Mr. Woodcock - Review

Director: Craig Gillespie
Writers: Michael Carnes/Josh Gilbert
Starring: Seann William Scott/Billy Bob Thornton
Runtime: 1 hr 27 minutes

I wasn't prepared to like Mr. Woodcock. It had the look of a movie that threw all of the funny bits into the trailers and wouldn't have much left to fill it out.

I was wrong. It is at times hilarious, at times stupid, but on the whole an entertaining picture.

Seann William Scott plays John Farley, a self-help guru who uses his childhood memories to convince people to let go of their past. As a kid, he was tormented by his gym teacher, the tyrannical Mr. Woodcock (Billy Bob Thornton).

While on a successful book tour, Farley receives word that he is invited to receive a prize in his Nebraskan home town. He rushes home to gleefully accept the prize and surprise his mother (Susan Sarandon) with the visit. Then he discovers the awful truth: his widowed mother is sleeping with Mr. Woodcock and, horror of horrors, she plans to marry him.

The movie takes risks. Thornton's role is the stuff repressed memories are made of. We see him in various flashback scenes, as Farley relives his childhood every time he glances at the smug Woodcock's face.

Woodcock is a macho bully, the kind of gym teacher that ridicules fat kids in front of their peers. For him, there's no excuse for not winning. Have asthma? Take a lap. Overweight? Take a lap. Forgot your gym clothes? Take phys ed in your underwear.

This movie will not be a favorite of anyone that dreaded gym class. For a modern movie, it lets it all the bad psychology hang out, and Thornton's character is not subtle. In the first twenty minutes, I was wondering if I was watching a comedy, or a disturbing movie about abuse. That's what's strange about today's films: you can force characters to do all kinds of sick physical comedy, and it's okay. It's the mental stuff that scares you. Mr. Woodcock is scary.

Then it got to me.

That is always the litmus test of comedy, and it can show us things about ourselves. Perhaps disturbing things. For instance, I don't think that this movie is going to break too many box office records. Thornton enjoys playing Oscar winning break-your-heart roles one minute, and downright nasty, unsettling roles the next. I consider it part of his charm as an actor. Others do not. Mr. Woodcock the character is an absolute detestable jerk. Nothing about him should be charming or funny.

But I laughed. I laughed when he made the fat kid do chin ups in his BVDs. I laughed when he volunteered at the retirement home water aerobics class and asked an old woman, "You think you're the only one with a hip replacement? Take a lap." I laughed when he told Farley to be prepared to get spanked at a competition, then said, "You like getting spanked. Must run in the family."

Billy Bob Thornton is a strange actor. Monster's Ball, to Bad Santa, to Astronaut Farmer, to Mr. Woodcock. I do not know who the real Billy Bob Thornton is. The guy who plays stellar roles and draws a tear to your eye, or the guy that makes you want to punch him in the face and sue him for a hate crime?

That is why he's so fun to watch. You don't know what he's going to do next. Thornton has a knack for making any unseemly character appear suddenly gentle and lovable. A wry smile, a quick wisecrack, and you're saying, "Ah, he's okay. Just misunderstood."

Misunderstood? In one scene, he accuses a crippled old man of faking it. So he grabs the old man's wheel chair and dumps him into the deep end of the pool, telling him to sink or swim. That shouldn't be funny. I laughed my head off.

I found myself wondering what goes through Thornton's head. He must know that everyone watching the movie is going to decide that Billy Bob Thornton is a jerk. All of the star power is going to vanish in the blink of an eye. But he dumps the old man in the pool anyway.

The movie doesn't always work. There are a few moments where the jokes fall flat. On the whole, though, the cast brings it together. The film has a simple feel, as if it were shot over a few weekends. The sets are spartan, and most of the lighting looks like natural light. The movie is better for this. It's a plain comedy that takes place in Nebraska. It spent most of its budget on the actors. How much hi-tech do you want?

I was impressed with Seann William Scott. He's managed to tone down the shrill character acting from his American Pie days, and he turns in a good performance. Susan Sarandan plays it by the numbers and does a good job, too. Ethan Suplee, as Nedermeyer, has one scene involving a video camera that made me howl. It's about as juvenile a scene as you can get, but I couldn't help it.

Mr. Woodcock is just what you need if you're not looking for high art, and just want to laugh at someone else's expense. Which, like it or not, is exactly what comedy is.

Photos: Yahoo Movies