The movie Hugh Jackman regrets taking on
Gathering together a mind-blowing array of talents for the same project isn’t always a guarantee of greatness. Hugh Jackman discovered that first-hand after becoming just one of countless big names to lend their credentials to a film that went down in history as one of the worst ever made.
On the surface, an anthology comedy that roped in a cavalcade of Hollywood’s best and brightest to appear in a string of sketches is a decent enough idea. It’s one that carried plenty of potential to have sides splitting in cinemas everywhere based entirely on the calibre of those involved.
The Farrelly brothers, Bob Odenkirk, Elizabeth Banks, and James Gunn, were among the directors who helmed a segment. At the same time, the various ensembles somehow conspired to convince an array of Hollywood’s A-listers to lower themselves to the level of the atrocious Movie 43.
Quite how so many recognisable stars agreed to sign on the dotted line remains beyond human comprehension. However, joining Jackman on-screen across the myriad of monstrosities that comprised Movie 43 were Halle Berry, Gerard Butler, Richard Gere, Chris Pratt, Emma Stone, Jason Sudeikis, Uma Thurman, Naomi Watts, Anna Faris, and literally dozens upon dozens more.
The X-Men veteran’s main co-star in Peter Farrelly’s ‘The Catch’ was Kate Winslet, with the entire bit revolving around the two going on a dinner date. Jackman’s eligible bachelor takes off his scarf to reveal that he has a set of testicles dangling on his neck, which is the entire joke. He doesn’t think it’s a big deal. She can’t get past the guy with balls on his face, and it’s altogether excruciating to watch.
The regret was palpable in the aftermath once everyone took a long, hard look at themselves in the mirror. Jackman admitted to Yahoo that if he was capable of time travel, he’d warn his younger self to stay as far away from Movie 43 as possible.
“When they come to you with an idea of putting testicles around your neck and being part of this hilarious ensemble of some of the funniest movies of all time, don’t believe them,” he said. “You can take the testicles because you use them quite a lot at parties, and it actually gets a good laugh, but the movie you could do without.”
George Clooney at least had the wherewithal to turn down an approach from the production to show that he’s wiser than many of his contemporaries, with his response being a simple yet succinct, “No fucking way.” Jackman wasn’t quite so fortunate, but at least the affable Aussie was willing to make himself the butt of the joke because hilarity was something astonishingly absent from the entirety of Movie 43‘s painful 94-minute running time.
