BUCKY LARSON BORN TO BE A STAR
US, 2011, 97 minutes, Colour.
Nick Swardson, Christina Ricci, Don Johnson, Stephen Dorff, Ido Moseri, Kevin Nealon, Edward Herrmann, Miriam Flynn, Mario Joyner, Nicholas Turturro, Pat Gleason.
Directed by Tom Brady.
The title does not say it explicitly but the kind of star that Bucky Larson wants to be is a porn star. Since this is a film for the broad American audience, it tries to go as far as it can in being explicit but also comes down on a moral side.
The film was written by Adam Sandler and his co-writer Alan Covert along with the star Nick Swardson. Swardson is a stand-up comedian and for this performance dons a fright wig as well as two enormous buck teeth, making him a fairly unrealistic character to be interpreted comically rather than realistically.
At home in Iowa – these characters are always from the midwest – he is bullied and mocked by everyone but is supported by his ever-loving parents. When he gets the idea that he ought to go to Hollywood and be in films, after looking at a porn film from the 1970s with his friends and being introduced to a masturbatory response to these films, he discovers that the stars were his parents. And this is a bit of a shock for the audience, especially with Edward Herrmann, of all people, as the kind father and former porn star. Miriam Flynn plays his devoted wife. With their blessing and encouragement, and acknowledging their success in the porn industry, Bucky goes by bus, of course, to Hollywood.
In many ways and unexpectedly, Bucky falls on his feet, and with no embarrassment about declaring that he wants to do nude movies and be a porn star. He is also mocked, shocking people by his instant willingness to strip, causes some embarrassment – but is helped by an attractive and kindly waitress, Kathy, Christina Ricci, who organises somewhere for him to stay, though his roommate is absolutely boorish and dominating.
Stephen Dorff portrays an absolutely smug, self-centred porn star who thinks he reigns supreme, mocking Bucky. However, Bucky is taken up by a drug-addict porn director, played by Don Johnson, and a Youtube clip of his instant sexual release, abundant to say the least, goes viral online.
The film was making a point about men with a small penis, that they should not be embarrassed despite all the jokes about them. The director gets a bright idea to make a series of films with Bucky, his small member, his instant response to women, his frenzied climax, without even going near the women.
He has great success, while turned down by a regular producer who works with Stephen Dorff, who later has to admit that he was wrong. With a series of films, Bucky becomes the object of media attention, popular attention – and, reminding us that this is a work of fiction even sexual pantomime, he wins all the awards at the annual porn movie event, much to Stephen Dorff’s disgust.
In the meantime, he is always supported by Kathy, who longs to be a waitress but has had a traumatic accident dropping a bowl of soup on a customer – but Bucky helps train her for balance, even to carrying seven bowls and an offer to work in one of the top LA restaurants.
Before the end there is a little crisis, sexual encounter with Kathy and then her walking out on Bucky – but it is revealed later, by a certainly unexpected change of heart on the part of the director during the making of an aggressive Western, that he put Kathy up to leaving Bucky for his own career. She is also propositioned by Dorff but spurns him.
His parents have continued to support him, even turning up to share in celebrations at the awards.
Which means then that there is a happy moral ending, that Bucky doesn’t want to do the films anymore, that he will settle down happily with Kathy, and that Stephen Dorff will have his comeuppance!
Needless to say, there are a lot of people who found the film repulsive in its characterisation of Bucky in his ambitions, in this presentation of sexuality and porn films – but, the overall impact was not meant to be too serious, rather a spoof.
