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Marci X
2003 - R - 97 Mins.
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| Director: Richard Benjamin | | Producer: Scott Rudin | | Written By: Paul Rudnick | | Starring: Lisa Kudrow, Damon Wayans, Richard Benjamin, Jane Krakowski, Christine Baranski |
| Review by: Joe Rickey |
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The new CD by controversial rap star, Dr. S (Damon Wayans) causes a public outcry for it to be banned and for distributor, Felony Assault Records, to be boycotted. This, in turn, causes the head of the label, Ben Feld (Richard Benjamin himself), to suffer a heart attack as he sees his business crumbling around him. His daughter Marci (Lisa Kudrow) takes it upon herself to change the rapper’s image and save her father’s company along with restoring his good name in the process.
Marci X finished production in April of 2001 and finally found theatrical release more than two years later. Distributor Paramount Pictures knew that they had a turkey on their hands and the continuous shuffling done to the release is proof positive of that. There ends up being plenty of reason for what Paramount did. In fact, they’d have been better off just sending Marci X straight to video where it belongs. At least then, they could have saved on marketing and prints. Marci X is a completely trashy film with few redeeming qualities present other than a game performance by Lisa Kudrow.
As song after song, stale joke after stale joke is perpetrated in Marci X, one begins to wonder how the film was actually greenlit; one even wonders how the script was commissioned because the problems with the film start with the poor writing. The film makes fun of pretty much every ethnicity one could think of in a rather sleazy manner that is in no way humorous. The film also features many jokes, which are way pass their expiration date so to speak, as they are no longer timely and therefore less effective. The film also suffers from pacing problems as the film drags often for a film that is only 84 minutes long. Theoretically, a film with such a length should never drag but Marci X sure does. The film also manages to look like an incredibly cheap production even though it was in fact a 25 million dollar studio film. The sets are amazingly corny looking and the cinematography is strictly second rate. Not to mention one of the worst opening credits montages that I have ever witnessed in a film. Basically a mix of bright colors and exaggerated pictures of Dr. S and some of his CD covers, the sequence looks like something created by a group of amateur computer graphic engineers, not something found at the beginning of a major motion picture.
The acting is middling but still manages to be the best part of the abysmal production. Lisa Kudrow goes all out in the service of the pathetic script, singing and dancing with aplomb despite the fact that she really isn’t very good at either singing or dancing. As Dr. S, Damon Wayans rises above the material to make his character somewhat likable but is dragged down by the script at most every turn.
Overall, Marci X is a terrible film in almost every way and thus should be avoided.
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