What would happen if Beetlejuice and Men In Black had a love child and that love child was an idiot? That love child idiot would be R.I.P.D., the new film starring Jeff Bridges and Ryan Reynolds. I remember the photos from this film shoot too, and at the time I thought it was a standard-issue “opposites attract” cop movie, like Lethal Weapon only with one old white guy and one young white guy. As it turns out, R.I.P.D. is “supernatural” and extremely weird. That’s kind of on me, by the way. I never bothered researching this mess, and it’s only now that I’m discovering that the film is based on a comic called Demolition Man. R.I.P.D. stands for “Rest In Peace Department” – meaning that the characters Ryan and Jeff play are actually dead, and they’re like ghost cops. Why didn’t they just call this shiz “Ghost Cops”? It would have been more to the point and less annoying. Here’s the first trailer:
The only bit I think is somewhat funny is the thing about how people in the real world see them as completely different people, and Jeff’s reality avatar is a really hot model chick. By the way, how in the world did Jeff Bridges ever sign on to this mess? What, he won his Oscar so he’s just doing crazy stuff now? And I swear to God, he’s still doing his Rooster Cogburn voice from True Grit (how amazing was True Grit?). I guess I understand why Ryan Reynolds said yes to this – he wanted to work with Jeff and it’s not like Ryan gets all of the good scripts, you know? Ryan Gosling gets first choice. Reynolds is lucky if he gets Gosling’s throwaways.
Anyway, this comes out on July 19th… let’s see what it’s up against… The Lone Ranger will dominate the first weekend of the month, than Pacific Rim (maybe?) the week after that, and the only thing really competing with RIPD is the sequel to Red, that Bruce Willis/John Malkovich/Helen Mirren movie. I dunno… I’m kind of rooting for Red 2. Right?
Photos courtesy of WENN.
I would be rooting for Ghost Cops. But it would also have to be a musical. Like Dead Cop Rock or something.
Zing! Love it!
I was just thinking: “Well, this doesn’t seem that horrible, I’ll maybe watch it”, when I read the last bit of the article.
They’re doing a RED 2?!! I’m there. Sorry Ghost Cops.
😀
This does not sound good. I too can’t figure out why Bridges sign on.
I have an unwavering love for RR, even after The Green Lantern and even though he kind of looks like a gerbil I still root for him.
LOL!
+1
+2 ‘Just Friends’ and ‘The Proposal’ are two of my all-time favorites, mainly bc of his self-deprecating sense of humor. Maybe bc I personally find that personality trait very attractive is why I am obsessed with his cute roles, aka him in general. I think Blake is lucky to have snagged him!
Sidenote, I think he did really well in ‘Safehouse’ too.
I almost always agree with you BUT not this time. I dislike him for all the reasons you listed. Green Latern was terrible! And he does look like a gerbil! Haha I just don’t get why he is a thing. I find nothing appealing about him.
Is this the movie he was filming when he and blake first started dating and she wad always in Boston visting him? It’s just now coming out? That feels like a long time ago!
Looks like it will be a stinker.
Oh and they both did this for the money! Duh.
I knew it couldn’t last forever!
Ever since 2 Guys and Girl and the Sabrina the Teenage Witch movie I’ve kind of loved him, although this did rapidly diminish during the ScarJo (bleeugh) years.
I think you’re right, I’ve just checked his IMDB and this looks to be his only live action film this year, unfortunately it looks like like 7 shades of crap.
He just finished filming one live action and is starting another.
Green Lantern was just as bad as The Hulk (the one w/ Eric Bana), in that I’d sooner stab myself in the eye with a fork that sit through either of them. And I saw them at home! (I lost out to the comic geek boys I lived with.)
But I actually enjoyed Love, Actually. (No one else mentioned it – did everyone hate it but me?)
@bellaluna, Definity, Maybe? One of my favourites.
There are so many mediocre actors who’ve gotten lucky at the box office. I know it’s fashionable to pile on Reynolds, but there’s a lot more to him than Lantern or the more commercial films he’s done.
Bella did you mean Definitely Maybe? I really enjoyed that film, it was helped by having 3 of my favorite girls in it. As for Hulk, I love Eric Bana but that was one of those films that audiences didn’t enjoy but quite a few critics did, personally I thought it was pants.
OMG, Mercy & Miss, yes. Yes I did. *hangs head in shame* (I’m sleep deprived, ok?) I really liked that movie – 3 of my favorite girls too!
You are so right! I never could get the proper animal he looks like. THX. By the way the trailer looks funny. Dumb, loud summer fare. I’ll go.
You are so right! I never could get the proper animal he looks like. THX.
By the way the trailer looks funny. Dumb, loud summer fare. I’ll go.
I love comics and I know Reynolds does too, but there comes a time when you have to stop ruining movie adaptations of what you love…
I know this is a common refrain, or meme, amongst comic book fans, but I really think most of the problems with these films usually lie with the script, the visuals, and the direction. A good script, special special effects and costuming, and a director with a vision and affinity for the source material will usually result in a good film.
R.I.P.D. was filmed in Boston, the effects are being handled by the company responsible for Life of Pi, and it has an attractive cast so it will probably look great. The director seems like a good fit. I’ve never read the comic so I can’t comment, but the screenplay writer’s resume doesn’t inspire confidence.
Seems like his career is pretty much over. You can only coast on being a pretty boy for so long.
The Dude is way too talented to be in crap like this
Agreed! He’s very talented and versatile, too bad he is generally underrrated. People should watch his movie, especially Buried, before calling him a bad actor, imo.
Em this is embarrassing but I was posting about Jeff Bridges, The Dude was the name of his character in The Big Lebowski.
Sorry, didn’t get the reference co Bridges’ character, my fault!
Maybe he just liked his costume? In my opinion he’s much sexier than Ryan Reynolds could ever be.
I can’t ever see Ryan Reynolds becoming a more prominent actor than he is now. I think the height of his career was “The Proposal” and now it is slowly going downhill. His good looks gotten him quite far for his mediocre acting skills, so he has that quality in common with his equally attractive wife. Both will get a steady amount of work, mostly mediocre to bad films that most A-list stars will pass over, but never anything Oscar worthy.
I really have a problem when people think actors should only pick Oscar worthy productions. Especially given some of the movies that won best picture in the past decade.
Acting is a job like any other, and I don’t see all people in the world trying to win a Nobel prize. What if he likes doing those kind of movies? I don’t think he’s a great actor, but he has quite great movies there.
Someone mentioned Gosling. Now that’s someone who can’t do anything for me in the looks or acting department, and I don’t like most of the movies he chooses to be either.
Leo is the guy who normally stars in the movies I like, not all, but the thing is, why does any actor has to choose only Oscar material? Especially when movies like Silver Lining Playbook becomes Oscar material. lol, that’s hilarious (the movie being oscar material, not your opinion).
So yeah, that point makes no sense in my head. They should do what they feel like doing and I’m sure someone like RR still says no to a lot of projects. Maybe some of them include even ~Oscar material…
+ 1 Well said!
WHY WHY WHY can he not get a decent project? I feel like his best work was in Van Wilder (pure genius, not even kidding), and he lucked out with The Proposal, but everything else has been a disaster. And he is SO cute and SO funny, and talented and likable…I just don’t get it.
He’s like the anti-Will Smith – just canNOT pick the right stuff! I am running out of energy to root for him, I think I am starting to expect anything he does next to be a flop.
And he is SO cute and SO funny, and talented and likable…I just don’t get it.
Neither do I! Agree 100%!
You’re right, he is at his best when he is playing the snarky observer/mentor. Thus why he gets a forever’n’ever pass from me – I love him so much in Waiting (Monty!). His skills at that would suit him well for another tv series if the attempt at being a leading man doesn’t work out.
I don’t get the hate, tbh. He’s given good performances in almost everything he’s been in. Some of his best work has been in indie dramas, like Buried, The Nines, and Chaos Theory, but he has been charming and funny is more mainstream comedies like Waiting, Proposal, Wilder, etc. My favourite performance of his is in Smokin’ Aces. It’s a rambling mess of a movie, but he is awesome in a dramatic role. Definitely, Maybe another good one.
He’s a very good, versatile actor who has built up a substantial body of work and a considerable fan base the hard way. I don’t know how R.I.P.D. will fare, but he’ll probably be eminently watchable in it, because he almost always is. Just keep him away from green glowing crap superhero characters. He’s not meant for that any more than Clooney was meant for the craptacular version of Batman.
I agree, as usual, with what you say! I find him to be unfairly underrated. Maybe if he sold his personal life and used more PR tricks like many celebs do, and was constantly papped out and about at airports or grabbing coffees people would take him more seriously!
@Dea, I think he is very underrated as an actor and overrated as a hunk. Ironically his most commercially successful films are the weakest on his resume.
@mercy –
That’s the thing, there is no hate. RR absolutely IS watchable and talented. Most of the comments to this article are full of RR love.
It’s just that he usually picks bad projects – ones that either underperform at the box office or are critically panned – and even though he is good in them, it’s not enough to build a proper career/reputation on. Alas.
@Anna, I was talking in general terms (about the hate.) Alas, he does have a career and quite a good one, especially considering he started on TV and by his own admission didn’t consider branching out from the comedy genre until relatively late in his career. He has made some good and interesting choices, mostly in indies and smaller films. I’m sure they’ve more than made their budgets back. He’s also been in commercial films that have done well at the box office, but it’s said he got “lucky,” or most credit is given to other actors. I guarantee you if R.I.P.D. does well, credit will go to Bridges. If it doesn’t, it’s on Reynolds. I’m not buying it.
Well you never know…if Bradley Cooper
can move from the Hangover to awards season…
The Hangover, whatever the quality of the movie or the level of individual acting, was a runaway international hit that spawned two sequels. Reynolds it lining up a miss after a miss after a miss, save for The Proposal (and Safe House, which was a Denzel movie).
How many critical and box office bombs has Sandra Bullock had? The Proposal was one of her biggest films. Safe House was one of Denzel’s biggest. Reynolds gets no credit, but he was great in both. He has a strong fan base that would rather see him in those kinds of roles than playing a glowing green dude in a badly scripted comic book movie.
Looks like fun actually!
I fancy the both of them. Will still be waiting for the DVD though.
Ryan is the male Jen Garner to me, attractive enough, talented enough, and likable but just a bit too bland to really be a lead in a big budget thing.
I think he can act circles around her. To be fair, I’m not as familiar with her work.
@Sarabeth, I read that as Jennifer Aniston, for some reason. I like Jennifer Garner’s work and thought she was fantastic in Juno.
Love Ryan Reynolds. Great comedic actor, “Just Friends” is one of the funniest movies ever. Maybe that’s the genre he should stick with.
I want to know who is trying to make this man happen? He must have some Big Hollywood exec sugar daddy sponsors going the extra mile for his overrated ass. Mediocre actor, ok face and bland personality but he keeps getting these leading man gigs. Crazy. I will apply same theory to Colin Farrell. However unlike Ryan, Colin does come across as a very cool guy. But my man Colin has been in flop after flop and he never gets called out for it. Hmmmm
Ryan had been toiling away for years in a wide variety of films before all the ‘sexiest man’ and superhero stuff. He has a solid body of work to fall back on.
Colin Farrell is another underrated actor for me, though I don’t find him as appealing as Reynolds. He probably doesn’t get singled out for his bombs because he hasn’t starred in a superhero flick.
So kind of like Dead Like Me but not nearly as good?
That marble mouth True Grit voice Jeff Bridges is hanging on to is super annoying.
This looks bad. Why Jeff, why? I expect crap like this from Ryan. This isn’t even funny. Looks dumb & the comedy forced. Oh, well… Go Red 2!
I gotta disagree on the title criticism. “Ghost Cops”? Does everyone need things that spoon fed these days? Titles should be creative, not a list of ingredients. I loathe titles that just name what it’s about, particularly “The ___” titles. RIPD isn’t high art as titles go but it’s at least a mildly amusing pun.
Oh sweet Mary! I was not going to click on this post but thought maybe I would get a shirtless Ryan out of it and there is JEFF! Jeff is a Always, Forever, Unwavering *drop* *whispers* I love him so!
Well, I adore Jeff Bridges, and I like RR well enough as an actor, so I guess I’ll give this a chance on DVD or cable.
But if I had to choose one movie to see in theater, it would be Red 2!
At least this isn’t a sequel or from some Young Adult book series? I will give credit to someone for FINALLY financing a somewhat original film (granted its based on a graphic novel) but THANK GOD it doesn’t have a numeral after the title.
Hollywood has no balls anymore.
Sad. I love Ryan (he was great in Buried, The Proposal, etc.) but as everyone is saying he just keeps picking the wrong projects. He has an Egoyan film in the can, but that’s it besides RIPD. The industry is a lot more forgiving of bombing in indie films rather than commercial films, but so many of his bombs are the latter. I really think if RIPD tanks his career is going to be in serious trouble. Hell, look at Blake. Remember when she was all over the place, on the Time 100 list and on multiple Vogue covers? Now she is doing appearances at a Canadian Target. If Blake still wanted a supporting role or an indie role, she could do it…but no way could she land another role like Savages.
He’s filming in The Voices, directed by Marjane Satrapi (writer of Persepolis) and he’s supposed to start another film at the end of the year directed by Jon Favreau.
Two of his most commercial films, The Proposal and Safe House, did good box office. Universal wants a sequel to Safe House, and he and Sandra are longtime bff’s who will always want to work together. Even The Croods is getting a sequel.
Blake is on the break she said she was going to take after Gossip Girl wrapped. She doesn’t make many appearances, period. What’s the matter with Canadian Target? Her husband is from Canada, she’s spent time there recently, and many big designers do lines for Target. She still reps Gucci and there’s something coming up in Vogue.
And he also dubbed Turbo, that has all it takes to be another dreamworks success!
Ryan Reynolds doesn’t let Blake Lively out of the house… that’s why Scarlett left him and why you haven’t seen Blake lately. It’s just a matter of time before she gets fed up with his crap like Scarlett did.
@Gee, She said she was going to take a long break after the show ended long before her marriage. She auditioned for at least one prominent role while they were together. She’s always been a domestic sort with culinary ambitions. She travels a lot. Ryan took well over a year off while she was still working, but I didn’t see a “Blake won’t let him out of the house” meme.
Scarlett’s IMDb page from 2008-2010 also refutes your assumptions (and that doesn’t include all the roles she auditioned for during that time).
@mercy
Thanks for pointing that out! This whole ‘Ryan won’t let Blake leave the house’ is just ridiculous!
Looks stupid and fun.
Short, sweet, and to the point. +1
Considering what’s going on today, I really think you should edit “bomb” to “dud” or “stinker.”
I’m by no means offended personally… but some people in the area could easily be. It’s touchy, y’know?
Because not using the B-word ever again is going to fix it, RIGHT? Way to really make light of a tragedy. Awesome.
This movie sounds as terrible an idea as Cowboys & Aliens, and that had a better cast (Harrison Ford and Daniel Craig).
What a thoughtless and tacky headline. Really insensitive. You know children had their LIMBS blown off right?
OH JESUS, REALLY? The horrible tragedy in Boston is a g-d nightmare, but now nobody can use the word “bomb” in a completely innocent,practically globally accepted, not-the-exploding-kind way AT ALL now? Give to me a
*&$%ing break. Not using the word “bomb” isn’t going to give anyone their limbs back- posting some ridiculous nonsense like is what REALLY makes light of the situation. Dumbass.
That has got to be the dumbest thing I have ever read. Now nobdy can use the word “bomb” anymore, not even if we use it in the not-explody way? That is ridiculous, and THAT makes light of the horrible tragedy in Boston. Not using the word “bomb” isn’t going to stick anyone’s limbs back on or bring those people back to life. What a moronic comment to post. GOD!
I thought the initials stood for “Rhode Island Police Department”. Now I would’ve seen that.