Oh Wild Wild West, how did it go so wrong? Will Smith was literally crushing it in the years leading up to the epic Western misfire.
He'd embodied the cool renegade cop with Bad Boys; he'd conquered invading lifeforms twice with Independence Day and Men in Black (MIB); and he'd even bested corrupt federal agents in Enemy of the State.
Wild Wild West was meant to be yet another high in his meteoric rise—particularly since it reunited him with the director of MIB, Barry Sonnenfeld. Alas, it was not meant to be, and not even a catchy tie-in song could save it.
A tonal mess, Wild Wild West earned the scorn of critics (17% on Rotten Tomatoes with 131 reviews) and was utterly dismissed by fans (28%). It grossed just $222.1 million on a production budget of $170 million. If you take into account marketing—and there was plenty—it probably cost upward of $300 million.
Being a financial and critical flop is bad enough, but earning eight Razzie nominations—five wins, including Worst Picture—is just the mushy cherry on top.
This movie was indeed the summer of 1999's punching bag. Some would argue rightfully so. The ending, which includes Will Smith belly dancing and a 100-foot tall hydraulic war machine spider, is as bad as any 30 minutes there has ever been in a big budget film. That's not an exaggeration.
The climactic portion of Wild Wild West is an undeniable mess; and it unfortunately detracts from what was a semi-enjoyable—albeit derivative—mismatched buddy adventure. Thanks, Jon Peters.
To ignore the clear and baffling influence of Hollywood's most infamous hair dresser, one must consume a few cold ones. So sit back, fire open a Sun & Steel from Robinsons Brewery with a six-gun, and hop aboard a steam punk arachnid! I, the Thunderous Wizard (@WriterTLK), Capt. Cash, and Chumpzilla are riding Artemus Gordon's gadget train across the U.S. to track down the disreputable Arliss Loveless!
This Week’s Segments:
And, as always, hit us up on Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram to check out all the interesting factoids—the perils of working with Peters and more—from this week’s episode!
You can find this episode of Hops and Box Office Flops on Apple Podcasts, Google Play, Stitcher, Podbean, Spotify, Acast, TuneIn, and iHeartRadio!
Necessary Roughness – Welcome to Foot ... Balls
True Romance – It’s White Boy Day
Jason X – Jason Gonna Give It to You
Critters 4 – Space Fur Balls
Leprechaun 4 – Irish Emmanuelle in Space
Hellraiser IV: Bloodline – Written by a Pinhead
Death to Smoochy – Gluten and Laugh Free
47 Ronin – Ronin with My Homies
Prince of Persia – The Lion of Central Casting
Gangster Squad – La La Confidential
Prey – Do Not Kill the Dog
Predators – Crazy Larry’s Den of Alien Antiquities
The Predator – Leaking Spinal Fluid
Predator 2 – Pred Harder
The Alamo – Remember It
The Last Duel – Misogynistic Gladiators
Almost Heroes – Drinking Has Its Benefits
King Arthur: Legend of the Sword – Arthur Begins
Dracula Dead and Loving It – Mister, Mister
Morbius – It’s Morbin’ Time!
Create your
podcast in
minutes
It is Free
The Multiverse Fancast
Cinema: A to B
I Finally Watched...
Kill James Bond!
Pod Meets World