Baywatch

A while back, I wrote an entry about whether my loyalty to Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson would be enough to overcome my common sense and lead me to see the new Baywatch movie.

It was.

I went.

Everything after that is tricky. On the one hand, I didn't groan or cringe as much as I had feared I would, and I laughed more than I had feared I might, so the movie beat my expectations. On the other hand, my expectations were astonishingly low.

Almost all of the funniest bits, of course, come from Johnson. His timing has greatly improved over the years, and he can keep a straight face while saying almost anything. The rest of the cast played off him reasonably well, given the story they had to inhabit and the lines they had to say. Both of those, though, were weak at almost all points, and very weak at many times.

I went to a local theater on discount night to catch Baywatch, and that's probably the right strategy. If you can get in cheaply, and if you're willing to trade a lot of bad bits for periodic laughs, and, of course, if you like staring at pretty people in bathing suits, check it out. Otherwise, give this one a pass.

A test of my loyalty to Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson

I'm a huge fan of Johnson's films. He generally turns in an appropriately scene-chewing performance, his comedic flair keeps getting better and better, and some of his films are even legitimately good (ref., for example, Central Intelligence).

This weekend, however, brings us the movie that may well push my loyalty to the breaking point: Baywatch.

I never watched the original show, and each time I've encountered it in reruns, I've either scooted right past it to the next channel or given it two minutes and then moved on by. Every minute I caught was painfully dumb.

From the trailers, it's clear that Johnson and the folks behind this reboot are frequently playing it for laughs, which is a welcome goal. I'm just not yet sure if that's enough to get me to the movie theater.

Time will tell. If I do go, I promise to report back.