Audiences Actually Seemed to Like Mel's Beaver Movie

Be honest: When you heard that troubled actor Mel Gibson’s supposed comeback movie was about … a guy who talks to a beaver puppet, you figured it would end up being the final nail in his coffin. But maybe not, based on the response to its SXSW premiere. Some critics weren’t exactly fans (on Slashfilm, Peter Sciretta calls it a “tonal mess” based on a “ridiculous premise”), but the audience response actually wasn’t too bad. In the Guardian, Catherine Shoard describes it as “benign appreciation” and notes what that might mean: “This is unlikely to hail the end of Mel. It may even mark his public rehabilitation.” (More Mel Gibson stories.)