Gibson is no Tyson!

Sequels to good movies always seem like a good idea, at least they do to studios, after all, the first one made a crapload of money! Rarely do they live up to the expectation though. So it’s with some trepidation that I report, The Hangover 2, is in production. I loved the first one. But, the thought of a second one? Meh, I don’t know if lightning can strike twice.

Of course, Mel Gibson is a lightning rod of another sort. He been able to attract boatloads of negative attention over the years. Many people objected to his portrayal of Jews in The Passion of the Christ. Then there was his anti-Semetic and sexist rant when he was pulled over and arrested for drunk driving. His Christian fan base (who loved The Passion of the Christ) took a hit when the long-time Catholic left his wife and all of their kids, for a Russian hottie, Oksana Grigorieva, who was pregnant with his child at the time. And most recently, Oksana released a series of recording of a seething, ranting Mel who at one point, wished that she’d get raped.

Just as people were wondering if Mel would ever work in Hollywood again, he got an offer to make a cameo in The Hangover 2. However, apparently the cast (and especially Zach Galifianakis, if the reports are true) wasn’t too fond of the idea and Gibson has been replaced by Liam Neeson. Reports say Gibson is livid.

A lot of people, Gibson included, thought it was hypocritical of the Hangover cast to object to Gibson when Mike Tyson, a convicted rapist played a critical role in The Hangover. I don’t think those are exactly the same, and I’ll tell you why.

Mike Tyson was convicted of his rape and served three years. After he came out of prison, his fighting career was pretty much over. It was definitely in decline when he bit off part of the ear of Evander Holyfield. Over the years, Tyson has become a parody of himself. Basically, way before The Hangover came around, he’d already become a joke, a tired punch line (no pun intended).

Gibson and all of his behavior is still fresh in our minds (especially the tapes). As far as I know, he did no jail time for his DUI and his apology for his anti-Semitic ranting didn’t satisfy many people. The Oksana situation is on-going. Right now, Gibson is a villain. He’s someone we love to hate. And I don’t think anyone is ready to laugh at him or with him right now.