Ryan Reynolds' Worst-Rated Movie Is Still Worth Watching
Ryan Reynolds wasn't quite a decade into his career when he starred in one of his worst movies. On IMDb, "Coming Soon" is at the very bottom of the list for Reynolds, and anyone who's seen it probably won't have a hard time explaining why that is. "Coming Soon" is something of a coming-of-age story. It follows a trio of friends, Stream Hodsell (Bonnie Root), Jenny Simon (Gaby Hoffman), and Nell Kellner (Tricia Vessey), who have all recently lost their virginity, only to discover that sex doesn't seem to be as great as they've heard. After some disappointing encounters, the three of them decide to get out there and find someone who can give them their first orgasm.
The movie's as goofy and gross as any '90s sex comedy, but it really is trying to rise above the tropes that fuel it. "Coming Soon" pulls together a bunch of the right elements for a good enough movie, but unfortunately they just don't mesh as well enough to turn the finished product into an enjoyable experience. But thanks to a strong cast, some moments of great writing, and just enough Reynolds to keep his biggest fans engaged, there's more than a few reasons to give this 90-minute movie a watch.
The movie came at a turning point in Reynolds' career
Today Ryan Reynolds is one of the most bankable stars in Hollywood, but that wasn't always the case. Reynolds' career kicked off in 1991 with the TV series "Fifteen," and though he was in the show for two seasons, it didn't immediately skyrocket Reynolds to success. He spent another few years picking up small roles in shows and TV movies, but nothing really took off. His career was lagging, and at one point Reynolds even considered leaving acting altogether. A friend convinced Reynolds to move from Vancouver to Los Angeles and give acting one more shot, and the late '90s proved to be a major turning point.
"Coming Soon," unsurprisingly, was not the movie that made Reynolds a Hollywood star, but it did help put him on the right track. By 1999, he wasn't a household name by any means, but Reynolds had developed a sustainable career. "Coming Soon" not only kept him employed and able to continue working, but also exposed his acting chops to more audiences. Reynolds was asked by E! TV at the time what it took to make it as an actor, and he said, "It's probably a combination of a lot of things. Focus, a little bit of luck, and perseverance because it can take a long time." He had no idea that just around the corner movies like "National Lampoon's Van Wilder" and "Blade: Trinity" would take his career to a new level.
It's an early role for Gaby Hoffmann
Ryan Reynolds isn't the only member of the "Coming Soon" cast who went on to become a major actor. In the movie, Gaby Hoffman plays Jenny Simon, one of the trio of women who lead the story. Like the others, Jenny is trying to find out who she is while experimenting with her sexuality and ending up in some raunchy situations. When Hoffman joined the film, she wasn't nearly as well-known as she is today, but she'd already been in the business for a decade. Her career began with a small role in 1989's "Field of Dreams," after which she landed in some other notable movies like "Sleepless in Seattle" and "Freaky Friday" before becoming a lead in "Coming Soon."
In the years following "Coming Soon," Hoffman made occasional guest appearances on TV shows while also turning up in films like "Nate and Margaret" and "Veronica Mars." Her most recent work, though, has been more notable. Hoffman had a recurring role as Caroline Sackler on the HBO series "Girls." She also played Ali, one of the members of the Pfefferman family, on Amazon Prime's celebrated series "Transparent." As it is for Reynolds, "Coming Soon" is one of Hoffman's lowest-rated films, but that hasn't stopped her from giving great performances in a wide range of other projects.
It's one of Bonnie Root's first films
It turns out that "Coming Soon," despite being lambasted by critics and audiences, gave a real boost to a handful of actors who went on to have lengthy careers. Bonnie Root, who plays lead character Stream Hodsell, is one of them. As her name might imply, Stream's parents were once quite the hippies, though in the movie she's dealing with the fact that both of them are fairly checked out, particularly her father, who's off galavanting around town with his much younger girlfriend. Root manages to capture Stream's conflicted state of mind and bring some real energy to her character.
In 1999 Root was fairly new to acting. She'd gotten her first role as a guest star on "Under Suspicion" in 1994, and her role in "Coming Soon" was only the eighth of her entire career. Since then, Root has gone on to become a successful character actor, and she's shown up in at least one of your favorite TV shows. She's primarily been in crime series like "Dragnet," "CSI," and "Bones," but she's also made time for more fantastical genre shows like "Charmed." "Coming Soon" offers an interesting view into the early years of her career and gives us a peek at why she's been able to continue working fairly steadily ever since.
Ashton Kutcher started his movie career here
When "Coming Soon" first came out, hardly anyone knew who Ashton Kutcher was. At the time, the movie was only his second official acting credit. His first came just the year before, when he joined the cast of "That 70s Show," and though the first season was a success, no one knew just how popular that series would later become. Kutcher was branching out by taking on a feature film, though he had only a small role in the movie as a lackluster stop along the way in the main trio's quest to achieve their first orgasms.
"Coming Soon" didn't make for an auspicious start to a movie career, but in the decades since "Coming Soon," Kutcher has appeared in plenty of different films — although he has a tendency to end up in comedies that don't make much of an impact. Luckily for Kutcher, "Coming Soon" didn't put a damper on his early momentum. The very next year he starred in three different movies: "Down to You," "Reindeer Games," and the somewhat iconic "Dude, Where's My Car?" "Coming Soon" might not have been as popular as Kutcher probably would have liked, but he went on to have quite the career anyway.
Kate Robin helped write it
Users on IMDb have given "Coming Soon" a rating of just 4.5 out of 10 stars. A 45% isn't a passing grade in any system, but the fact that "Coming Soon" has been so negatively received is genuinely surprising given that there's a ton of talent involved in the movie both in front of and behind the camera.
For example, Kate Robin is one of the movie's co-writers, and although "Coming Soon" is her first credited screenplay, she has gone on to build a pretty impressive resume. Robin has primarily focused on TV writing and producing, and she has credits on great series like "The Affair," "Dead to Me," and "One Mississippi." Far and away Robin's most successful work, however, was on "Six Feet Under." She worked as a writer and producer on the dark HBO comedy, and she earned Emmy nominations in 2003 and 2005 for her contributions to that now-classic series.
Coming Soon was Colette Burson's first feature film
Kate Robin isn't the only person who had a big role in shaping the story of "Coming Soon." She co-wrote the film with Colette Burson, who was also making her screenwriting debut with the project. Burson wore multiple hats on "Coming Soon": she directed the movie as well, and she had a brief cameo appearance as a nun.
Since 1999, Burson has had a steady career, though she hasn't had anything as big as "Six Feet Under" on her resume. Her very next writing credit came in 2001, when director Dennis Gansel decided to remake "Coming Soon" in German under the name "Girls on Top." On IMDb the remake has a higher rating than the original, which just goes to show that there was some strength in the idea behind Robin's and Burson's film, even if the execution left something to be desired.
Burson's next directorial credit was on the 2004 short film "Little Black Boot," which garnered some recognition, particularly a win for Best Short Film at the Philadelphia International Gay and Lesbian Film Festival. Some years later Burson created her own HBO series, "Hung," which ran for three seasons and was nominated for an Emmy. Since then she's written and directed the 2017 film "Permanent," and continues to work as a writer and producer.
Coming Soon will scratch your '90s nostalgia itch
Nostalgia tends to come in waves. Not too far back, our collective longing for the '80s was fueling the popularity of shows like "Stranger Things" and a resurgence of love for "Dungeons and Dragons." For a while now the '80s craze has been dying down, and movies like "Captain Marvel" have been playing on our memories of the '90s.
Debuting in 1999, "Coming Soon" came in right at the end of the decade, but watching it is still going to take you right back to the heart of the '90s. Some staples like Blockbuster Video might be missing, but that really comes down to the movie's setting. "Coming Soon" takes place in Manhattan, so you're going to get less "Mallrats" and more of a "Friends" vibe. Everything from the dialogue to the fashion on display is pure '90s, so if you've been dreaming of going back to a time where payphones were on every corner and the Internet made a lot more noise, while somehow managing to be significantly less intrusive, then "Coming Soon" is going to scratch that itch.
Reynolds' fans will appreciate his performance
Ryan Reynolds definitely has some range as an actor, and even though he's always favored comedies, that hasn't stopped him from tackling intense dramas like 2010's "Buried." In recent years, however, Reynolds has definitely been leaning toward a specific type of character. In "Deadpool" he really embodied the merc with a mouth, and ever since then, he seems to be opting for roles where he plays a quick-witted and smart-mouthed main character.
The trend became really obvious after "Deadpool," but Reynolds was actually snagging those types of roles well before he put on the iconic red suit. In 2004 he basically played a Wade Wilson prototype in "Blade: Trinity." Fans who have been following Reynolds thanks to his forays into the comic book world might actually find something in "Coming Soon" that interests them.
Reynolds plays a garage rocker named Henry Lipschitz, and in his performance, it's easy to see him playing with the approach that's now made him a sensation. Henry is constantly throwing out jokes, and though he's confident bordering on cocky, he's also charming and easy to like. Henry is by no means a hero in the story, but Reynolds is obviously experimenting with the formula that he now uses to play heroes all the time.
At least Coming Soon is an original story
Getting a massively popular role as an actor is a bit of a mixed blessing. Obviously actors love being appreciated for their work, but after being pushed into the mainstream, some find themselves trapped playing similar roles over and over again. In the past decade, Ryan Reynolds has had some spectacular successes, but that means he's locked into certain obligations moving forward.
For the foreseeable future, a large chunk of Reynolds' schedule is going to be taken up by sequels. He's part of multiple successful franchises like "Deadpool" and "Detective Pikachu," and a number of his other projects, including movies like "Free Guy," are all but certain to get a sequel. That's great news for people who love those movies, but fans of Reynolds who like seeing him in original stories are going to be a bit disappointed.
Luckily, it's always possible to look backward, and odds are good that most people missed "Coming Soon" when it first came out. The movie definitely plays into some tropes that you've seen a million times before, but by and large it manages to tell an original story populated with some really entertaining characters. You've probably seen Reynolds in plenty of other comedies, but if you're sick of seeing him in big action blockbusters, then "Coming Soon" makes for a great change of pace.
The movie actually has something to say
"Coming Soon" falls short in plenty of different areas. The jokes don't all land, and the story doesn't really go anywhere. The film's trailer called it a "slice of 'American Pie' for girls," and at its worst, that's all the movie amounts to. It's a riff on things that we've seen in countless other movies, but with a different target audience in mind.
One of the movie's redeeming features is that it's actually trying to say something worthwhile. The message doesn't come across particularly well, but deep down "Coming Soon" is more than a rehash of "American Pie" and other raunchy comedies. It's not just pandering to a specific demographic; the movie is genuinely interested in the perspective of women in a way that few films, even today, are. Though it's filled by moments that are corny or plain unfunny, "Coming Soon" does have something to say about the importance of female pleasure, and even in its silliest moments, its commentary on sex has more substance than dozens of other films.
Is there a worse Ryan Reynolds movie?
Anyone who's been in the acting business as long as Ryan Reynolds is bound to have starred in some less than stellar movies. According to users on IMDb, "Coming Soon" is Reynolds' worst film by a good margin, but it's worth noting that other sites rank his movies differently. According to other outlets, there might be even lower lows in Reynolds' career.
Rotten Tomatoes says that "R.I.P.D." is actually Reynolds' worst movie. With an approval rating of just 12%, critics there seem to agree that "R.I.P.D." is one of the worst movies of the 2010s. Reynolds plays a cop named Nick who is killed on the job and finds himself pulled into an organization of ghosts that track down "Deados" who have escaped the afterlife and are hiding among the living. Nick and his new partner Roicephus "Roy" Pulsipher (Jeff Bridges) get to work together, while solving Nick's own murder along the way.
"R.I.P.D." bears more than a passing resemblance to "Men in Black," but it's missing basically everything that made that movie a success. You could definitely make a case for it being worse than "Coming Soon," but at the end of the day it comes down to a matter of taste. Plenty of audiences might find themselves more entertained by "R.I.P.D." than "Coming Soon," but we'll leave the final judgment up to you.