22 h, jan 22, 2015 y - NEW YORK TIMES
Comes an Aristocrat,
Mustache Flaring
Description:
US VA Court Documents: Amber Heard Exhibit 30 - Article - The New York Times - "Comes an Aristocrat, Mustache Flaring," 1/22/15
“Mortdecai” might as well be called “The Johnny Depp Movie,” because its preening star, wearing an ascot and a walrus mustache that becomes a tiresome running joke, is the whole show. And what a frantically dull spectacle this vanity project is. “Mortdecai,” directed by David Koepp from a screenplay by Eric Aronson, would never have been made without Mr. Depp’s enthusiasm for the source material, the first of the 1970s trilogy of farcical novels by the British author Kyril Bonfiglioli, in the P. G. Wodehouse tradition of sophisticated silliness.
Mr. Depp’s wizardly expertise at disappearing into a character is intact. But what if that character isn’t funny and hasn’t an ounce of charm? Charlie Mortdecai, a bumbling aristocratic bon vivant and sociopath who lives beyond his means and deals in stolen art, is a vehicle for Mr. Depp to turn into a kind of Austin Powers manqué. There is no wink behind the wink because Mr. Depp is so busy showing off.
The star has cited Peter Sellers and Terry-Thomas as inspirations for his creation, but as I watched the movie, the hybrid coming to mind was Charlie Chaplin and David Niven. Charlie Mortdecai lives in a mansion with his wife, Johanna (Gwyneth Paltrow affecting a barely passable British accent), and his loyal, studly manservant, Jock Strapp (Paul Bettany), whom he keeps shooting by accident and is the butt of many stale, smutty double entendres.
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