Mel Gibson is like the bad guy in a horror movie; every time we think he’s gone for good, he pops back up to cause more harm to those around him. His latest resurrection comes via Netflix, where a largely-forgotten movie called On The Line from 2022 is currently in the number 2 spot for most-viewed films.
If “cancel culture” were real, this man would be a thing of the past. Many of us remember the good old days of Mel Gibson’s career, before we knew that he’s a sexist, racist, homophobic, and antisemitic person. And in case you want to argue that he’s not any of those things, just stop. We know he’s all of those things, because he’s shown us over and over since the early 1980s.
A quick recap, in case you forgot
While rising to fame in movies like Mad Max, and Lethal Weapon, and Braveheart, Gibson’s rap sheet dates back to a drunk driving arrest in 1983. Throughout the 1990s he’s on record making sexist and homophobic remarks, especially in a long-ranging interview with Playboy in 1995. The Huffington Post acquired an archived copy of the interview transcript, wherein Gibson drops such gems as, “I’ll get kicked around for saying it, but men and women are just different. They’re not equal,” and calls a former female business partner a “c***t.”
In the same interview, he’s asked if he wants to apologize to the LGBTQ+ community for previous homophobic remarks he’s made (very much on record). His response was: “I’m not apologizing to anyone. I’ll apologize when hell freezes over. They can f*** off.”
Charming! Yet it gets worse, and interviews like those were just the beginning of what should have been his downfall. In 2010, Winona Ryder told GQ that Gibson told her antisemitic and homophobic jokes at a party in the ’90s. The 2000s brought a slew of new arrests, including that infamous 2006 arrest in Malibu when he threatened the arresting police officer and made still more antisemitic comments. Then there’s the abuse he inflicted on his ex-girlfriend, Oksana Grigorieva, in 2011, for which he pleaded “no contest” and admitted to hitting her while under oath.
He’s not trying to hide his ugliness, and he’s not apologizing either
So many celebrities have been “canceled” for much less than any of Gibson’s offenses, so it’s incredibly revealing that this actor still gets work. In 2017, he even garnered an Academy Award nomination for Best Direction for Hacksaw Ridge. But there are some cracks forming in his foundation around this time. Critics largely blamed him for the failure of the John Wick franchise entry “The Continental,” and while he, unfortunately, remains booked and busy, he’s not landing very many leading roles in prominent movies these days.
Until Netflix added On The Line, that is
On The Line is a 2022 thriller written, produced, and directed by Romuald Boulanger. The film never hit U.S. theaters (its theatrical release was limited to Portugal and the United Arab Emirates, bringing in barely $100,000 at the global box office) and it seemed poised for obscurity before Netflix purchased the rights.
Now, the movie enjoying what we in media like to call “the Netflix effect,” a term for one streamer licensing another’s material and giving it new life. Quite simply, Netflix shined a spotlight on a previously-unseen Mel Gibson movie, and now people are watching it just because it’s new, it features a “big star” whose name they recognize, and it’s on that top 10 list.
Maybe people don’t know about the special brand of toxic masculinity that masks Gibson’s hateful heart, or maybe they know and just don’t care. Either way I, for one, will be sitting this one out.
Also, the plot of On The Line looks objectively awful
In On the Line, Gibson plays Elvis Cooney, a Los Angeles shock jock who loves cheating on his spouse and pulling mean pranks on his coworkers. (Typecasting!) One day at work, a man calls into the radio show and says he’s holding Cooney’s wife and daughter hostage. He has demands, of course, and soon Cooney is racing through the office building trying to track down the criminal. I won’t spoil the ending for you out of principle, but I have read the spoilers myself and I can say that the ending sounds immensely stupid and annoying. Hard pass.
Whether it’s the Netflix effect or merely collective amnesia, On The Line deserved to stay unreleased. Hollywood, if you’re listening, please stop putting Mel Gibson in movies. There are so many other fantastic actors who can step into those roles! Please stop rewarding awful humans.
(featured image: Saban Films)
