The “god-awful” movie John Goodman loved making: “There were a lot of walkouts”
The question of what art is for has been debated for generations.
Some believe that every creative work should carry meaning or make a statement, insisting that artists have a responsibility to use their platforms for change. Others argue that art can exist simply for its own sake, created for the joy it brings to both the maker and the audience. John Goodman’s work typically falls into the latter category.
Given his prominence in comedy, we can’t expect John Goodman movies to change the world. While there are definitely good life lessons to the learned in films like Monsters Inc, it’s not like Goodman is out to make some vast political statement with the roles he takes on.
However, there was one movie that took that to the ultimate extreme. It wasn’t even just art for art’s sake, it was art that cared less, disregarding completely if it was liked, or even good.
From the moment the projectionist hit play at Sundance, everyone involved in Masked and Anonymous knew it was a flop. “The film got a god-awful reception at Sundance. There were a lot of walkouts,” Goodman recalled, but punctuated the memory with a resounding “who cares?”
Before the movie was even canned, Goodman likely knew this was far from a masterpiece as the Larry Charles, written alongside Bob Dylan, was flawed from the beginning with a weak plot, weird script and a first-timer director’s hand. But when Goodman saw that cast call sheet, any care about how good this film might be went completely out of the window.
If you had an offer to act alongside Dylan, to hang out with him on set, you’d take it, regardless of whether you thought the project was any good, just to have the experience of it. That was Goodman’s mindset as he couldn’t bring himself to think negatively about the project, given the star-studded, pinch-me experience of it all.
“Being around Bob was a trip. I just hung back and watched him. When the cats had downtime, they’d go somewhere and play together,” the actor said as he got to spend time with one of his musical heroes, jamming on guitar with an all-time great.
But alongside Dylan, the stars kept coming, and even as the Sundance crowd shunned them, Goodman was too distracted looking next to him, stating, “I got to work with Jeff Bridges again, I got to stand next to the fabulous Penélope Cruz for a little while… That was worth the price of admission – Señorita Cruz.”
And when you’re having fun, you typically tend to buy into what you’re doing way more. Even as the movie was broadly slated, deemed “a vanity production beyond all reason” by Roger Ebert, Goodman has a soft spot for the project as he defended it, saying, “It was kind of an absurdist, futurist piece. It was fun.”
Really, if the cast were having a good time, who are we to yuck their yum?
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