Mel Gibson’s persona (which many believe to lean towards the right) and his eclectic films never fit into the Hollywood mold.
[Note: This article was originally posted on December 13th, 2011. The IFNM website was attacked by hackers and many articles are now gone from the archives. As a public service, IFNM is now reposting said articles.]
The strangest thing about the poster for Mel Gibson’s upcoming action film “How I Spent My Summer Vacation” is that seems completely oblivious to the actor’s current standing within the Hollywood community and with the public in general. And you know what? That’s probably what’s so great about it.
The poster shows Gibson holding a gun like the action star he is. The film poster comes complete with a ’90s tag line – “Plan Your Getaway” – and is promoted as being from the producers of two great action pictures (“Apocalypto” and “Braveheart”). If this poster doesn’t get you excited for a cool prison escape shoot ‘em up then nothing will.
Well, actually if it doesn’t get you excited that’s probably because you’re looking forward to the next Michael Moore propaganda piece or Roman Polanski feature.
Anyway, now that us important people are alone, here’s what the film is about: “Gibson plays a career criminal who finds himself locked up in a Mexican prison and learns to survive thanks to the help of a 9 year-old boy.” Say what? That sounds almost as strange as “The Beaver,” Gibson’s last foray into acting.
Maybe that’s what’s so cool about this film project – and about Gibson.
The very strange title choice and weird plot go hand in hand with Gibson’s offbeat talent. I mean, this is the guy who turned “The Passion of the Christ” into a smash with his own money when everyone in Hollywood had denied for years that a Bible-themed film could be a financial success (let alone a film so violent and spoken in a different language). This is also the guy who made “Apocalypto,” a film in the Mayan language about a civilization most knew nothing about with no stars. He simply turned it into one of the best action films of the last decade.
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