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I recently re-listened to our podcast on Braveheart, and was entertained by just how annoyed we were at Mel Gibson’s Mel Gibson-y-ness, and then had the brilliant thought to share the annoyance with all of you! This Australian actor and not-so-closet shitbag of a human being has “graced” more frock flicks than I thought. Let’s kick off Snark Week with a strong contender for most punchable face in Hollywood!
The Sullivans (1976-83)
Australian TV show allegedly set in World War II.
Paul Kelly in Attack Force Z (1981)
World War II. Soldiers.
Frank Dunne in Gallipoli (1981)
It’s gotten rave reviews, but that still doesn’t mean I have to enjoy seeing Gibson’s mug.
Fletcher Christian in The Bounty (1984)
A feature film about the famous 1789 mutiny. Gibson sports his first frock flick mullet.
Ed Biddle in Mrs. Soffel (1984)
In the late 19th century, a prison warden (Diane Keaton) decides a prisoner (Mel Gibson) is innocent and helps him escape. Based on a true story.
Prince Hamlet in Hamlet (1990)
Who thought this was a good casting idea? Why does Gibson look like he’s in The Name of the Rose?
Daniel McCormick in Forever Young (1992)
A fighter pilot from 1939 (Gibson) is cryogenically frozen until the present day. Because the world needs more Mel Gibson.
Bret Maverick in Maverick (1994)
“Bret.” 😂. Gibson plays an Old West card player/con artist.
William Wallace in Braveheart (1995)
Second frock flick mullet, this one of epic proportions. Oh, and he’s the real-life 13th-century Scottish rebellion leader.
Benjamin Martin in The Patriot (2000)
A South Carolina man gets swept into the American Revolution. Third mullet spotting!
Dr. Gibbon in The Singing Detective (1993)
A musical crime comedy film where a patient hallucinates various noir-set numbers. Gibson finally sports some “real” hair.
James Murray in The Professor and the Madman (2019)
Based on the real-life story of the 1870s professor who created the Oxford English Dictionary. Sadly no mullet!
I hope your Snark Week has started off with an “ick” after looking at all this Mel Gibson-y-ness!
As a movie “Gallipoli” is at least the best of them. “The Patriot” in my opinion is the worst – the role of Joely Richardson in that flick is so strange. I recommend the series of Youtube-videos by Brandon F. about “The Patriot” focussing on military, slavery and the role of girls and ladies in that movie.
Those youtube videos sound really interesting! Personally I found The Patriot disturbing – a lot of things done more for shock and horror more than historical accuracy, to be sure!
I had never realized it until I was watching History Buffs review of Braveheart and he pointed out that Braveheart and The Patriot are essentially – at least plot point wise – the same film. I had seen both and not liked either of them and suddenly it made so much more sense.
I do have a soft spot for Forever Young and Maverick 🤣 Is that also Prince Harry with a beard at the back of the WW2 drama?!?!?
Franco Zefferelli filmed ‘Hamlet’ in Scotland, on the cliffs here beside my house… It was before Mel’s disgrace, so we were all pretty thrilled to have him, Helena Bonham Carter and Glenn Close’s trailer in our driveway. Fascinating to see how filming works…. a lot of ‘hurry up to wait’, though.
Personally, I hated Braveheart, the most. Pictish face paint, and a 17th century great kilt. sigh. And sadly, someone who [in all seriousness] created a stone statue of William Wallace… and it looked like Mel.
Do you need some therapy? Emotional support? Please let us know.
HUGS just in case…..
LMAO. I’m living through my bitter disappointment, but thanks for offering!
Did the statue have bad hair plugs?
From the looks of it: yes haha.
It also drew negative publicity for the bullocks that it was, and a barrier had to be put up to prevent vandalism, creating this beautiful piece of visual irony:
https://i.imgur.com/sSnyMeW.jpg
Jody Foster is all that and a bag of chips. And a large cookie. Plus pop.
As for Braveheart was he auditioning for a romance novel cover with ALL THAT HAIR? Asking for a friend of course.
🤢🤢
I strongly suspect I watched Maverick back-in-the-day bec. of Jodie Foster (and HELLO in a bustle! w00t!). But the Mel Gibson-y-ness of the rest of it has distorted my memory!
Holy findings, Batman! Those awful lacing rings look like boning caps!! Which is so hilariously ironic I can’t even.
Gosh, Mel. Started off with such promise. Gallipoli was fantastic, Bounty was surprisingly good (yes, he did take off with the indigenous woman, but that was what Fletcher Christian actually did with Maimiti, so at least it was more historically accurate than his equivalent role in Pocahontas)!
You’ve missed out The Year of Living Dangerously (again, it was also missing from Sigourney Weaver’s recent WCW) – a compelling movie but unfortunately falling into the trope of movies where white expatriate westerners tell the stories of countries or cultures where they are just visiting.
Prob. bec., looking at the movie’s images, The Year of Living Dangerously appears to be set in the 1970s or later. If it’s earlier, the costumes aren’t helping!
The setting is 1965. Mel plays an Australian reporting on Indonesian President Sukarno’s regime. I appreciate that it’s close to the FF cutoff, plus as Westerners in a tropical country, the costuming isn’t going to be all that interesting. Love all your FF content!
Are we drinking every time we see a mullet hair? If so, I think I might be drunk. IDL Gibson.
I like a lot of these movies, particularly The Patriot and Maverick. Maverick is HILARIOUS.
The furthest I will go in defending Gibson here is that his character in Maverick may not be period-correct, but it’s a pretty good imitation of James Garner from the original TV show. He’s got Garner’s side-eye down pat in that one picture.
In view of the fact that the movie costumers were likely motivated more by recreating the TV show than historical accuracy, you may have to give him a mulligan on this one.
I’m not sure I’ve seen any of the other films on this list.
There was a time decades back when many of us perfectly sensible women fancied Mel Gibson. Young Mel was Sex In A Box, and he genuinely could act (I’ve no idea if he can still act because obviously I’m not going within a mile of his movies). But somewhere around 1990, he started to show his true character, and about the time of Forever Young I said a forever farewell to what had been a happy little crush. I feel for his family, the ex-wife & girlfriends he abused, and everyone who’s had to work with him since he let his guard down and stopped acting the part of a decent human being.
Yes, Tui. I can’t defend Mel Gibson as a person, but he was SOOOOO sexy. And also, he’s very talented. I stayed with him beyond Forever Young–which I liked–up through his disgrace. I’ve even seen him in two films since his fall; he still has acting chops. The vain part of me wishes he would’ve kept up his looks even after his disgrace. He doesn’t look bad now, nor like he’s let himself go; it just looks like he doesn’t try to be so well-groomed and to hold on to heartthrob movie star appeal. He seems to be ok with just looking “regular” without trying to have a zhuzh factor! That said, I do want to see The Professor and the Madman because I’m interested in the subject matter of the film, but I haven’t yet been able to make myself watch it.
You wrote: “Bret.” 😂.
FWIW, Bret Harte (1836-1902, born Francis Brett Hart) was a 19th c. American short story author and poet whose most popular work frequently portrayed miners, gamblers and other figures in “the old West” and the California Gold Rush.
The 1957-1962 TV series the movie was based on likely named its gambler lead character after the author; one of Harte’s best-known short stories, “Tennessee’s Partner” (1869) had been adapted (for the fourth time) as a film two years earlier.
The name became popular in the years following the TV series, but was relatively rare as a given name before it, even in the alternate spelling “Brett,” despite being a family name in both forms.
That said, Mel Gibson’s still an asshole.
Alright, alright… ;)
Strong ick start to snark week hurrah
One cannot mock Braveheart enough.
via GIPHY
I’m Scottish. Do NOT get me started on Braveheart. The music is its main redeeming feature.
Great music for Braveheart. I think that’s the first movie for which I bought the soundtrack and then bought the special edition soundtrack when it was released later!
Oh, come on! Has no one here ever laughed her/his ass off during “Braveheart?” I love anyone who’ll make me giggle like that. (My Scottish husband disagrees.) Sad, because Gibson is capable of really good work–in “Mrs. Soffel,” for example.