The Beaver

Say what you will about Mel Gibson—the guy is an absolute maniac!—he’s a good actor. Still, he isn’t a good enough actor to save this trash from director and costar Jodie Foster. It’s a sure contender for the worst film of the year. Gibson plays Walter Black, a depressed toy company CEO who, when at death’s door during a suicide attempt, empowers a beaver puppet he found in a Dumpster to speak for him. Black starts mending his broken family, and rises to national prominence as the crazy guy who talks to everybody with a puppet. He even gets on the Today show! The film’s psychology is so blatantly obvious, and watching Gibson have fistfights with himself is hilarious, yet it’s not supposed to be funny. Foster wants us to take this crap seriously, but its utter implausibility makes that a very hard task. Instead, we basically get to see Gibson make a total ass of himself, and angry groans ensue. This is a very hard film to watch, and proof that Foster should stick to acting.