The Ridiculous 6

The Ridiculous 6
Film release poster
Directed by Frank Coraci
Produced by
Written by
Starring
Music by
Cinematography Dean Semler
Edited by Tom Costain
Production
company
Distributed by Netflix
Release date
  • December 11, 2015 (2015-12-11)
Running time
 120 minutes
Country United States
Language English
Budget $60 million[1]

The Ridiculous 6 is a 2015 American Western action comedy film directed by Frank Coraci and written by Tim Herlihy and Adam Sandler. It stars Sandler, Terry Crews, Jorge Garcia, Taylor Lautner, Rob Schneider, and Luke Wilson, and follows six men who realize they share the same bank-robbing father (Nick Nolte) and set out to reunite with him. The film was released worldwide on Netflix on December 11, 2015. Panned by critics, it is one of few films to receive an approval rating of 0% on Rotten Tomatoes.

Plot

In the Old West era, a calm man named Tommy, known as "White Knife" by the Native American tribe who raised him after his mother was murdered, is to marry a member of the tribe named Smoking Fox. Following a run-in with a deranged, Native American-racist food proprietor named Clem and the Left-Eye Gang, bandits led by under Will Patch who claimed to have removed their right eyes as proof of membership, Tommy and his troop are visited by a bank robber named Frank Stockburn who claims to be Tommy's biological father. Tommy explains to Frank that his mother was shot by a man with a tattooed hand when she was escorting him to school during his childhood, something that has haunted his dreams since. Frank also tells Tommy that he is dying of consumption and had amassed $50,000 which he buried in a meadow next to a pine tree and is offering to Tommy and the Natives. The next day, a group of bandits with connections to Frank come to the village, led by the ruthless Cicero who wants Frank to give them his "big score" he gained a while back. Frank has the bandits kidnap him so he can lead them to the $50,000 at the so-called "Singing Windmill", in return for the bandits not attacking Tommy or the Indians. With no time to search the meadow and find the money, and to live to his tribe's standards, Tommy decides to resort to stealing from dishonorable persons (corrupt politicians, racist bankers, and thugs alike) to obtain the amount needed and save his father. During his quest, Tommy discovers that he has 5 half-brothers: Mexican burro rider Ramon whose innkeeper mother had a fling with Frank; mentally challenged yet happy-go-lucky Lil' Pete (Lautner) whose strong neck makes him immune to hanging; feral mountain-man Herm (Garcia) who speaks incomprehensibly while having helped his mother sell their moonshine.

Tommy meets his last two half-brothers, Abraham Lincoln's former bodyguard Danny who resorts to drinking from guilt of accidentally leading John Wilkes Booth to murder him; and African-American saloon pianist Chico who confesses to be half-White, when the brothers stole a large gold nugget from Chico's boss: the ever smiling sociopathic saloon owner Smiley Harris, who was part of Frank's gang until Frank stole his cut of their biggest score and left him to die at the windmill. When Smiley attempts to kill the brothers as revenge against Frank, he ended up being unintentionally decapitated by Ramon who was trying to knock him out. Meanwhile, having joined the Left-Eye Gang at the cost of his only functional eye, Clem helps the bandits abduct Smoking Fox while searching for Tommy before their captive ultimately eluded them while they learn of the brothers' exploits as they came to be known as the Ridiculous 6. The Left-Eye Gang soon catch up to the Ridiculous 6 while they were relaxing in a pond, overpowered but stealing their loot. But at Herm's notion, which Tommy translates through his mysticism, the brothers decide to rob from gambling game in Yuma hosted by Ezekiel Grant and attended by Mark Twain and General George Armstrong Custer. Through Wyatt Earp nearly jeopardized their plan, the brothers succeed and head out to ransom their father, saving the Eye Patch Gang after learning they were left to die by Cicero while forcing them to reform and getting back the original $50,000.

As dusk falls, Tommy realizes through a Danny's photograph of their father that Cicero is his mother's murderer, leaving his brothers in the cover of night to rescue his father and kill Cicero. The half-brothers, who followed Tommy along with the Left-Eye Gang, have a reunion with their long lost father, who reveals to have masterminded his abduction upon learning his sons exceed his expectations in amassing $100,000 and had taken Smoking Fox captive when she found him after eluding the Left-Eye Gang. But Tommy reveals his group had a Plan B: a hidden bomb inside the bag containing the ransom money. When the bomb explodes and commotion ensues, Frank runs off with Smoking Fox inside a mine. Tommy runs after them and successfully rescues his bride-to-be and captures his father. Also, in the process of the fighting, the Left-Eye Gang accidentally reveal that they lied about removing their right eyes, much to Clem's outrage. Back in the Native Village, Tommy weds Smoking Fox with his brothers in attendance. Since the revelation that their biological father Frank Stockburn was no more than a two-bit crook, the Native chief decides to adopt the half-brothers as he did with Tommy.

Cast

  • Henry Steckman as young Tommy Stockburn

Production

Prior to Netflix picking up the film, it had been in the works and dropped by three studios, Columbia Pictures, Paramount Pictures and Warner Bros..[2][7] The latter dropped out soon after Adam Sandler and Happy Madison Productions signed a four-picture deal with Netflix, although an insider noted to The Hollywood Reporter that the deal had nothing to do with their decision.[7]

By January 2015, Netflix picked up the film with others joining the cast including Taylor Lautner, Nick Nolte, Blake Shelton, Steve Buscemi, Rob Schneider, Will Forte, Vanilla Ice, and Luke Wilson.[2] On February 16, 2015, Jorge Garcia joined the cast.[2] Principal photography began on February 20, 2015, and ended on May 2, 2015.[3][8]

Controversy

On April 23, 2015, Indian Country Today Media Network reported that approximately "a dozen Native actors and actresses, as well as the Native cultural advisor, left the set of Adam Sandler’s newest film production, The Ridiculous Six" in protest of its portrayal of the Apache culture.[9] The New York Daily News later reported that there were only four who left, out of over 100 Native American actors on the set.[10] Navajo Nation tribal members Loren Anthony and film student Allison Young said they left because they felt the film portrayed Native Americans in a negative light and took satire too far. They also complained that the portrayal of women was degrading.[11][12] A representative of Netflix responded saying, "The movie has ridiculous in the title for a reason: because it is ridiculous. It is a broad satire of Western movies and the stereotypes they popularized, featuring a diverse cast that is not only part of—but in on—the joke."[13]

On May 4, 2015, the New York Daily News reported that Ricky Lee, one of the Native American actors on the Ridiculous 6 set, said previous news reports were exaggerated and indeed there were only "four actors who left, but there were 150 extras, including grandmas and grandpas and children, who kept working." Apparently, before the film's wrap party, he and several other actors were approached by Sandler to speak about the controversy. According to the actor, those who left raised legitimate issues but it was "the wrong battlefield."[10]

Release

The film premiered on Netflix on December 11, 2015.[14] On January 6, 2016, Netflix announced that the film had been viewed more times in 30 days than any other movie in Netflix history. It also made it to the #1 spot in every territory in which Netflix operates.[15]

Critical response

The film currently holds holds an approval rating of 0% on Rotten Tomatoes, based on 35 reviews, with an average rating of 2.3/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "Every bit as lazily offensive as its cast and concept would suggest, The Ridiculous Six is standard couch fare for Adam Sandler fanatics and must-avoid viewing for film enthusiasts of every other persuasion."[16] On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 18 out of 100, based on 12 critics, indicating "overwhelming dislike".[17]

References

  1. ↑ Fritz, Ben (October 18, 2015). "Netflix Is Making Movies Shunned by Studios". WSJ.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 Sneider, Jeff (2015-01-26). "Adam Sandler's First Netflix Movie 'Ridiculous 6' Casts Taylor Lautner, Blake Shelton, More (Exclusive)". Thewrap.com. Retrieved 2015-03-11.
  3. 1 2 Sneider, Jeff (2015-02-16). "'Lost' Alum Jorge Garcia Joins Adam Sandler, Taylor Lautner in Netflix's 'Ridiculous 6'". TheWrap.com. Retrieved 2015-03-11.
  4. ↑ Schneider, Rob [@robschneider] (2015-03-18). "Me and the great Harvey Keitel and my burro Peanut filming tonight on 'The Ridiculous Six!'" (Tweet). Retrieved 2015-06-07 – via Twitter.
  5. ↑ Coraci, Frank [frankospanko737] (April 12, 2015). "Finally got to work with one of my all time fav #JohnTurturro and he was the best in #RidiculousSix #RidiculousSixmovie #abnerdoubleday #letsplayball". Instagram.com. Retrieved 2015-04-24.
  6. ↑ "8x Ms. Olympia Lenda Murray in Adam Sandler's New Movie". HardbodyNews.com. Retrieved 10 December 2015.
  7. 1 2 McClintock, Pamela (2014-10-07). "Warner Bros. No Longer in Talks to Make Adam Sandler's 'The Ridiculous Six' (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 2015-03-11.
  8. ↑ "'Ridiculous Six', starring Adam Sandler and Taylor Lautner, filming in Santa Fe". On Location Vacations. Retrieved 2015-03-11.
  9. ↑ Schilling, Vincent (2015-04-23). "Native Actors Walk off Set of Adam Sandler Movie After Insults to Women, Elders". Indian Country Today Media Network. Retrieved 2015-05-10.
  10. 1 2 Sacks, Ethan (2015-05-04). "EXCLUSIVE: Native American actor defends Adam Sandler amid 'The Ridiculous 6' controversy". New York Daily News. Retrieved 2015-05-10.
  11. ↑ Carroll, Rory (2015-04-23). "Adam Sandler film The Ridiculous Six in racism row as Native Americans quit set". The Guardian. Retrieved 2015-04-24.
  12. ↑ Calamur, Krishnadev (2015-04-23). "Native American actors walk off set of Adam Sandler movie". mprnews.org. Minnesota Public Radio. NPR. Retrieved 2015-04-24.
  13. ↑ Bradley, Laura. "Adam Sandler is awful, and it's all our fault". Slate. Retrieved 26 April 2015.
  14. ↑ Fleming, Mike (2015-04-14). "Netflix Dates First Feature Film Slate: Elba, Fukunaga, Sandler, Pee-wee & More". Deadline. Retrieved 2015-07-07.
  15. ↑ Lenker, Margaret (2016-01-06). "Adam Sandler's 'Ridiculous Six' Is Making History for Netflix". Variety. Retrieved 2016-02-10.
  16. ↑ "The Ridiculous Six (2015)". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved December 15, 2015.
  17. ↑ "The Ridiculous Six reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved December 15, 2015.
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