Touchstone and Beyond: Mr. Wrong

Feature Presentation: Mr. Wrong

Cast of Characters

• Ellen DeGeneres as Martha
• Bill Pullman as Whitman
• Joan Cusack as Inga
• Dean Stockwell as Jack
• John Livingstone as Walter
• Hope Davis as Annie

Elevator Pitch

Martha is a successful television producer in the local market, and very single. After sitting through her younger sister Annie’s wedding, Martha is inundated with relatives who assure her that she will be next. This does not sit well with Martha.

She is content in her life and not worried about marrying any time soon. When she meets Whitman, everything changes. The man of her dreams charms her, her family, and friends. When Martha tells him to be himself, the charming debonair Whitman transforms himself from an elegant, sophisticated adult, to a childlike moron. 

Martha soon realizes that she needs to break up with Whitman, but that is easier said than done. When his ex-girlfriend Inga tries to kill her, Martha will stop at nothing to get away from Whitman. The only problem for Martha is that Whitman is head over heels in love with her. 

The Orson Welles Award of Brilliance:

Bill Pullman is very funny. His Whitman is a combination of a teenaged boy who has some charm, with a madcap insane cousin that you meet once a year for a weekend adventure.

The Alan Smithee Award of Anonymity

The film is meant to be romantic comedy and to be honest, there is nothing funny and romantic about Mr. Wrong. The movie itself is a stilted attempt to bring a twist to a formulaic narrative, and it fails.

The sheer notion that the movie is based on the psychotic insanity of Whitman harassing and stalking Martha is not funny, and it would belong more as a feature on Dateline with Chris Harrison than on big screen with couples out for a date night. This movie is not enjoyable, and it wastes talented actors on an absurd notion that should never have been put on celluloid. 

I love Joan Cusack, but Inga is annoying. 

Production Team

• Directed by Nick Castle
• Produced by Touchstone Pictures / Mandeville Films / Marty Katz Productions
• Written by Chris Matheson / Kerry Ehrin / Craig Munson
• Release Date: February 16, 1996
• Domestic Box Office Gross: $12,825,141

I Know Their Name

Yes, that is Robert Goulet as the host of Martha’s show. He plays Dick Braxton and I wish he had more screentime in the film.

Deep Dive Behind the Scenes

• The film made over five million dollars on its opening weekend and opened in sixth place.
• The movie is not well regarded and acquired many nominations for the lead actress from some less than kind award ceremonies. 
• Lisa Kudrow screen-tested for the role of Annie.
• Supposedly, David Arquette, Adrien Brody, Ben Affleck, and Noah Wyle screen tested for the role of Walter.
• It is believed that the film was inspired by an episode of DeGeneres’ self-titled tv show from the 1990’s.
• Variety thought this film was ‘Extremely Funny’. It is not.
• Ellen would often poke fun at the film on her talk show.
• DeGeneres supposedly earned over two million dollars for her role.
• Film Critic Roger Ebert described how the pivot to DeGeneres watching as Pullman’s character takes over made the film impossible to enjoy.

Bill’s Spicy Take

The bigger problem with this film is that Ellen was miscast in the Martha role. 

Oscar Thoughts

(These rankings are awarded based on my love for Hitchcock films)

{Frenzy Award-Skip this Film, Torn Curtain Award-Desperate for Something to Watch, For the Birds-A Perfect Film for Any Device, Rear Window Award- You Must Watch This Film on a Big Screen because this film is cinema.}

Wow, I have watched some bad movies, but Mr. Wrong is a convoluted mess of stupidity. It’s not funny, there are no moments of joy. The entire movie is a run of cliches that give the actors nothing to use that would enable the audience to connect with their characters.

It feels like this was a perfect twenty-minute story for a sitcom, but the ‘joke’ was overdone, and stretched way too thin to offer any substance. 

Mr. Wrong gets my Frenzy Award. Skip this movie. 

Coming Attractions

Next week a look back at My Father the Hero. A film where Gerard Depardieu pretends to be his teenaged daughter’s older boyfriend. I’m sure it’s a laugh riot.