The Beaver
Director: Jodie Foster
Year Released: 2011
Rating: 2.0
A toy company CEO (Mel Gibson) suffers a nervous breakdown, but he discovers he's able to communicate by talking with a stuffed beaver hand puppet (with a voice that closely resembles Michael Caine forcing an Australian accent). Joins the ignoble ranks of profoundly psychologically unhealthy American movies (I'm thinking of you, Field of Dreams) but Gibson's commitment to the role is admirable - yes, it's hard to accept and sometimes unintentionally laughable, but the Mel, fresh off some nasty personal-life problems, channels his real-world anger onto the screen (his on-screen son: "Are you crazy?" Mel: "Maybe."). The subplot involving Anton Yelchin and a very troubled (and very beautiful) Jennifer Lawrence feels like an altogether different movie.
