Cinemas are in for quite the roundup of debutants this weekend; beyond the obvious top biller in The Little Mermaid, moviegoers will also be greeted with new Robert De Niro movie About My Father, Gerard Butler’s second mediocre action film of 2023 in Kandahar, A24’s new Julia Louis-Dreyfus-led comedy-drama You Hurt My Feelings, and The Machine, which easily takes the cake as the box office’s biggest maverick this weekend.
Loosely based on comedian Bert Kreischer’s real-life involvement with the Russian mafia (a piece of the comedian’s life that’s since been immortalized in his famous stand-up bit), The Machine stars Bert Kreischer as a fictionalized version of himself who, along with his father (played by Mark Hamill of all people), gets kidnapped by the Russian mafia as payback for all the problems he caused them back in the 90s.
Indeed, as far as going off the chain, it’s safe to say that no theatrical newcomer will reach the heights that The Machine will, even if such shenanigans don’t end up working in the film’s favor. The film’s unlikely co-star, however, has emerged as one of the biggest fans of this cheeky farce, and we reckon the Star Wars legend knows a thing or two about what makes a good crowd-pleaser.
In an interview with Pop Culture, Mark Hamill had nothing but the best to say about the film’s “original and outrageous” script before offering up the single best compliment an action comedy film of this breed could possibly receive.
“It’s not like anything I’ve ever read. And that’s a real plus. It’s so original and so outrageous. It’s just a perfect escapism movie. You can just forget about anything going on in your life that you don’t like and watch desperate people in a desperate situation acting really, really stupid. Moronic behavior on a level of almost art.”
Bert Kreischer and Mark Hamill facing the Russian mafia is a surefire ticket-seller of a premise on its own, but Hamill’s tease of art born from stupidity? The Little Mermaid just might have to watch its back.
The Machine is now playing in theaters.
