Paparazzi

Bomb Rating: 

When you spend your entire life actively seeking the public's attention, it's just a little bit hypocritical to start crying about it once you get it.

Think that Mel Gibson is feeling a bit put out? He produced this "oh look, I'm famous and the paparazzi are mean to me" thriller right after being raked over the coals for "The Passion of the Christ." Here's a message for Mel: When your Dad is a confirmed Holocaust denier and you're unwilling to repudiate him, that's not the media being unfair to you. That's the public telling you to get your head out of your ass.

In "Paparazzi," action star Bo Laramie (Cole Hauser) is hounded by a group of photographers who will stop at nothing to get pictures of him and his family. These weasels include Rex Harper (Tom Sizemore), Leonard Clark (Tom Hollander), Wendell Stokes (Daniel Baldwin) and one other guy whose name I was too lazy to look up (we'll call him Fucky McFuckface). These guys cause a car accident that nearly kills Laramie, his wife (Robin Tunney) and kid, then take photographs of the whole thing. This prompts Laramie to fight back. When Fucky McFuckface is accidentally killed on his motorcycle, this gives Laramie ideas and he begins going after the others. A detective (Dennis Farina) seems to know what's going on, but can't get quite get enough evidence on Laramie to pin it on him.

I know this is an aside, but has Billy Baldwin been in any movies recently? Because I think Daniel might have eaten him.

Basically, this is a revenge movie of the "Death Wish" variety. Cole Hauser as a successful action star is about as believable as, well, Cole Hauser as a successful action star. Tom Sizemore looks like he made this film prior to entering rehab given his over-the-top, silly performance. It's a nice try to garner some sympathy for millionaire movie stars, but it doesn't work. When you spend your entire life actively seeking the public's attention, it's just a little bit hypocritical to start crying about it once you get it.