In an era of digital television, Netflix, an online streaming service, started to dominate the entertainment industry. Revenue skyrocketed on epic proportions of money with a grand total of… (As Dr. Evil would say) $6 billion dollars. As a result, the company decided to work on original films & Tv Shows including Marvel’s Daredevil, House Of Cards, & their most recent hit, Stranger Things. The company’s grand total of subscribers are: 86 million.
In October 2014, Netflix made a four picture deal with Adam Sandler. The first movie Sandler was working on is called, The Ridiculous Six. A western comedy similar to classic films like Blazing Saddles & Three Amigos. Sony/Columbia Pictures (Sandler’s signature distributor to his films) turned down the opportunity to release it in cinemas due to the infamous critical flop Pixels. I guess Sony finally learned their lesson on not to make another Sandler film. Another fun fact, this film came out the same year as two Oscar nominated westerns such as The Hateful Eight and The Revenant.
During production of the project, a group of Native American actors/actresses walked of the set of the movie due to its satirized depiction of Indian culture because they thought the movie was taking it to far. When I saw the film, I didn’t get offended, ironically I’m a quarter Indian & I didn’t mind the jokes and mockery of the culture. I guess this might of been the sole reason why this film got critically panned.
Fellow critics & actors, you gotta learn to take a joke, you can’t judge a film just because of political correctness, you have to decide whether it takes a step to far like the twins from Transformers, that’s one example of negative backlash. In a satirized comedy, it’s okay, remember Robert Downey Jr.’s role in Tropic Thunder? No one batted an eye because he got away with it because it depicts how a method actor proves how far he take the role to seriously. Enough of the controversy talk let’s move on shall & talk about what’s good & what’s bad for the film itself shall we?
The Good: Adam Sandler collaborating with his old pals from SNL. Familiar actors such as, Nick Nolte, Danny Trejo, Harvey Keitel (bonus points for him & Steve Buscemi in a Reservoir Dogs reunion.) The cinematography looks colorfully beautiful presented in digital HD. The song “Yippy Yo Yo Yay” felt catchy as an homage to western music. I couldn’t stop laughing at the donkey with diarrhea as a farts at the same time.
The Ugly: There’s some fake CGI in the film featuring a snake & a bird which looks like something from a Spy Kids movie. Taylor Launter’s character gets his neck hanged. (he survives which is illogical) John Turturro’s role as the creator of Baseball felt unnecessary, kinda distracts the story. No true epic gun battle at the end.
The Verdict: C as an confounded. It’s a typical average comedy, but not the best but it gave me a few chuckles with a touch of Sandlerisms. If you get bored & have a Netflix account, give this film a try.
Nickthemoviecritic.com 