Why ‘Marmaduke’ is Good for Owen Wilson
This originally appeared as a comment to our recent blog post with the Teaser Trailer for Owen Wilson in Marmaduke.
Comment by Bonnie Chapman
Owen Wilson
Regarding negative reaction to this film, how about the fact that Marmaduke is directed by the guy who did Shanghai Noon so he’s doing this as a request from Tom Dey??
My 2 cents worth here is that I am actually glad Owen is diverse in his movies as it makes his fan base larger and his movies more wide ranging. Last year I did a “WTF?” when Adam Sandler played in a child’s movie with a cameo by that whathisname English perverted guy (Russell Brand - ed.). These are two people that I wouldn’t trust my kids to if I had kids. The reason being they are not diverse in their movies as 99% of them are R-rated foul mouthed. Or the English guy’s MTV hosting duties that are less than desirable. I am sure Adam wanted to do a kids movie because he has kids but he made a career that avoided these in the past and unfortunately I think it’s a bit late for him to do it now. I’m not saying this as good as I should but I think you get the idea…..
Not to mention I get a bit uncomfortable watching someone who is in their 40’s acting like a 20 year old. He’s older now, those man-child roles just aren’t cutting it IMO. He pushed it in You, Me and Dupree and I don’t want him going back to that especially after Marley & Me last year. Although personally I would prefer he write a lot more and work with Wes Anderson more as those movies are the best. Not to mention I think Owen would be happiest writing again.
The Apatow crew is the age level where the man-child roles can be considered acceptable but the Frat Pack is getting older and they need to choose their roles accordingly IMO.
With that said, I think the kids will eat this up….. And I will say at least it doesn’t look like the Garfield movie with the HUGE (read: fake) animated cat and regular actors or the Hulk movies with the HUGE (read: fake) animated Hulk and regular actors.
A real dog and real people are a good positive sign! The dog moving his mouth to talk….not so much and yes it freaks me out! The animal movies like Homeward Bound didn’t move their mouths and made for a more enjoyable experience as a kid.
Marley and Me was fantastic! But Owen has done enough family films. Marley & Me, both Night at the Museums, Fantastic Mr. Fox, Cars and now Marmaduke. This is a lot of family films. Owen is my favorite of the Frat Pack and I’m sure Marmaduke will do alright, maybe, but I am so happy to see Owen is going to be in “Little Fockers” even though I don’t think we need another fockers movie. Then he has the James L. Brooks project with Paul Rudd, which will be more dramatic but at least it will be an adult film. Marley & Me was so successful though because of the lovers of the book, Jennifer Aniston, partially Owen Wilson, the holiday release date, and great reviews. Those are five big aspects. I say partially Owen because most of the press covering the film revolved around Aniston. With only Owen out of those big five aspects so far, it will be tough for the film to succeed. Now I love Owen Wilson, but I want to see Owen back in an R rated comedy or even PG-13. Now about Adam Sandler and Russell Brand. Adam has a strong connection with young teen audiences who would see a movie like Bedtime Stories which made over 110 million domestically. And before that film came out Russell Brand had a higher rating from test audiences. Not 99% of Adam Sandler’s movies are R rated foul mouthed. Russell’s are but that’s because he’s new and doesn’t have many movies. Adam is perfect for a family film because he appeals to younger audiences and has a strong connection with older audiences. Russell, I agree not so much but he did have a high rating with test audiences. Back to Marmaduke, it could make a lot of money, but I’m seeing like Drillbit Taylor money. It comes out only one week after “The Prince of Persia” and following week after Marmaduke is released “Get Him to the Greek” and “The A-Team” are released. It will be tough for the movie to get noticed in the summer of blockbuster action films and comedies. I like seeing Owen succeed, but this film doesn’t have good odds.
It kind of reminds me of Look Who’s Talking and Look Who’s Talking 2 with Bruce Willis, when everyone was beginning to think that he was past the Die Hard’s.
I would love Owen to do a movie with Ben and Vince and Wes. Wes is remaking the French film “My Best Friend” and I really hope Owen will be the cab driver. I would like to be psyched with “The Little Fockers” but I just can’t right now until I see a trailer and know where that’s heading. I am also excited for the James Brooks movie out next year which I am hoping is more on the lines of “As Good As It Gets” and not a romcom. But Owen’s chemistry with both Ben and Vince are awesome and working with them would be a dream. I was really disappointed that “Outsourced” movie with Vince didn’t work out a few years ago. I just think the variety for him is good. I could be wrong but I get the impression Marmaduke will be rated G and be for the small children. The NATM movies were only cameos for Owen, although quite large cameos, and that’s mainly considered Ben’s movies. The Fox movie from what I understand is only a one liner for Owen. The biggest childrens movie for Owen is the Cars series which has a sequel coming out in 2011. I guess I just don’t see him doing that many childrens movies but maybe I’m looking at it wrong.
While I agree he didn’t do much promotion for M&M I don’t think that makes much of a difference in the scheme of how a movie does at the box office. I put stock more into the trailers and how well they are promoted. There are movies out there that were promoted by the stars but still weren’t successful. Personally I want to see Sherlock Holmes out Christmas Day but I haven’t seen any of RDJ’s promotion for it, simply because I don’t pay that much attention to the talk shows. Maybe it’s just me and the people I work with but the talk shows have never been a big selling point for movies, it’s the trailers that interest them. While M&M had a fanbase with the book, not all books are successful. I think M&M had a big audience variety that had awesome trailers and I think that’s why the movie was so successful. Appaloosa that was out in 2008 was based on a book series but this was a Western and Westerns nowadays aren’t as successful. I think the days of when the movie star could sell a movie like the way Tom Hanks, Tom Cruise, Will Smith and director Steven Spielberg did in the past are no longer in existence. Today with the economy and many fickle movie goers I think if the trailer interests them they will come.
As for the movie competition I think maybe “The Prince of Persia” will be competition as I understand that’s a Disney movie. But “Get Him to the Greek” and “The A-Team” both will focus more on the adult male, teenage boy demographics. I don’t see either being an all-family movie going experience where you can take small children and parents won’t need to hire a babysitter. It will definitely be interesting to see what happens that’s for sure.
Maybe it’s just my opinion of Adam Sandler but his movies seemed to attract the teenage boys or men/maybe women demographics. I definitely wouldn’t say small children could see his movies so that’s where I say the “Bedtime Stories” role was out of his normal ammo.
I total agree with your opinion that Owen continues writing with Wes Anderson! I believe he has a lot of funny ideas to write.