The awful comedy Robert Pattinson utterly adores: “I actually pissed my pants”
For an entire generation of moviegoers, Robert Pattinson was known for one role and one role only.
As Edward Cullen, the glittering, pouting male lead of the ‘Twilight’ franchise, he became a figure of admiration, envy, and ridicule in equal measure. Though he might have earned fame and fortune beyond his wildest dreams, the five vamp-tastic movies did little to enhance his reputation as a ‘proper’ actor. That would change, though.
In the years since Twilight, Pattison has gone out of his way to prove to everyone that he’s more than just a pretty face. The biggest and brightest names in Hollywood clearly spotted his potential. He was chosen to lead David Cronenberg’s Cosmopolis almost single-handed and provided a stellar performance opposite Willem Dafoe in Robert Eggers’ The Lighthouse. When Bong Joon-ho was making Mickey 17, his first project post-Parasite, Pattinson was given the unenviable task of playing not one, but two characters in the sci-fi drama. He passed with flying colours.
As well as having worked with some of the finest filmmakers in the land, Pattinson is also clearly a connoisseur of the art form. Speaking to Rotten Tomatoes about his five favourite films, he presented a string of classics, including One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest and The Exorcist. Then there’s Corky Romano, a movie that you would never expect to appear on a ‘favourites’ list. R-Patz doesn’t care though.
“I love that film,” he said matter-of-factly. “Literally, that’s one of the only films I’ve pissed my pants at. Like, I actually pissed my pants. The first time I was in L.A. I was watching it on TV. The scene where he’s on coke… was literally the only thing that they advertised, it was like the only point of the whole movie! I love that character. I love how Chris Kattan just stripped his whole career in one movie. The only guy off Saturday Night Live who just messed it up! It’s like, what happened? The only guy. That’s why I think it’s so great.”
Released in 2001, Corky Romano is a crime comedy from director Rob Pritts, a man so famous he doesn’t even have his own Wikipedia page. Kattan, who appeared on Saturday Night Live between 1996 and 2003, plays a vet who has been cast aside by his criminal family. When his father (Peter Falk) is indicted by the FBI, he calls upon his outcast son to destroy the evidence that could convict him. As you might expect, ‘hilarity’ then ensues.
The movie was absolutely torn to pieces by critics, who hated pretty much everything about it. This spelled disaster for Kattan, who was already in recovery after appearing in the terrible SNL movie A Night at the Roxbury. His career suffered a major dip, until he reemerged thanks to his role as Bob Weaver on the sitcom The Middle. He’s still working at a high level today, recently lending his voice to the animated Adam Sandler vehicle, Leo.
Everyone has that objectively terrible movie that they can’t help but adore. Pattinson’s confidence in defending Corky Romano is admirable. Does that mean you should actually watch it? Well…
