When one of the biggest laughs in your movie revolves around the supposed hilarity of Zac Efron fondling a dead man’s scrotum, it’s probably a good move to check your outrage over its critical reception.
If you’ve somehow been able to remain ignorant to its relentless marketing campaign (seriously, how?), “Baywatch” hits theaters Friday and critics are already savaging the movie with a 19 percent score on Rotten Tomatoes. Some have compared watching the reboot to sitting in a wet bathing suit for a prolonged period, while others have conceded it’s stupidly entertaining at best.
The movie’s star, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, however, is on a one man social media mission to convince the world that “Baywatch” isn’t as bad as everyone’s saying it is. Cue the actor launching into an almost Trumpian tweetstorm on Thursday about how out of touch the media is with what the the public wants.
He kicked it off by reminding us all of the “extremely high scores” from fans.
Officially opening TODAY is our lil' rated R beach movie #Baywatch! Extremely high scores from the fans which is always the best part! 🤙🏾 — Dwayne Johnson (@TheRock) May 25, 2017
Then he posted a story about the critics score on Rotten Tomatoes rising from its 13 percent to a slightly less embarrassing 18 percent.
“Yay positive upticks,” he tweeted. “Fans LOVE the movie. Critics HATE it. What a glaring disconnect. People just want to laugh & have fun.”
Fans LOVE the movie. Critics HATE it. What a glaring disconnect. People just want to laugh & have fun. #Baywatch🤙🏾 https://t.co/GrPgdevRuz?ncid=edlinkushpmg00000313 — Dwayne Johnson (@TheRock) May 25, 2017
Next he spent time praising some fans and critics who actually liked the movie with some choice retweets and knocks at those who laughed in the theater, but trash the film publicly.
Bold move from this critic who watched #Baywatch w/ other critics who laughed their ass off, but then they decide to trash it publicly. https://t.co/k8x6XFBzPd?ncid=edlinkushpmg00000313 — Dwayne Johnson (@TheRock) May 25, 2017
People peeing themselves from laughing has been reported in theaters across the country. It's better than the alternative. #Baywatchhttps://t.co/ivo8xzF5i5?ncid=edlinkushpmg00000313 — Dwayne Johnson (@TheRock) May 25, 2017
Thx my man and glad you loved the movie. It's the consensus of the people. "Crushing it" is my jam 🦍 #Baywatchhttps://t.co/A5vxA9XBjw?ncid=edlinkushpmg00000313 — Dwayne Johnson (@TheRock) May 26, 2017
And to finish off, Johnson took one more jab at the “Baywatch” naysayers, reminding everyone once again of just how differently the fans and the media feel about the movie.
“Oh boy, critics had their venom & knives ready,” he wrote. “Fans LOVE the movie. Huge positive scores. Big disconnect w/ critics & people.”
Oh boy, critics had their venom & knives ready . Fans LOVE the movie. Huge positive scores. Big disconnect w/ critics & people. #Baywatchhttps://t.co/K0AQPf6F0S?ncid=edlinkushpmg00000313 — Dwayne Johnson (@TheRock) May 26, 2017
Considering the way things are headed, “Baywatch” will likely get a sequel and Johnson will make the White House home within the decade, so maybe we should submit and take a bite of what The Rock is cooking.
This article originally appeared on HuffPost.
KicksButtson on May 26th, 2017 at 19:23 UTC »
I thought it was supposed to be a bad movie? The trailer made it seem intentionally bad and totally aware of itself.
AMA_requester on May 26th, 2017 at 17:43 UTC »
The film is a very recent release and he's likely still on the promotion cycle. Of course he's going to brush off negative words about the film.
JavierLoustaunau on May 26th, 2017 at 17:24 UTC »
That bodes ill for his presidency.