Freddy Got Fingered (2001) - Green's nonstop insane comedy feat

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Sloppily dressed co-writer/director/star Tom Green looks more or less insane on this poster for his Freddy Got Fingered

Gord is 28 years old and lives in his parents' basement with a dream of being an animator. Now he will attempt to materialize that dream in Hollywood!

Freddy Got Fingered is written by Derek Harvie (Meet the Family (2013-14)) and debuting co-writer/director/star Tom Green (Tom Green: Endangered Feces (1999, video)).
It is an insane film that parts opinions sharply, - but I'm one of its fans!
Green creates a kind of performance comedy in it, which may remind one of Jim Carrey's overwrought performances as Ace Ventura: Pet Detective (1994; sequel 1995), - but Green's work is just more insane and transgressive. The fact that he attracted a considerable studio budget and some established stars to this lunacy is incredible.
Rip Torn (Slaughter (1972)) runs admirably amok in the film, and Julie Hagerty (Held Up (1999)) is also hilarious.
Freddy Got Fingered is like no other film: It is vulgar and naughty, (some would say tasteless); a comedy with a mission to be outrageous, which it achieves in one crazy scene after another, tightly packed with screaming, yelling, violence and major hit songs. Green seems manic and not much of a healthy individual here, but darn is it fun to watch.
The title is fittingly outrageous and vulgar to match the movie and doesn't really have much of an import in the story itself.

Related post:

Tom Green: Charlie's Angels (2000) - McG's saucy Hollywood Entertainment winner (actor)

Watch a trailer for the film here

Cost: 14 mil. $
Box office: 14.3 mil. $
= Huge flop (returned 1.02 times its cost)
[Freddy Got Fingered premiered 18 April (USA) and runs 87 minutes. Shooting took place from August - October 2000 in British Columbia, including Vancouver, and in California. The film opened #5, behind holdover hits Bridget Jones' Diary, Spy Kids and Along Came a Spider and fellow new release Crocodile Dundee in Los Angeles, to a 7 mil. $ first weekend in North America, where it left the top 5 in its 2nd week and grossed 14.2 mil. $ (99.3 % of the total gross). The film was released in at least 6 other markets, so the assertion that these should have grossed less than 100k $ for the film seems dubious but could be true given its critical negation. Roger Ebert gave the film a zero star rating, translating to 4 notches under this one. The film earned more than 24.3 mil. $ from North-American video sales, which, if added into the equation, would make the film a box office success. Green returned with Subway Monkey Hour (2002, TV movie), Light Coming Out of Ear!!! (2005, short) and theatrically with the little-seen Prankstar (2010). As an actor he returned in Malcolm in the Middle (2002, TV-series) and theatrically in Stealing Harvard (2002). Freddy Got Fingered is rotten at 10 % with a 2.64/10 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]

What do you think of Freddy Got Fingered?

The Breakfast Club (1985) - Hughes' detention classic

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The five young stars are casually loafed together on this iconic poster for John Hughes' The Breakfast Club

A select group of youngsters spend a Saturday afternoon in detention at their high school and begin interacting with each other and learn valuable things about people and life.

 
The Breakfast Club is written, co-produced and directed by Michigander master filmmaker John Hughes (Sixteen Candles (1984)), whose 2nd feature it was.

The film tells a simple story, and Hughes' especial grip on the material has made it a 1980s super-hit and a bona fide classic in the coming-of-age and high school genres. The teenage years are in many people's lives the time when most things seem to happen (and happen with fierce volatility) inside of them, - or so it feels, - and to one's body, and for everyone who takes a delight in seeing this period pictured in movies, The Breakfast Club is almost guaranteed to warm your heart and touch you.
All the five young actors are wonderful: Ally Sheedy (St. Elmo's Fire (1985)) as the introvert Allison; Anthony Michael Hall (Sixteen Candles) as the nerd with a secret; Molly Ringwald (Sixteen Candles) as the popular beauty with a heart; Judd Nelson (St. Elmo's Fire (1985)) as the rebellious leader; and Emilio Estevez (Young Guns (1988)) as the hard, but maybe actually not so hard, 'jock'. 

Hughes, arguably the American king of the teenage genre,  has written the strong script and directed the film with care, compassion and insight into the teen years and his particular characters. All of the conflicts of The Breakfast Club are written out completely, which may be a bit unrealistic, but the effect is undeniable, as the film closes, and Don't You (Forget About Me) by Simple Minds breaks out again.
Many people have very warm feelings and memories about The Breakfast Club, and revisits to the film continue to prove its high quality. If you haven't seen it yet, you have a good one in store, so curl up on your best 1980s' rug and enjoy the best time you'll ever have at a detention.

 

Related posts:

 

John Hughes: Flubber (1997) - A flop alright (co-writer)

Home Alone 3 (1997) or, Home Defense: The New Kid (writer)

Home Alone 2: Lost in New York (1992) - The coolest kid in the world incites kiddie bellylaughs once again (writer/producer)

Home Alone (1990) - Columbus, Hughes, Culkin and co. take Christmas and home defense to the next level (writer)

The Great Outdoors (1988) - Deutch's low-brow comedy does the job (writer)

Ferris Bueller's Day Off (1986) - Hughes' perfect movie of youth

Watch a trailer for the film here

Cost: 1 mil. $
Box office: 51.5 mil. $
= Mega-hit (returned 51.5 times its cost)

[The Breakfast Club premiered 7 February (Los Angeles) and runs 97 minutes. Shooting took place from March - May (1984) in Illinois, including in Chicago. The film opened #3, behind Beverly Hills Cop and Witness, to a 5.1 mil. $ first weekend in North America, where it spent another 4 weekends in the top 5 (#3-#4-#3-#3), grossing 45.8 mil. $ (88.9 % of the total gross). The foreign numbers have regrettably not been made public. Roger Ebert gave it a 3/4 star review, translating to a notch under this one. Hughes returned with Weird Science (1985). Estevez returned in St. Elmo's Fire (1985)); Nelson also in St. Elmo's Fire; Ringwald in Surviving (1985, TV movie) and theatrically in Pretty in Pink (1986); Sheedy in Twice in a Lifetime (1985)) and Hall in Weird Science (1985). The Breakfast Club is certified fresh at 89 % with a 7.80/10 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]

What do you think of The Breakfast Club?