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We call it Get the Gibson

How far has Mel Gibson’s career fallen? Straight-to-VOD status, it appears. During my last full night in Doha, Qatar, I went — what else? — to a movie. And the only one that either I hadn’t seen or that looked interesting was something called “How I Spent My Summer Vacation,” starring Mel Gibson.

Hmmm, I thought, what is this? Turns out it’s a sequel, of sorts, to Gibson’s 1999 film “Payback” (which was a remake of the 1967 film “Point Blank” that starred Lee Marvin). It stars Gibson as a career criminal who, caught between a hamburger and a taco, opts for the taco — that’s what’s called a metaphor — and ends up in a Mexican prison. There he tries to survive, save a little boy, romance the boy’s mother, get some vengeance and all the money that he’d stolen that got him into trouble in the first place.

Is it a good film? Not particularly. But I’ve seen far worse. And, yes, Gibson has lost a step or three. But not as much as you’d think, considering the crazy behavior he’s displayed over the past couple of years. Anyway, while looking the film up, I noticed that for U.S. release the producers have changed the film’s title to “Get the Gringo” and that it’s scheduled for a May release as video on demand.

Seems like the Road Warrior has finally hit the Hollywood wall. Or, if you can believe him, he’s anticipating the imminent market evolution. And then, maybe both are true.

* This story was originally published as a post from the blog "Spokane 7." Read all stories from this blog