Audiences Actually Seemed to Like Mel's Beaver Movie

Critics, not so much
By Evann Gastaldo,  Newser Staff
Posted Mar 17, 2011 10:48 AM CDT
Mel Gibson's 'The Beaver': Critics Not Overwhelmed, but SXSW Audiences Seemed to Like
In this Jan. 26, 2010 file photo, Mel Gibson arrives at the premiere of "Edge of Darkness" in Los Angeles.   (AP Photo/Matt Sayles, File)

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.)

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