# Mel Gibson movie: The Beaver **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 20, 2011, 5:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mel-gibson-movie-the-beaver/582599 "2011-05-20T17:45:42Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2011, 3:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mel-gibson-movie-the-beaver/582599/21 "2011-05-21T03:13:33Z")
> [@Freudian\_Slit](#): > > Really, people liked Lars and the Real Girl? I thought it was skeevy–but not in an entertaining way. Just a dull, dolls-are-weird way. It was a let down. [81% rating on Rotten Tomatoes](http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/1175569-lars_and_the_real_girl/). [Got nominated for an Oscar](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0805564/awards), too, plus a bunch of other awards. Haven’t seen it myself, but it’s in my Netflix queue. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2011, 3:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mel-gibson-movie-the-beaver/582599/22 "2011-05-21T03:17:20Z")
> [@Enright3](#): > > I don’t care if you put Harrison Ford, Tom Hanks, Gene Hackman, Robert DeNiro, or Denzel Washington in that role… I’m not likely to see a movie about a man suffering from depression and uses a beaver puppet to talk to people. Would you watch Tom Hanks suffer through depression by talking to a volleyball? 😉 ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2011, 4:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mel-gibson-movie-the-beaver/582599/23 "2011-05-21T04:12:20Z")
I recall a very successful Jimmy Stewart movie about a guy and an imaginary rabbit. 😃 \*Harvey \*was a very long running play too. A guy and his beaver puppet could work if done creatively. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_Q](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/898d66/32.png) [@Johnny\_Q](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_Q)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2011, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mel-gibson-movie-the-beaver/582599/24 "2011-05-21T19:24:06Z")
Somehow this premise just reminds me too much of Mr. Garrison and Mr. Hat. ---
**Author:** ![Enright3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/enright3/32/2897_2.png) [@Enright3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enright3)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2011, 12:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mel-gibson-movie-the-beaver/582599/25 "2011-05-23T00:56:55Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > I recall a very successful Jimmy Stewart movie about a guy and an imaginary rabbit. 😃 \*Harvey \*was a very long running play too. > > A guy and his beaver puppet could work if done creatively. Like I alluded to before… It’s received good reviews; it’s probably a good movie; it just isn’t interesting to me; and more importantly it’s NOT because it has Mel Gibson. ---
**Author:** ![squeegee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/squeegee/32/14537_2.png) [@squeegee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/squeegee)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2011, 1:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mel-gibson-movie-the-beaver/582599/26 "2011-05-23T01:45:55Z")
> [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](#): > > Jodie Foster […](she’s actually more of a turn off for me than Mel Gibson). I’m curious – does Foster carry baggage you disapprove of, or do you find her work unappealing for other reasons? Honest question – I don’t follow her, and recall her in _Silence of the Lambs_ and _Taxi Driver_ and not much else. ---
**Author:** ![jharvey963](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/54ee81/32.png) [@jharvey963](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jharvey963)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2011, 6:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mel-gibson-movie-the-beaver/582599/27 "2011-05-23T18:32:46Z")
I saw The Beaver last night and was quite surprised by how much I liked the movie. The beginning has some very funny laugh-out-loud moments, and it gets more serious toward the end. I found the performances very good. I know it probably won’t happen, but I could see (in other circumstances) Mel Gibson getting a best actor nomination for his portrayal. As said previously, the movie is a lot more complex than the preview portrays. It is funny, touching, dark, sweet, and very involving. I recommend it. J. p.s., just as a point of comparison (since it’s getting mentioned a lot in this thread), I loved Lars and the Real Girl. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2011, 7:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mel-gibson-movie-the-beaver/582599/28 "2011-05-23T19:29:37Z")
I was inclined not to see it due to what seemed (at first glance) a ridiculous premise, but maybe I will after all. I thought Mel was pretty damn good in the tragic mystery/revenge drama _Edge of Darkness_, which I recently saw. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mel-gibson-movie-the-beaver/582599.md?page=1)