The Scam is On Anyone who Invests Their Time/Money in an Entertainment that Reeked Off-Center, (not always a bad-thing), Once the Basic-Plot was Announced to the Public.
"TALK RADIO"...Is that Still a Viable Thing.
Headlining the Hype, was a Still-Around, Still-Working X-Super-Star who has Fallen Off-that-Wagon and Now is a Work-for-Hire Marquee-Name who Can, and Still Does, Carry With Him an Undeniable Screen-Personality-Presence that is Marketable, at this Late-Date and He is Working Steady, along with the Likes of Nicolas Cage and Liam Neeson.
The Success Rate, both Artistic and Financial is All-Over-the-Map for Gibson, just Like the Aforementioned Workaholics.
Gibson's Role in a Movie Varies from Barely Consequential to the Driving-Force that Propels the Project.
There can be Spotted a 'Producer" Credit for Gibson, so He Certainly was "Behind" the Movie from the Beginning,
and it's Not so Easy to Fluff this Off as a "Blindside" or an Easy 'Pay-Day".
Easy Meaning...Mel Gibson in His Performance, Shows Signs of an Abrasive, Obnoxious, Alpha-Male Personality-Type (mainly his own and not a stretch).
The Character He Assumes is "Elvis" an Overnight "Midnight" Talk-Show in Los Angeles, what Used to be Called "Shock-Jock" Host who Takes Cold-Calls and Fills the Caller's Ear, and the Audience with a "He Could Say Anything" just to Keep the Format Frosty and Unscripted.
We are Told in the First-Scene that His Ratings are Stagnant and He is a Dinosaur (Post-Social-Media) and Needs to Activate His Show or Go the Way of the Horse and Buggy.
What Follows Seems to be a "Scary-Miracle" Delivered by an Unhinged Idiot,
Well-Equipped and Ready to Kill People, Destroy Lives and Property and Create Misery in the Name of...______________(fill in the blank)
Gibson is the On-Air Pilot Steering this "Dusty" Scenario.
Mega-Talk-Shows have become Old-Hat and Suffer from the Weight of Alternative-Information-Entertainment (a singular niche the format provided that is no longer singular)...
We are Living Through a "Glut" of Options and Choices to "Partake".
So the "Elvis" Hosted Late-Night Talk Show is On the Chopping Block and Only a "Miracle" will Save it from Cancellation.
Except for the Last 15 Minutes that was Ill-Advised and Hated by Most Viewers who have Voiced Their Complaints Loudly.
It's a Not-Bad, No-Great-Shakes "Retread" of a Format that Really Never Went Away...it just Morphed into what We Now Call..."Podcasts".
The Major Difference is Everyone's Who Wants a Podcast is "On (the) Line".
The Format is Now Hosted by Anyone with a Heart-Beat and Something to Say to Anyone who will Listen.
What Happens in the Movie is a Manifestation of that "Miracle"...
It's Almost Worth a Watch...
But Buyer Beware.
"TALK RADIO"...Is that Still a Viable Thing.
Headlining the Hype, was a Still-Around, Still-Working X-Super-Star who has Fallen Off-that-Wagon and Now is a Work-for-Hire Marquee-Name who Can, and Still Does, Carry With Him an Undeniable Screen-Personality-Presence that is Marketable, at this Late-Date and He is Working Steady, along with the Likes of Nicolas Cage and Liam Neeson.
The Success Rate, both Artistic and Financial is All-Over-the-Map for Gibson, just Like the Aforementioned Workaholics.
Gibson's Role in a Movie Varies from Barely Consequential to the Driving-Force that Propels the Project.
There can be Spotted a 'Producer" Credit for Gibson, so He Certainly was "Behind" the Movie from the Beginning,
and it's Not so Easy to Fluff this Off as a "Blindside" or an Easy 'Pay-Day".
Easy Meaning...Mel Gibson in His Performance, Shows Signs of an Abrasive, Obnoxious, Alpha-Male Personality-Type (mainly his own and not a stretch).
The Character He Assumes is "Elvis" an Overnight "Midnight" Talk-Show in Los Angeles, what Used to be Called "Shock-Jock" Host who Takes Cold-Calls and Fills the Caller's Ear, and the Audience with a "He Could Say Anything" just to Keep the Format Frosty and Unscripted.
We are Told in the First-Scene that His Ratings are Stagnant and He is a Dinosaur (Post-Social-Media) and Needs to Activate His Show or Go the Way of the Horse and Buggy.
What Follows Seems to be a "Scary-Miracle" Delivered by an Unhinged Idiot,
Well-Equipped and Ready to Kill People, Destroy Lives and Property and Create Misery in the Name of...______________(fill in the blank)
Gibson is the On-Air Pilot Steering this "Dusty" Scenario.
Mega-Talk-Shows have become Old-Hat and Suffer from the Weight of Alternative-Information-Entertainment (a singular niche the format provided that is no longer singular)...
We are Living Through a "Glut" of Options and Choices to "Partake".
So the "Elvis" Hosted Late-Night Talk Show is On the Chopping Block and Only a "Miracle" will Save it from Cancellation.
Except for the Last 15 Minutes that was Ill-Advised and Hated by Most Viewers who have Voiced Their Complaints Loudly.
It's a Not-Bad, No-Great-Shakes "Retread" of a Format that Really Never Went Away...it just Morphed into what We Now Call..."Podcasts".
The Major Difference is Everyone's Who Wants a Podcast is "On (the) Line".
The Format is Now Hosted by Anyone with a Heart-Beat and Something to Say to Anyone who will Listen.
What Happens in the Movie is a Manifestation of that "Miracle"...
It's Almost Worth a Watch...
But Buyer Beware.