‘Freddy Got Fingered’: the critically panned movie Jack Black thought was “actually kickass”
The risk any actor faces with making a concerning amount of bad movies is the long-term damage it can do to their position in the industry, reputation, drawing power, and popularity among the ticket-buying public. In that sense, Jack Black has become an anomaly because his filmography contains many more misses than hits.
He’s earned two Golden Globe nominations in the ‘Best Actor – Musical or Comedy’ category for his performances in School of Rock and Bernie, while he delivered strong work in the likes of Stephen Frears’ High Fidelity, annual rewatch rom-com The Holiday, and channelling the spirit of Chris Farley in Ben Stiller’s chaotic blockbuster Tropic Thunder.
However, on the other side of the coin, he’s made a lot of shite. Barry Levinson’s wretched Envy, Harold Ramis’ atrocious Year One, Eli Roth’s disastrous video game adaptation Borderlands, the anaemic Gulliver’s Travels, the dismal black comedy Bongwater, and the Farrelly brothers’ instantly forgettable festive caper Dear Santa are just some of the notable misfires in Black’s back catalogue.
His blockbuster forays in the Jumanji sequels, the Kung Fu Panda franchise, Peter Jackson’s King Kong, and The Super Mario Brothers Movie fit squarely into the solid-if-unspectacular camp, creating the belief that the number one reason why he’s remained so popular for so long is largely down to the fact he’s Jack Black: because it definitely isn’t down to a constant and consistent choice of excellent pictures and parts.
Of course, there’s a reason why the old adage suggests there’s no accounting for taste, although Black would struggle to mount a convincing case for the defence when trying to find a hardy band of supporters willing to back up his adoration for an egregious affront to the good name of cinema regularly named among the worst movies ever made.
An unmitigated flop at the box office, torn to shreds by critics, and the winner of five Razzies from eight nominations, including ‘Worst Picture’, ‘Worst Director’, ‘Worst Screenplay’, and ‘Worst Actor’, Tom Green’s Freddy Got Fingered isn’t held up as a barometer of cinematic excellence. And yet, Black completely disagrees, even if he did acknowledge that he was in the minority.
“I think it’s kick-ass,” he told IGN of his passion project, Tenacious D in the Pick of Destiny, before adding the caveat. “The thing is, I thought Freddy Got Fingered, the script, was actually kickass, so I don’t really fucking know what kickass is, apparently.”
While it has undergone the most unlikely of reappraisals as a modern cult classic, many people, most of all Roger Ebert, despised Freddy Got Fingered with a burning passion. The legendary critic didn’t even try to hide his hatred for the film, but Black remains willing to put his head above the parapet as one of the few who think it’s actually an unheralded work of anarchic genius.
