Mr. Wrong (1996)

Ellen at her best!

This movie is so funny. Bill Pullman was great in his part. I don't usually buy movies, but this is a keeper. October 28, 2008

As the title would suggest; this movie is all wrong...

I really wanted to like `Mr. Wrong'. I think I should start by making that perfectly clear. I love Ellen DeGeneres. I think that she is a total laugh riot and I am interested in watching everything she's in because of that very fact. I also adore Joan Cusack (the more talented of the Cusack siblings, in my humble opinion) and so when I saw that she was here as well I was itching to get my hands on the movie. Despite the fact that Bill Pullman is hot or miss with me, I did really like him in `While You Were Sleeping', which was released just the year prior to this film, and so I half expected to really like him here as well. All that said, `Mr. Wrong' was just that; all wrong.

Ellen plays Martha Alston, a near middle aged woman whose younger sister just got married and is starting to feel pressure from her parents to tie the knot herself. She is busy with her job and her life, too busy to really actively search for Mr. Right, and even though she receives advances from her younger co-worker Walter she still can't bring herself to make any commitments. That is until she meets Whitman Crawford (you know something aint right when the guy has two last names), a charming and good looking man who seems to really be interested in her. She falls head over heals for him almost instantly and soon they are inseparable. Then, for almost no reason at all, Whitman goes crazy and Martha tries to break things off with him but she can't because Whitman won't let her.

Ellen has some funny moments in the beginning of the film but as the films drags on the jokes get stale. Bill Pullman is as annoying as the day is long in this film. He delivers one of the worst performances I've ever seen (seriously, how did Ellen get the Razzie nomination and Pullman walk away unscathed from this debacle?) with his disastrous attempt at executing charm and grace. When he meets Martha in the bar the first time I was gagging at the idea that he was supposed to be irresistible when in fact he came across as somewhat mentally retarded. Joan Plowright saves some of this film for me with her performance as Whitman's mother. I just love her and adore her delivery here. Sure she has a stock character but she handles it elegantly. Speaking of stock, Joan Cusack is the crazy ex-girlfriend, so crazy that she makes Whitman look sane. The great thing about this though is that it actually gave me an opportunity to laugh. Cuscak is hysterical as Inga. Sure, her character is far fetched and ridiculous but she makes up for the rest of the mediocre film.

I can't recommend this movie (even if I think everyone should see Cusack's Inga) simply because it really has no redeeming factor aside from Cusack's very limited role (she has two key scenes, both of which are gut-bustingly funny). Well, there is the scene where Whitman forces Martha to steal some beer and as they are running from the gas station clerk Whitman throws a beer can at a homeless man. That part was funny too. But really, that's it. This film had a lot of potential. Sure, it's been done before, but it had DeGeneres and Cusack and that alone should have spelled success, but sadly it did not. `Mr. Wrong' is a mess of a film that suffers from being too over-the-top without being -over-the-top enough; if that makes any sense. It is a film that rests itself on the shoulders of a character so out there he is beyond believability yet it feels stale and bland. How they messed this up I'll never know. June 20, 2008

subtitles

I saw this film yrs ago and loved it. Now I need subtitles on all my movies. Does anyone know if this one has subtitles? May 31, 2008

One of the worst movies...

One of the worst movies I've ever seen. Implausible plot, Cusack is over-the-top. Pullman tries, but can't save this mess. DeGeneres is NOT funny. January 2, 2008

Joan Cusack never disappoints

This falls more along the lines of a black comedy which may or may not be your taste. I would say if you liked Death Becomes Her you will like this one. The humor is different but still enjoyable thanks to the good performances. Ellen has some funny moments but the scene stealer here is Joan Cusack as Inga, the crazy ex-girlfriend of the man she's currently dating. It was great seeing these two interact in the few scenes they have together. The Amazon review already lists the plot so I won't need to go into any details. Some of the dialogue is really silly but amusing. As long as you aren't expecting high art, this is worth it for some mindless laughs. October 25, 2007

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