| Marci X | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Richard Benjamin |
| Written by | Paul Rudnick |
| Produced by | Scott Rudin |
| Starring | |
| Cinematography | Robbie Greenberg |
| Edited by | Jacqueline Cambas |
| Music by | Mervyn Warren |
Production company | |
| Distributed by | Paramount Pictures |
Release date |
|
Running time | 94 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $20 million[1] |
| Box office | $1.7 million[1] |
Marci X is a 2003 Americanromantic comedy film directed byRichard Benjamin, written byPaul Rudnick, and starringLisa Kudrow asJewish-American Princess Marci Feld, who has to take control of ahip-hop record label, as well as the controversial rapper Dr. S, played byDamon Wayans. The film was released on August 22, 2003, byParamount Pictures. It received negative reviews and was a box office flop, grossing $1.7 million worldwide against a $20 million budget.
Marci Feld, a spoiled Jewish-American princess, is forced to take control of her father Ben's hardcore rap label Felony Assault when he suffers a stress-induced heart attack due to the controversy surrounding the label's release of "Shoot Ya' Teacha" by Dr. S. To rescue her father's plummeting stock, Marci attempts to tone down the rapper's bad-boy image. Over time, the unlikely pair falls in love just as conservative senator Mary Ellen Spinkle vows to banish Dr. S and his offensive lyrics from the airwaves forever.
In September 2000, thePaul Rudnick scriptedMarci X, a fish-out-of-water comedy following aJewish American Princess who is forced to take control of a hard-core hip-hop record label and address the controversy of one of its label's artists, was one of theScott Rudin Productions produced films fast-tracked into production in order to have releasable product on hand in the event of possible strikes by the writers and actors guilds.[2][3] The following month it was announcedLisa Kudrow was in talks to star in the film.[3]
Chris Rock was offered the role of Dr. S, but turned it down as he did not like the script.[4]
Marci X earned $872,950 in its opening weekend, ranking #18 in the North American box office from 1,200 venues.[5] The film grossed $1,648,818 at the North American box office, and $26,888 overseas for a worldwide total of $1,675,706. Based on a $20 million budget, the film was abox office bomb.[1]
On thereview aggregator websiteRotten Tomatoes, 8% of 61 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 3.4/10. The website's consensus reads: "The material is too thin for feature-length, and the jokes are socially outdated and clueless."[6]Metacritic, which uses aweighted average, assigned the film a score of 20 out of 100, based on 17 critics, indicating "generally unfavorable" reviews.[7]
Wesley Morris ofThe Boston Globe felt the film had "no idea what to make of black people or hip-hop culture", noting how Rudnick's script is filled with "half-hearted structuring" and is "exasperating in its enervated, politically toothless jabs." He concluded thatMarci X is "just clueless and sad, seemingly having missed the point that hip-hop is no longer a novelty to be slapped on the cheek with a white glove."[8]Nathan Rabin ofThe A.V. Club also criticized Rudnick's scripting of the film for being "a series of skit ideas strung together", and felt that Wayans was "woefully miscast as a charismatic thug." He concluded by calling it "the year's most misguided culture-clash comedy."[9]The Austin Chronicle's Marjorie Baumgarten felt the premise was filled with "possibilities for good culture-clash humor à laRock 'n' Roll High School," but played everything straightforward, saying that it "exudes the familiar stench of stale comedy routinely tossed into theatres by the studios in the dog days of August when no one's really looking anyway."[10] Ed Gonzalez fromSlant Magazine wrote that: "Marci X is a sketch comedy that misses more than it hits. And not unlikeDanny DeVito'sDeath to Smoochy, the worst thing that can be said about it is that it's a good decade too late."[11]Mick LaSalle of theSan Francisco Chronicle called it "a dishonest satire that manages to be (disingenuously) contemptuous of white people and (unintentionally) condescending toward black people, without ever being funny."[12]
The film received some positive reviews.Armond White praised the film's satire of its subject matter, saying it "sarcastically tackles hip hop sanctimony at a time in which it should be ripe for debunking." He also gave note of the performances of Wayans and Kudrow, saying that "Both these experienced comic performers understand that comedy respects no sacred cows. They are merciless in their satirical routines out of respect for the truth of human behavior."[13]Jonathan Rosenbaum from theChicago Reader said, "It's no masterpiece, but I found it consistently good-hearted and sometimes hilarious, and the sparse crowd I saw it with was laughing as much as I was, especially at the outrageous rap numbers."[14]Entertainment Weekly'sLisa Schwarzbaum commended the movie for being a "lighter-than-Bulworth commentary on class, politics, and art" despite feeling "disconnected from its own objects of ridicule", calling it "a talent-stuffed assemblage of barbs and giddy musical numbers that shouldn't be written off as a feature flop — but savored instead for the cult-ready collection of late-night satirical skits and misses it is."[15]
