting, though — an often wild, narratively messy sci-fi comedy that definitely feels like it got re-edited a whole bunch between filming and release. As one example of said re-editing: It's never a great sign when the protagonist narrates what's going on over a scene where two characters are having an inaudible conversation — a conversation that was clearly audible in the original cut of the movie. That's how the movie ends up introducing us to Mickey's lover Nasha, entirely as a support system for Mickey as he goes through his unending cycle of life and death. She's one of several characters who feels like more of a sketch than a fully realized human. Lost in Space: To her credit, Naomi Ackie's game and committed in her performance as Nasha, like pretty much everyone else who showed up to play. It's an ensemble filled with people making big, sometimes huge choices — like every single line delivery from Mark Ruffalo. As Kenneth Marshall, the expedition's leader, Ruffalo unlocks a level of previously undiscovered cartoonishness, which plays in fascinating if unbalanced contrast to Toni Collette's unhinged work as his wife and ally. Meanwhile, Steven Yeun's role as Mickey's friend from home (and also the reason Mickey's in this mess) feels like it was the one most cut down, to the point where you can't really say he has all that much of a character arc. Oh, except there's also Holliday Grainger as one of the chief architects of the human printing technology, who gets a few unhinged moments that hint at a much darker, much stranger movie than the final product. Mickey 17 (Warner Bros.) Copy and Paste It's fascinating to look back over Robert Pattinson's past roles, which feature a remarkable percentage of fascinating freaks in freaky situations — even when playing literal Bruce Wayne in The Batman, Pattinson found a way to bring out the superhero's inner Orin from Parks and Recreation. So of course he based the voices of Mickey 17 and Mickey 18 on Ren and Stimpy. Why wouldn't he? Truthfully, it's a testament to Pattinson's skills as an actor that 17 and 18 both feel like very distinct individuals; it's easy to accept the artifice of him playing two separate characters in a way that hasn't always been the case with actors acting opposite themselves. More importantly, Pattinson doesn't let the stranger elements of the story overwhelm Mickey's simple yet sweet nature — across multiple iterations, he's a character to root for, a true testament to Pattinson's talents. He might consistently resist the temptation to go the traditional movie star route, but that movie star charisma cannot be contained. The Verdict: Mickey 17 is at its best when director Bong really leans into exploring the dirty details of blue-collar space exploration: The spaceship sets are grimy, lived-in, and factory-like and the human-printing technology is a janky 3-D printer on a whole new scale, almost making noises like an old dot-matrix machine as it spits out copy after copy of Mickey. And Mickey's many deaths are depicted with a slapstick glee that epitomizes the best kind of black comedy. Yet there are numerous plotting issues throughout the movie — as just one example, there's a sequence in which characters lie down to commit forbidden acts of debauchery with the door to their cabin left open. If it were a rushed act of passion, maybe it'd make sense, but in the context of the film it just makes the viewer question the common sense of everyone involved. It's not that Mickey 17 is an aberration for Bong — three of his past seven movies have dwelled in the realm of oddball sci-fi. But as mentioned earlier, it feels like the movie that he shot is much stranger and darker than the movie actually being released, its weirder moments sanded away for a mainstream release. The movie thus ends up being a little disappointing, in a way that it wouldn't be if Mickey 17 were directed by a less noteworthy director after a less noteworthy period of years. The existential elements of the premise, you can tell, were the big draw for Bong. But beyond Mickey confirming that no matter how often he does it, he still hates dying, it's unclear what Bong is trying to say about life. Beyond the fact that it beats the alternative. Where to Watch: Mickey 17 blasts off into theaters on Friday, March 7th. Trailer: Bong Joon-ho and Robert Pattinson's Mickey 17 Is One Messy Trip to Space: Review Liz Shannon Miller Popular Posts Michelle Trachtenberg Dead at 39 Jon Stewart Calls Out Elon Musk for Flaking on The Daily Show Interview Gene Hackman and Wife's Deaths Ruled "Suspicious" as Investigators Find No Signs of Gas Leak Faster Pussycat Singer's Fiancée Dies After Falling Overboard on '80s Cruise That Band Was Playing Pink Floyd to Release 4K Remaster of Live At Pompeii in Theaters and IMAX 10 Pop-Rock Bands You Forgot Used to Be Heavy Subscribe to Consequence's email digest and get the latest breaking news in music, film, and television, tour updates, access to exclusive giveaways, and more straight to your inbox.
