‘The Fall Guy’ will hit the theaters next month, but journalists and critics already took to social media to comment on the film following a series of preview screenings.
Early viewers were not happy with a particular scene in the action-comedy featuring Ryan Gosling, Emily Blunt, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, and Hannah Waddingham.
The controversial joke came up when Waddingham’s character stepped into a wrecked trailer after a fight and remarked:
“It’s like Amber [Heard] and Johnny [Depp] were just in here.”
The Joke Received Criticism
The reference to Heard and Depp’s relationship between 2015 and 2017 didn’t sit well with a journalist as they wrote on X:
“’The Fall Guy’ was just kind of cringe, and smug until the weird j*hnny and a*ber joke, then it was unpleasant. 2024, and we’re putting domestic violence jokes into our action comedies I guess!”
Another critic added:
“God, that took me out of the movie so badly when I watched it, there was truly no reason whatsoever to say it I almost thought I’d misheard. Embarrassing for everyone involved.”
Fans were also displeased with the joke. One person commented:
“Extremely lame if they’re actually spending a quick moment in ‘The Fall Guy’ trying to poke fun at Heard/Depp.”
Someone else said that hearing about the reference caused their ‘excitement for ‘The Fall Guy’ to plummet.’
Heard And Depp’s Relationship
Johnny Depp and Amber Heard married in 2015 and divorced two years later. They often made the headlines due to their legal battles after the breakup.
Depp’s lawsuit against The Sun was a loss for him in 2020. The court ruled that the outlet’s allegations labeling him as a ‘wife-beater’ were substantially true based on given evidence.
The actor sued Heard for defamation two years later due to her 2018 op-ed implying he was abusive. The jury sided with him, and the case ended in his favor.
Gosling’s New Movie
‘The Fall Guy’ is set for release on May 3, 2024, and already made its debut at SXSW on March 12. The film received generally positive reviews despite the recent controversy.
Its plot follows down-and-out stuntman Colt Seavers’ search for the star of his director ex-girlfriend’s movie. Ryan Gosling stars as Seavers.
