Mr. Wrong

At the start, Martha is in a Mexican jail wearing a wedding dress. So right away you know this is not going to be an ordinary movie.

A few months earlier, as she explains to the authorities, Martha was at her sister Annie's wedding. Her parents think Martha will be next to get married, as do about 30 other people. But Martha isn't seeing anyone.

Martha works for the KSDG-TV program 'Daybreak San Diego', co-hosted by Dick and Nancy. Walter, one of her co-workers, Walter, is a possible romantic partner. But Martha meets Whitman when he selects the same song she wants on a jukebox. They fall for each other, and he meets her normal parents, and she meets his quirky mother and her maid Consuela. Whitman's family appears to have money, and he doesn't have to work but can afford all sorts of expensive gifts, even though all he does is write poetry.

After a while, it becomes clear Whitman has a fun side that Martha is too uptight to appreciate. And things go downhill from there. Not only that, but Whitman's former girlfriend Inga is mentally unbalanced and very jealous. And she has a very large but friendly sidekick named Bob. Things get so bad Martha has to hire private detective Jack Tramonte.

During the first half, I thought this was just going to be a standard romantic comedy. But the second half turned out to be anything but normal. Let's just say Martha appears to be the only sane person left, but not for long. Everyone else thinks she's crazy. And what happens would be quite unlikely in real life.

I'm not crazy about Ellen DeGeneres, but let's face it. She has this irresistible perky quality about her that works very well here. Not Olsen twins perky, but pleasant. I can't stand Joan Cusack, but I think people might enjoy her demented portrayal of Inga.

Most of the music was good. A lot of it came from the 40s and 50s or at least sounded like it (I know Queen recorded 'Crazy Little Thing Called Love' around 1980). And Martha went to the opera. There was also Mexican-flavored music in some scenes. And a boys' choir sang 'I Want To Know What Love Is' by Foreigner, which sounds much better here than in the original version. Unfortunately, Whitman liked Foreigner, Toto, Boston and REO Speedwagon.

This was a really good movie, once it really got going.

This movie was another 90 minutes of wasted talent, a poor plot, and sloppy editing until the last few minutes came in. Not only did they make me automatically wish I had done something else, but they made it impossible for logical closure. I was willing to accept that Hollywood spent more money in this stalker comedy then I'll ever make until the last 15 minutes started. I mean, come on! I don't see how the editing room saw this as OK. The First 3 quarters of the movie: 4/10. The Movie altogether: 2/10.

Mr.Wrong has been unfairly reviewed. Designed as a vehicle for the considerable comic talents of Ellen Degeneres, this perhaps wasn't what many people were expected. Okay so its got a glossy sheen and typical 'madcap' comedy music but its tone is much darker than your average comedy.

Ellen plays Martha, a single women who thinks shes found the man of her dreams in Whitman, played with creepy assurance, by Bill Pullman. After making the mistake of telling him to act like himself, it becomes clear that he is completely insane.

He makes her shoplift, sends her endlessly random gifts, steals mexican kids for her and in the most uncomfortable scene of all, in an effort to show her how much he loves her, he breaks his finger for her.

For some people this may sound more like the plot of a thriller and some critics did find the film a little distasteful but for black comedy fans, this is great fun. Degeneres is fantastic as the goofy heroine, providing most of the films laughs.

The random humour of the film is what makes it really funny. Disgruntled ex Joan Cusack's attempts to strike back at Degeneres are great. 'Do you want gum in your hair?', 'Prepare to be consumed by ants!', 'Don't be nice to her! Pull her hair!'

It may not be to everyone's tastes but this is a real comedy gem.

While I love to see movies that are "so bad they're good", this one is just plain AWFUL! I love Bill Pullman (he made me melt in "While You Were Sleeping"), and while it's amusing to see him dressed up as a clown in this movie, he really missed the boat in this role. As for Ellen, I'm sorry, but I can't take her seriously in roles as a "straight" woman, no offense.

I did enjoy hearing Queen's "Crazy Little Thing Called Love" (one of my favorite songs) in the film. That was one of the few bright spots in this film. The film really crashed and burned in the last 45 minutes. The kids and the guns (which ultimately turned out to be fake) was a very insulting scene.

Don't even waste your money renting this horrible movie!

"Mr. Wrong" had to be written as a "black comedy", but unfortunately misses the mark by a wide margin. The main problem is that the film is not outrageous enough. Bill Pullman's character resorts to becoming a mean stalker after his rejection by Ellen DeGeneris. At this point the movie turns into nothing more than a glorified cartoon. In order for dark comedy to succeed, it can be outrageous, but not mean spirited. Killing perverts to finance their dream restaurant worked wonders in "Eating Raoul". Here, simply destroying someone's life, for one's own pleasure, is totally off-putting, and not funny. A big disappointment, and definitely not "black comedy". - MERK