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It’s not easy being ahead of your time. Just ask Will Forte a.k.a. MacGruber. Speaking to The Hollywood Reporter at the premiere for Coyote vs. Acme, the star got to take a well-earned W when the film’s reviews came up. “It’s so validating. I’ve been a part of a lot of projects that haven’t gotten great reviews that I have loved — MacGruber. I love it. People may hate it, but I love it, I’m so proud of it,” he said. Somehow Coyote vs. Acme had a 101 percent rating on Rotten Tomatoes, something Warner Bros. must feel pretty chumplike about. Forte said he felt gaslit when the movie got canceled for a tax write-down, but now everyone is seeing what he saw in the project. “I always thought this movie was super special, and the support from the community has meant so much,” he said. “It’s made me feel sane. I felt gaslit for a while, and their support, now the positive reviews coming out, just make it feel like ‘You’re not crazy.’” Read a roundup of the not-crazy-making reviews for Coyote vs. Acme below.
“Coyote vs. Acme is smart enough to realize both our world and that of the Looney Tunes aren’t kind to underdogs and sometimes the good guys don’t win. As one character notes, “These companies think they can do whatever they want and get away with it — because they do.” The film can get didactic, but that impulse is balanced by an unexpected turn in the relationship between Wile E. Coyote and the Road Runner. What Coyote sees as a rivalry, the Road Runner considers more a friendship, which produces great impact when he finally appears in one of the many court scenes. Such sweetness, which seeps into Kevin’s relationship with his belaboured client as well, almost left me teary-eyed.” — Angelica Jade Bastién, Vulture
“A preschooler might find Coyote vs. Acme to be boring or almost scary at parts, but for elementary-age kids, it should be just right. My husband and I liked it too, and older kids should enjoy it as well. It hits the exact sweet spot as a family movie to see together or to throw on for a night on the couch.” —Marah Eakin, Vulture
“The film is good. Clever and snappy, fresh and silly, a winning combination of classic Looney Tunes gags and contemporary concerns (the press notes mention many influences including, no joke, The Insider). That Warner Bros. didn’t believe in this is downright depressing, and that it didn’t occur to the book-cooking brass that its very plotline would inevitably draw all kinds of awkward comparisons is even worse. Fortunately, Green’s film exists — and was not thrown into a little black hole by a bunch of accountants, never to be seen again — and can surely help cure any of the pain its backstory still inflicts on movie fans and Tunes geeks.” —Kate Erbland, IndieWire
“Filled with so many in-jokes and Looney Tunes references that even hard-core fans will be hard-pressed to keep up, Coyote vs. Acme proves consistently funny in its intermingling of human and classic cartoon characters. Cena leans into his over-the-top character with his trademark gusto, especially in the scene in which he threateningly interrogates a terrified Tweety Bird. Seemingly dozens of other Looney Tunes characters make brief appearances, most of them hilariously voiced by the company’s veteran performer Eric Bauza.” —Frank Scheck, The Hollywood Reporter
“What in the world was Warner Bros thinking?” —Pete Hammond, Deadline
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