Movie Review: I Got Paid to Suffer the New Mel Gibson Movie, 'On the Line'

On the Line (2022)

Directed by Romuald Boulanger

Written by Romuald Boulanger

Starring Mel Gibson, William Mosely, Alia Seror O'Neil

Release November 5th, 2022

Published November 1st, 2022

Separating the art from the artist is a concept that has been in vogue in the past several years. The question being address and opined upon is: How do we treat the art created by people accused of or guilty of doing awful things. Whether it is being accused of abuse or being convicted of a crime, what do we do with the art of terrible people. J.K Rowling is a good example. The Harry Potter creator has used social media to attack trans people and it has caused a reckoning for Potter fans who want to keep enjoying the Potter books but don't want to support Rowling's hate toward the trans community.

Another example of this concept is actor Mel Gibson. More than a decade ago the actor known for the Lethal Weapon franchise and as the director of Braveheart and The Passion of the Christ, was caught on tape verbally abusing and threatening his then girlfriend. He was also captured by Police while drunk and is accused of having made horrific anti-Semitic remarks and making misogynistic remarks toward a female Police Officer helping to place him under arrest. How can we consume the art of Mel Gibson ethically? We can't. Simply put, if you choose to pay to see a Mel Gibson movie, you are putting money in his pocket and tacitly telling him that you excuse his behavior, since he's never apologized for his awful behavior.

This lengthy intro brings us to Gibson's latest movie, a low rent thriller called On the Line. The film stars Gibson as a man named Elvis, a Los Angeles radio host with a proclivity for saying things you can't say on the radio. Elvis 'tells it like it is,' to borrow a cliché, and his fans love him for it. Elvis's life and career is turned upside down when he's confronted by a caller to his radio show. This caller claims to have broken into Elvis' home and taken Elvis' wife and daughter as hostages.

The unknown caller claims that Elvis is responsible for the death of a former employee of the radio station. The woman killed herself after having spent several months being berated on the air and off by Elvis as part of his edgy persona and his private A**holery. The caller wants Elvis to make things right by leaping to his death from the top of the high rise where the radio station is located. Naturally, not all is as it seems. The call is not coming from Elvis' home, it's coming from inside the radio station. Sinister stuff eh?

I didn't forget to say spoiler alert, I just don't want you to bother seeing this movie so I told you want happened. I haven't mentioned the ending but you can probably figure it out just from my description. On the Line is not exactly trying to redefine the thriller genre. The direction and action of On the Line is dull and derivative as is Gibson's tough guy act. It borders on comic when the known bully Gibson is trying to play for our sympathies. His persona robs the movie of any sympathy it attempts to generate. Not that I wanted to see the man's family killed, I shouldn't have to say that's wrong, but I could not empathize with a character played by Mel Gibson on almost any level.

In a way, On the Line really doesn't apply to our conversation regarding separating art from the artist. I would not recommend a movie as slipshod and derivative as On the Line no matter who the star of the movie is. There is no need to remove Gibson from the conversation because On the Line isn't worth much of a conversation. The film drifts from one stock scene of suspense to another with a mediocre ease that fits such a forgettable and bland concoction as On the Line.

Only one scene in On the Line really stands out and it stands out for all of the wrong reasons. You would imagine that a person who has been accused of being an insensitive bully and a bigot, might avoid roles that reflect the reputation they've earned away from the screen. Not Mel, instead, Gibson leans right into his bullying, bigoted persona in a singularly unnecessary scene. As Elvis arrives for his radio show he encounters a security guard. The man is of Indian decent and his name is long and difficult to pronounce. Rather than be a good person, Gibson tells the man he's just going to call him Bob because learning to pronounce a name is too much to ask of edgelord a**holes.

This scene serves the purpose of underlining how singularly awful the character is, even as we know that already from the man playing him. Outside of underlining how much of a jerk Elvis is however, the scene is pointless, needlessly insulting, and is unnecessary to the rest of the movie. It's treated as if this is supposed to be funny and indeed, in the 1980s, this kind of dopey, dreary, racial humor was common. It is not so common today and when it is used needlessly rather than in a way intended to make a point, it feels even more unkind and indicative of a poisonous mindset.

All of that out of the way, there is only one audience for this and they know who they are. So, if you want to 'own the libs' or 'trigger the left' or whatever lame buzz phrase you've lifted from Ben Shapiro, go ahead and throw away your money and your precious time on this Earth to watch On the Line. At least I had the excuse of being paid to write about it. You subjecting yourself to a bad movie just to make a point that no one cares about is you truly owning yourself in the end but go with God trolls.

Find my archive of more than 20 years and nearly 2000 movie reviews at SeanattheMovies.blogspot.com. Follow me on Twitter at Podcast Sean and follow my archive blog at SeanattheMovies on Twitter. Listen to me talk about the movies on the Everyone's a Critic Movie Review Podcast available on your favorite podcast listening app. If you'd like to support my writing you can do so by making a monthly pledge here on Vocal or leave a one time tip here on Vocal. Thanks!