OSCARS 2022: Free Guy (2021)

What do you think of Ryan Reynolds? I can still remember when he was just the guy from “Van Wilder.” When his strong performances in quirky indies like “Buried” or “The Voices” proved that he could be more than just a hunky, obnoxious smart-ass. He won me over to such a degree that I even enjoy the “Deadpool” movies, which I find strike a winning balance between smarm, sweetness, and over-the-top violence. A lot of people never reached the “won over” stage though, because Reynolds has a vocal hatedom online. I certainly understand where those folks are coming from, how his smart-alack persona can be insufferable. It certainly doesn't help when Reynolds stars in movies like “Free Guy.” The heavily promoted, Disney-backed, high concept comedy now joins the list of random-ass movies to have Oscar nominations thanks to a single nod in the Visual Effects category. 

That aforementioned high concept can essentially be boiled down to “What if Ryan Reynolds was in a video game?” But to go into a little more detail than that... “Free Guy” is set in the world of Free City, a massively popular online game where players can complete missions or reek havoc in a cartoonish metropolis. Guy is but one of hundreds of NPCs that gamers can attack. Yet after getting a glimpse of a mysterious player named “Molotovgirl,” Guy suddenly develops free will of his own. He sets out about trying to achieve good deeds in the game, becoming an internet meme in the process. As he gets closer to Molotovgirl – actually a programmer named Molly, whose A.I. software was stolen to create Free City – he becomes involved in a quest to find hidden code that proves the theft.

“Free Guy” is one of the worst things a comedy can be: Painfully unfunny. Every attempt to make the audience laugh comes off as utterly desperate. The film obviously wants to emulate the edgy humor of the “Deadpool” films. Yet this is a PG-13 Disney+ exclusive. Its dick jokes and occasional crude asides can't help but feel like the most empty provocations possible. Most of the jokes play off Guy's naïve nature and the mayhem around him. This is a one-note gag, rendered barbless because the violence is so sanitized. There's a lot of absurd humor here. Players wear outrageous outfits, like a pink bunny suit. Guy activates wacky power-ups, like a full-body cushion or power shoes that result in broad physical gags. It's all so exhaustingly wacky. By the time the film includes deliberate shout-outs to “Star Wars” or “The Avengers,” it feels like a hopeless attempt to win over the audience by nodding – in the most thuddingly axiomatic ways possible – at mega-popular franchises. 

Part of why the humor in “Free Guy” is so totally ineffective is because there's nothing honest or genuine about the story. This is an excessively broad and cartoonish motion picture that still attempts to include some sincere heart. Via the unrequited romance between Keys, the guy working with Free City's owner in hopes of uncovering the code he stole, and Molly. Keys programmed his crush on Molly into Guy, which is why he connects with her. This subplot comes off as more creepy than sweet, Keys pining for this woman who clearly isn't interested in him. The story of game creators getting ripped off by a rich, stupid millionaire and attempting to steal back their invention feels like an attempt to justify the premise, not a natural evolution of it. Or what about Guy's friendship with another NPC, who lacks his free will? That's a joke the film hopelessly returns to even though it's utterly stagnant, in both laughs and pathos. “Free Guy” comes off as staggeringly hollow in so many of its choices. 

When working with such a fistular script, you really can't blame the actors for giving weak performances. Ryan Reynolds wears a massive grin throughout the entire film, which quickly becomes off-putting. The character's gee-shucks attitude bumps up against the more typically Deadpool-ian quibs, which makes Reynolds' performance seem insincere. He also gets a phony emotional arc, as Guy eventually has to struggle with being a creation and not an independent, living being. Jodie Comer and Joe Keery are forced to be invested in this bullshit, obviously not being able to sell it. The worst performance belongs to Taika Waititi as Antwan, the film's villain. Waititi, an immensely funny and talented comedic performer, is forced to trail off the weakest possible jokes and pop culture references in an obnoxiously thin bad guy role. If Waititi embarrasses himself, so does Channing Tatum in his mugging cameo as the avatar of a nerdy Youtube streamer. (Who is actually a nerd who still lives with his mom, a joke I can't believe movies were still telling in 2021.)

Since the movie is nominated for its visual effects, I'll say this much:  Some of the digital effects are pretty cool looking. Like when Guy uncovers a hidden paradise or when the city degrades into data. But some of the other effects, like when Ryan Reynolds' face is Deep-Faked onto a giant bodybuilder's frame, are incredibly shitty looking. “Free Guy” wants to be liked, to be seen as hip and fun. This boundless desperation is most apparent in the cameos it gives to prominent Youtube Let's-Players. The whole movie, from the way its game combines elements of “Grand Theft Auto” and “Fortnite,” feels like a pathetic attempt to be popular with the youths. When combined with a meaningless script, a lack of actually funny comedy, and an adrift cast, it makes “Free Guy” a deeply uncomfortable and un-entertaining experience. [4/10]