Bucky Larson: Born to Be a Star (2011)

A kid from the Midwest moves out to Hollywood in order to follow in his parents footsteps -- and become a porn star.

Director:

Tom Brady

Writers:

Adam Sandler, Allen Covert,

Stars:

Nick Swardson, Christina Ricci, Don Johnson

6 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Nick Swardson	...	Bucky Larson
Christina Ricci	...	Kathy McGee
Don Johnson	...	Miles Deep
Stephen Dorff	...	Dick Shadow
Ido Mosseri	...	J. Day
Kevin Nealon	...	Gary
Edward Herrmann	...	Jeremiah Larson
Miriam Flynn	...	Debbie Larson
Mario Joyner	...	Claudio
Tyler Spindel	...	Jimmy
Meredith Giangrande	...	Blueberry
Nicholas Turturro	...	Antonio (as Nick Turturro)
Mary Pat Gleason	...	Marge
Jackie Sandler	...	Casting Director
Dana Goodman	...	Gretchen (as Dana Min Goodman)

Storyline

A kid from the Midwest moves out to Hollywood in order to follow in his parents footsteps -- and become a porn star.

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Plot Keywords:

porn star | masturbation | hollywood california | box office flop | critically bashed | 

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Taglines:

He's about to explode onto the Hollywood scene.

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Genres:

Comedy

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for pervasive crude sexual content, language and some nudity

Details

Official Sites:

Official site [us]

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

9 September 2011 (USA)

Also Known As:

Born to Be a Star

Filming Locations:

Guinness World Records Museum - 6764 Hollywood Blvd., Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$10,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

$1,415,023 (USA) (9 September 2011)

Gross:

$2,331,318 (USA) (16 September 2011)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Columbia Pictures, Happy Madison Productions, Miles Deep Producitons

Technical Specs

Runtime:

97 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital DTS (as Datasat Digital Sound) SDDS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Connections

Referenced in Conan: I Know What You Did Last Lobsterfest (2011)

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Soundtracks

"La La La"
Written by Michael Colicchio
Performed by Laura Greene
Courtesy of Arrow Productions & Light In The Attic Records

User Reviews

This should have NEVER been born.

There is very little to say about Bucky Larson: Born to Be a Star other than "I hated it ... I hated ALL of it!" The film is not funny and it is repellent.

I cannot criticize it for being about porn because Boogie Nights was exclusively about the world of porn and I think it was one of the BEST film of the 1990's. Boogie Nights treated its characters as flawed human beings searching for acceptance and a feeling of belonging -- Bucky Larson's characters are all supposed to be laughed at and there are just too many times throughout the movie which had me wanting to rush to the bathroom to vomit as 89% of the film is stomach-churning.

This should pretty-much END the career of anybody involved and I am actually surprised that Adam Sandler's name is attached as both a writer and a producer of this trash (Sandler also gave us Jack and Jill and Just Go With It this year -- the latter film is only saved b/c of the over-the-top performance of the unlikely physical comedienne Nicole Kidman -- so I question whether or not his days are numbered?).

An unfunny-to-me Nick Swardson (Just Go With It, 30 Minutes or Less, Blades of Glory) -- who's career is mostly stand-up comedy -- stars as the grotesquely buck-toothed Bucky Larson (who must've been born with buck-teeth?) who believes he is destined for a glorious career in porn after discovering his parents were au natural (meaning: unshaven, un-waxed, un-spray-tanned, un-fit etc) porn stars of the 1970's. Bucky leaves behind an insulting-to-mid-westerners existence in Iowa (only found in the movies -- he didn't attend high school because his town didn't have one ... whatever), the RIDICULOUSLY-accented Bucky (that is NOT an Iowa accent ... but let's throw-out another stupid laugh at the expense of the heartland) heads to LA where his dreams can come true.

Bucky luckily meets a nice, big-hearted waitress (Christina Ricci - Sleepy Hollow, Penelope, Monster ... and after this is it any wonder she seeked out employment on television as Pan-Am is Oscar-caliber compared to this!) at a random diner who befriends him, finds him a place to live (with crazy-jerk roommate Kevin Nealon - "SNL", "Weeds", Just Go With It) and sets him in the right direction of finding work. Don Johnson (Tin Cup, Machete ... who's short-lived career rebirth must be over) is porn director Miles Deep who sees something "special" in Bucky and decides to exploit the freak (it's explained in the film ... but I don't recommend watching this to figure out the "freak-tag" that has NOTHING to do with his teeth!) and Stephen Dorff (who's stellar "comeback" with the excellent film Somewhere must have been a fluke!!) plays a jealous porn-star rival.

As vulgar and repulsive as this film is, there is surprisingly little flesh on display. It would be difficult to pick-out the worst part of this film as that would pretty-much be the whole thing. Just as impossible would be finding "the best" part. This film isn't bad because it is offensive -- we've had Bridesmaids and two Hangover films -- it is just terrible bad. What works with those 3 films is that they are "equal-opportunity offenders" ... this one -- NOT so much. It is rank and rancid and beyond mere words for criticism. I NEVER want to see something like this again.