Leofwine_draca
CONFESSIONS OF AN ACTION STAR is one of those tiresome 'mockumentaries' that seems to think it's a lot funnier than it actually is. It's about a cheesy B-movie action hero and stripper attempting to make a comeback. The running time is made up of mock interviews with friends, fans, and colleagues and there are fake movie clips and the like. The comedy is lowbrow and scattershot but somehow they've managed to get cameos from certain celebrities like Kelly Hu and Ernie Hudson. A MATRIX spoof is probably the low point here.
The_Phantom_Projectionist
I don't normally go for martial arts comedies, and usually the words "action mockumentary" fill me with dread, but I nevertheless took a chance with this one and was pleasantly surprised. CONFESSIONS OF AN ACTION STAR appears to be a passion project for stunt expert David Leitch that presents a humorous take on action filmmaking and the celebrity action hero. It's not nearly perfect, falling on its creative butt more than once, but it's still much better than it has any right to be.The story: Frank Sledge - a Chippendale's dancer who became a Hollywood action star - attempts to recreate himself after hitting rock bottom, in faux documentary form.The Frank Sledge character is largely a caricature of Jean-Claude Van Damme, Steven Seagal, and - to a lesser extent - Sylvester Stallone. The experienced action film-goer can entertain himself by simply matching the quirks and features of the character to the aforementioned figures: he creates a stage name because his real one is too long, beats up stuntmen during fight scenes, has a ponytail, does drugs and abuses steroids, eats a lot, etc. Scenes and posters of fictional movies blatantly spoof existing titles such as ABOVE THE LAW and RAMBO. While I get a kick out of how thoroughly these gags are carried, they present two potential audience detractions to viewers not naturally inclined to like the movie: fans who idolize Van Damme and/or Seagal may not find the spoofs humorous, and viewers who watch the movie to see some solid potshots may be disappointed that it's not nearly as mean as it could be.Not all of the humor is successful, even for me. The first half of the film is definitely funnier than the second, and a handful of individual jokes - including one about Angelina Jolie's children - fall flat. Speaking of Jolie, the list of celebrity cameo appearances is sort of astounding: Carrie-Ann Moss, Ernie Hudson, Eric Roberts, Sean Young, Hugo Weaving, and Ben Stiller are on the incomplete list. Names better known to martial arts devotees include Kelly Hu, Daniel Bernhardt, Matt McColm, Gerald Okamura, Philip Tan, Al Leong... Cameos on their own aren't funny, of course, but about half of the time they're played to decent effect, like Moss' comments on being a serious actress. Steven Roy plays Brett Radner in some scenes revealing that Frank Sledge was originally supposed to star in RUSH HOUR.Despite technically qualifying as an action-comedy, none of the action is what you would call satisfying, though the MATRIX-inspired dance scene is cooler than you might expect. The "documentary" effect is pretty heavy-handed and not played even slightly believably, but in the end this doesn't hurt the movie. Were some of the humor played just a bit more subtle, and had the movie more clearly played either a spoof or an original story, this one's rating would have another star attached to it. Nevertheless, these are a pretty enthusiastic three stars, meaning that the film is definitely worth checking out on television or picking up for $3 from a bargain bin.
Nick Damian
It's been a very long time since I've seen a real comedy...This is written great...and the thing is funny...in such a pathetic way.I love all the references to movies - most of all the Flashdance scene.Yes, sad but true - that so much of Hollywood is like this and this movie just pays tribute to the real deal - without all the glamour.It's great to see Sam McMurray doing some rude and raunchy comments and the posters of the movies were done really well. They looked really cool.All the little things were saw to here - and it made a good production great.
movieman_kev
This mockumentary chronicles the rise, fall, and subsequent rise again of Frank Sledge (David Leitch) Poking fun at action clichés and films such as the ones in the films of Steven Seagal & '80's era Sylvester Stallone, (with a musical-styled Matrix riff near the end) this film is a longer, feature-length version of "Sledge" (a 30 minute short which is also available on the DVD of this film) In ways the short film is a bit better than the movie, as the short is more streamlined where as this seems padded a bit. There are some smiles to be had (mind you I said smiles and not belly laughs for a reason), but it just feels too long and the plot just can't support the length of the film, as such I can't really recommend this film, but I didn't really loathe it either. After a while I found myself playing 'spot the celebrity cameo' more then paying real attention to the plot though.My Grade: C- DVD Extras: Commentary by Director Brad Martin & writer/actor David Leitch; Short film: 'Sledge'; a Making-of Sledge; production slide show; theatrical trailer for this film; and Trailers for "Suspense" & "the Orange Thief"
