8 Million Ways to Die Reviews

Considering the major talents involved here, one would expect to find something more than a run-of-the-mill crime thriller. In a sense one does, for 8 MILLION WAYS TO DIE is a paralyzingly inept film. Bridges is a Los Angeles detective with a severe drinking problem that causes him to lose his job, wife, and child. He tries to clean up his life by attending Alcoholics Anonymous meetings. At the invitation of a woman in his AA group, Bridges goes to a party held at the home of one of his ex-vice busts, Brooks. There he meets Paul and Arquette. Also at the party is a weasel-like drug dealer, Garcia. When Paul is murdered, Bridges becomes obsessed with finding the girl's killer. This totally incompetent $18 million mess has the dubious honor of being one of the three big-budget turkeys that destroyed Producers Sales Organization, a successful foreign sales company (the others were CLAN OF THE CAVE BEAR and 9 1/2 WEEKS). Bridges has managed to salvage many a film in the past, but the script by Stone and Henry, coupled with Ashby's direction, was his undoing. None of the characters demonstrates a shred of motivation, development, or purpose.