[IMG:L]’Astronaut’ Billy Bob Bids Farewell to ‘Bad Santa’
Bad Santa keeps leaving lumps of coal under Billy Bob Thornton’s Christmas tree.
The Yuletide farce transformed Thornton into Hollywood’s foulmouthed ball-buster du jour, resulting in several mediocre attempts to cash in on Bad Santa.
Yes, Thornton was the perfect replacement for the grouchy Walter Matthau in The Bad News Bears remake. Too bad director Richard Linklater couldn’t make Bad News Bears relveant to either kids or adults, as he so scucessfully with School of Rock. School for Scoundrels never came close to possessing the nasty streak that made Bad Santa so much fun.
Thankfully, the long-delayed Mr. Woodcock—which features gym teacher Thornton clashing with former high school student and future son-in-law Seann William Scott—marks the end of what Thornton tells Hollywood.com is his “box set” of raucous comedies.
“Hollywood has a very narrow vision. ‘Oh, that was really successful, let’s do that again,’” Thornton says.
“I think that’s probably it for now. Not that I’ll never do it again, ‘cause it’s fun.”
Mr. Woodcock’s move from Jan. 19 to an undetermined date at least put some distance between it and School for Scoundrels. It also allows Thornton to reveal his softer side with The Astronaut Farmer (Feb. 23), a whimsical PG-rated dramedy that he accurately describes as his “Jimmy Stewart movie.”
Thornton’s surprisingly tender as an ex-astronaut who risks his family farm to pursue his dream of blasting into space. And he’s a loving husband and caring father. That’s a welcome change from the sleazebags Thornton’s recently played.
If audiences accept a kinder, gentler Thornton, this sweet, unpretentious rural tale may match Secondhand Lions’ $42 million. Otherwise, expect a crash landing.
In recent years, Thornton’s kept himself busy acting. The Sling Blader’s not directed since butting heads with Miramax over 2000’s All the Pretty Horses and 2004’s Daddy &Them.
“You just don’t want somebody just taking over your movie, cutting it the way they want to, telling you who to put in it, what to do,” Thornton says.
Too bad Thornton’s all but abandoned directing. Sling Blade heralded Thornton as a storyteller with a unique voice, and it’s easy to imagine that his original four-hour cut of All the Pretty Horses is superior to the two-hour bore Miramax cobbled together.
One day Thornton will rediscover his desire to direct. Until then, he considers himself “an actor, so I’d rather just go on and be an actor and do my job.”
Fine, just as long as that no longer includes recycling Bad Santa every year.
‘911!’ Is a Joke
[IMG:R]Want to know what Borat started?
Like Sacha Baron Cohen, the cast of Reno 911!: Miami (Feb. 23) are stepping into character to promote the Comedy Central sitcom’s big-screen trek to the Magic City. Co-writer Thomas Lennon, who plays Lt. Jim Dangle, even wears his non-police-issue short shorts.
Will lightning strike twice? Unlikely. Cohen‘s wacky Borat-related antics generated headline after headline prior to the mockumentary’s release. Hoodwinking unsuspecting Americans doesn’t appear to be on the minds of Lennon and co-star/director Ben Garant, whose previous writing collaBorations include Night at the Museum. This is likely a case of introducing the hapless Nevada police officers to anyone unfamiliar with the Cops spoof.
Miami is “raunchier” than the sitcom if only because it free of basic cable’s restrictions on sex and language, Garant explains. Otherwise, they “changed nothing” in adapting the sitcom, says Lennon, which should please fans.
Films based on Comedy Central shows have opened to mixed reactions. Last year’s Strangers with Candy, a prequel to Amy Sedaris’ long-defunct sitcom, barely made $2 million. Like Strangers with Candy, Reno 911! isn’t a household name. Nor is it a cultural phenomenon, as South Park was when Bigger, Longer and Uncut earned $52 million. Unfortunately, this could mean this Miami assignment may result in the wrong kind of bust.
[IMG:L]What ‘Matters’ the Most for Heather Graham
Heather Graham skated off with our hearts as Boogie Night’s porn starlet Rollergirl.
And Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me and Bowfinger suggested the blonde bombshell—who possesses an undeniable kooky charm—had a promising future in comedy.
But The Guru and Say It Isn’t So proved that Graham really needed a strong leading funnyman to bring out the best in her. No wonder ABC aired just one episode of her sitcom Emily’s Reasons Why Not.
Despite this, director Sue Kramer tells The Bottom Line that she’s confident Gray Matters (Feb. 23) will “put Heather on the map as a leading lady in romantic comedies.”
In Gray Matters, Graham realizes she’s gay after falling for her brother’s wife (Bridget Moynahan). It’s another warmhearted and innocuous lesbian-themed comedy à la Kissing Jessica Stein and Imagine Me &You.
“I really think Gray Matters really shows [Graham‘s] acting chops and that she really is a deep dimensional actress and not just the girl from Austin Powers or Boogie Night‘s,” Kramer says.
Admittedly, Graham‘s quite game in a Goldie Hawn-ish way, but she’s just too annoyingly neurotic and klutzy to make us care about her advertising executive’s sexuality awakening. About as daring as Will & Grace, Gray Matters is more of a celebration of coming out than a romance. So that means Gray Matters—like Cake and Hope Springs before it—won’t turn Graham into the next Sandra Bullock.
