Crimes
- Running through a plugger plot about process-server Matthew Perry and his target/love interest Elizabeth Hurley
- Demonstrating minimal understanding of what process-servers actually do or how the American legal system works
- Shoehorning in an odd backstory about Perry's love of wine-making and his lost law practice, neither of which explains his propensity for wacky accents
Defender
Director Reginald Hudlin
Tone Of Commentary
Detail-oriented. Hudlin obsesses over which sets were re-used for which scenes, waxes rhapsodic about his 180-degree pans, and describes how he and Perry debated how many spit takes to use. ("Two spits delivered the maximum comedy.")
What Went Wrong
For all his micro-management and insistence that "the more authentic it is, the funnier it'll be," Hudlin cops to massaging reality. He added antler chandeliers to a Dallas hotel to make it look more Texas-y, built an oil pump for a landscape shot, added signage outside an airport, and just generally spent more time on his establishing shots than he did fixing up a warmed-over script. Nevertheless, he congratulates himself for opening the movie with the line "My job sucks" and inserting a gag about chemical warfare after Sept. 11, two choices that he seems to think add edge.
Comments On The Cast
"There's a whole bunch of talent in this room," Hudlin says of an early scene featuring Perry, Vincent Pastore, and Cedric The Entertainer. Later, he admits to being nervous about working with Bruce Campbell, because "It's always tricky working with your idols." As for the women, Hudlin says he likes how Hurley looks "so Julie Christie," and he confesses that he cast Amy Adams because of her ability to flex her breast muscles.
Inevitable Dash Of Pretension
Hudlin praises his musical choices: using a Blu Cantrell song to make Perry seem "less white-bread," sticking B.T. Express' "Do It ('Til You're Satisfied)" into a farm-sex scene ("an unconventional choice," he boasts), and ponying up the dough for Kid Rock's "Cowboy" to score the scene where Perry arrives in Dallas. "It was worth every dime… If there's a single song that catches the spirit of the movie, that was it."
Commentary In A Nutshell
When Cedric The Entertainer says "boo-hyphen-hoo" to an angry Perry, Hudlin says, "That's just a little joke, but it's soooo funny."