10 Genre Directors Who Stepped Out Of Their Field (And Failed)
7. Jay Roach's Attempts To Get Political Are Overshadowed By A Contemporary
It seems there's nary a filmmaker, comic, writer or artist that can resist getting a little political with their work today. It's understandable, particularly in comedy, a field in which so many thought could be seeing its death knell in the era of Trumpian politics. The idea is that the world has become so absurd itself there's no need for satire; what was once funny has become scarily real.
But there's always room for Roach's Austin Powers, the Mike Meyers-led send-up of Bond films. The same can't be said for its sequels, where Roach and Meyers hammer in jokes that couldn't sustain themselves past a single film, but their first outing is the kind of light escapist fun films such as The Naked Gun used to offer.
But Roach, like his contemporary Adam McKay, had little time for laughter when things got serious. McKay's work has been well-received and it was long in the works; even his lighter fare like The Other Guys took time to point fingers at Ponzi schemers.
Roach, on the other hand, can't seem to get his films past Made for TV. While both Recount and Game Change were reasonably successful, his attempt at a more grandiose statement about democracy went largely unnoticed.
2015's biopic Trumbo, a warning about censorship and free speech, only gained notice for Bryan Cranston's excellent performance. Otherwise, it failed to recoup its modest budget of $15 million.
Even his recent success with Bombshell is tempered by the more factual account of Roger Ailes downfall, The Loudest Voice.