If you were to tell somebody who had never heard of 2003’s dramatic comedy Tiptoes the premise of the film and how it came together, there’s a distinct chance you’d be accused of making the whole thing up, because virtually everything about the movie is borderline insane.
Written and directed by Matthew Bright in what still marks the last feature the formerly-prolific filmmaker ever helmed, he demanded that his name be taken off the final cut, so Bill Weiner is actually the name credited. Tiptoes debut as a 150-minute work-in-progress, but by the time it was released it had been whittled down substantially to a mere hour and a half.
It was also lambasted by critics and given a serious thumbs down by audiences based on its respective 20 and 22 percent Rotten Tomatoes scores from both parties, and has since been lost to the sands of time as a forgotten curio. Oh, and the entire premise revolves around Matthew McConaughey and Gary Oldman playing twin brothers, except the latter has been cast as a dwarf for some reason.
Despite being 11 years apart in age, the two future Oscar winners are siblings born at the same time, and the plot follows McConaughey trying to hide the fact his entire family are dwarfs from Kate Beckinsale’s love interest, all while Oldman potters around on his knees in a shocking depiction that’s so batsh*t in its conception and execution that you can’t really get angry about it because it’s just so goddamned brazen.
Suffice to say, Tiptoes would never get made today, and it’s largely regarded as awful. However, there’s a wave of unironic appreciation sweeping through the forums of Reddit as we speak, something we most definitely could not have predicted. Some things need to be seen in order to be believed, but maybe you’re best off ignoring this one.
Published: Oct 24, 2022 11:03 am