"War Dogs" stars Jonah Hill and Miles Teller and director Todd Phillips (of the "Hangover" trilogy) can bro up the comedy all they want, but in the end, it's still a message movie, one that's trying to get viewers to drink wheat-grass juice after plying them with beer. Given a choice between the lowbrow but high-minded antics of "War Dogs" and the simple, raunchy hot dog comedy of "Sausage Party" (also co-starring Hill), which do you think the target audience for "War Dogs" would choose?
2. Todd Phillips Is No Adam McKay.
Yes, McKay went from directing goofy Will Ferrell comedies to making "The Big Short," a semi-serious political satire that was a decent-sized hit and earned Oscar nominations -- winning for Best Adapted Screenplay. Then again, his movie was released in December, when it was more likely to be taken seriously, and it had more star power (Brad Pitt, Christian Bale, Steve Carell, Ryan Gosling).
Also, his movies had long had a satirical undercurrent, from "Anchorman" (sexism is idiotic) to "Talladega Nights" (xenophobia and homophobia are idiotic) to "The Other Guys" (the real crooks are on Wall Street), while the underlying message of Phillips's movies, from "Old School" to the "Hangover" series, has always been Let Bros Be Bros. So he may not have been the best-poised director to pivot to more politically engaged fare.
Why was Paramount's guess so high? Maybe the studio expected its marketing efforts to Christian audiences would pay off bigger. (Jesus is just a supporting character in "Ben-Hur," but he has a more prominent role in Bekmambetov's film than in all previous versions.) Or maybe because "Ben-Hur" cost $100 million to make; any prediction lower than $20 million would be an admission that the studio expected the film to flop, and no studio wants to admit that.
Again, the movie might have done better with another release date, instead of one that had "Ben-Hur" competing for action fans against the still-strong "Jason Bourne," "Star Trek Beyond," and the dreaded "Suicide Squad."
Or maybe, at this late summer date, viewers simply have action blockbuster fatigue. September, and its promise of grown-up dramas, can't come soon enough.
