You know you’re in for a bad time when the film you’re watching is about a man-child who wants to get into the porn industry. This 2011 film has a reputation for being horribly misguided and painfully unfunny. Lead actor Nick Swardson felt that the film got overlooked because of poor marketing and a particularly viscous critical response, predicting it would find momentum in the home theater market. More than a decade later that prediction has proven incorrect as this Happy Madison production has become mostly forgotten, of interest only to those who seek out everything Adam Sandler is involved in. Even Christina Ricci fans shy away from this one. Looking back at Bucky Larson all these years later it becomes painfully apparent that it deserves to be forgotten, buried where no one can ever find it again. It’s not only misguided but it tries to have a sweet side to it, too, which only makes it all the more frustrating to watch.
Bucky Larson (Nick Swardson) is an immature young man living with his conservative parents in the mid-west. One evening, while hanging out with his friends watching a porn film he discovers that his parents had been adult film actors back in the 70’s. Taking this as a sign, he determines that his destiny is to move to California and become a porn star himself. Shortly after arriving in the city he meets kind hearted diner waitress, Kathy (Christina Ricci), who sets him up with a psychotic roommate (Kevin Nealon). He also attends his first audition, a food commercial that he mistakes for a porn audition. The director of the commercial takes him to an adult movie gathering later that day where he is ridiculed and sent on his way.
The next day, at the diner, while telling this story to Kathy, he is overheard by Miles Deep (Don Johnson), a down on his luck adult film director looking for something to lift him out of the gutters. Miles worked on some of Becky’s parents’ films and thinks he can use the nostalgia factor to sell Bucky to the big porn studios. Unfortunately Bucky is poorly endowed and ejaculates at the mere sight of unclothed women making his first attempt at filming a complete mess. Miles is completely at a loss until the footage, uploaded to the internet, is a huge hit raking in millions of views. Armed with this, Miles makes a deal with shady investors to film more movies and propel Bucky into the limelight. Meanwhile, Bucky and Kathy’s friendship is starting to turn more serious and Miles begins to worry that if the two become romantically involved Bucky will no longer be able to perform in his movies.
This is one of those few movies that is almost without merit whatsoever. Watching it again for the first time since it originally released on home video was like an unpleasant reminder of why I never went back to it in the first place. It is painful to watch. Within minutes I’m bombarded with the image of Bucky sitting on a bean bag chair with three of his friends, his pants around his ankles, and violently masturbating while his friends loudly cheer him on and explain how to do it. This is the level of humor this movie is aiming for and none of it lands. Later, a film director will assume he has a Mac and Cheese fetish because Bucky mistakes a food commercial audition for an adult movie one, drops his pants and starts jerking off in front of the casting crew. This sophomoric humor might be funny to a horny thirteen year old but not to me.
Setting aside the porn stuff, the rest of the film is pretty tame. There is a sub plot about Kathy’s inability to get a better waitressing job because she once spilled a tray of hot soup on an elderly customer who had to be taken to the hospital and now Kathy has an intense fear of serving trays. Bucky will help Kathy overcome this fear and get her a chance to be a real waitress again. This stuff is kinda sweet but doesn’t really amount to much. There’s also an unfunny repeated joke about Bucky’s insane roommate and his crazy rules and restrictions. It’s kinda funny the first time around but quickly gets overplayed. Kevin Nealon, a veteran from Saturday Night Live is game but the material just isn’t there.
The only thing worth watching in this film is Christina Ricci who easily outclasses this production. She plays Kathy with an earnestness that feels out of place in a film lampooning the porn industry. She does a commendable job playing things dead straight against the absurdity that is Bucky Larson. It creates a sense of schizophrenia though as scenes of genuine sweetness are juxtaposed with scenes of Bucky shaking violently and orgasming all over the ceiling, the walls and even a camera lenses (a real porno would have less bodily fluids than this film does).
It may seem like an oxymoron but a comedy about the adult film industry doesn’t have to be in bad taste. The Amateurs, released in 2005, was a funny, poignant comedy about breaking into the business. Likewise, Zack and Miri Make a Porno is a bit more biting without being completely tasteless and manages to bring more than a few laughs to the table. Both of these films have one thing in common; they’re funny. The comedy stems from the situations the characters find themselves in while trying to make an adult film. Bucky Larson: Born to Be a Star tries to be both emotionally charged and slapsticky at the same time and that flat out doesn’t work here. Going for a serious moment when your lead has gigantic buck teeth, talks in an absurdly exaggerated mid-western accent, and sports a goofy long-haired bowl cut, just doesn’t play. You can’t have it both ways. The only real laughs come from some very prominent porno posters hanging all over the offices. Some of those titles are pretty funny on a schoolyard level.
This movie got many Golden Raspberry nominations including for worst picture. The only reason it didn’t take the top prize was Adam Sandler’s other Happy Madison picture, Jack and Jill, released the same year. Make no mistakes though, this film is deserving of that award. It is unfunny, fails to make any meaningful observations about the porn industry beyond surface level jabs, and wastes a genuinely good performance from Christina Ricci. This film should not be seen. It has little redeeming value to it whatsoever. At best it’s disappointing. At worst it is super cringy. Neither is something to seek out when choosing entertainment to waste ninety minutes on.
Release Date: September 9, 2011
Running Time: 97 Minutes
Rated R
Starring: Nick Swardson, Christina Ricci, Don Johnson, Stephen Dorff, and Kevin Nealon
Directed By: Tom Brady
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