Because of the massive successes of The 40-Year-Old Virgin, Wedding Crashers, The Hangover, and Bridesmaids, there's been no shortage of crude comedies trying to outdo each other with gross-out gags, strange sex antics, and wild one-liners. But Huck Botko, co-writer and co-director of the 2010 R-rated comedy The Virginity Hit, is taking raunchiness to a whole new level with his upcoming indie feature Johnson.
Variety reports Cam Gigandet (Twilight) and Nick Thune (Not That Funny) will co-star, sharing the titular role in different respects. See, this comedy, penned by Jeff Tetreault, centers on one Rich Johnson, a wealthy and handsome young man who is a merciless and self-centered womanizer. But Rich is forced to re-evaluate his life and become a better person after his actions cause him to lose his manhood. And by that I mean his penis mystically takes human form and runs away. So, Gigandet will play Rich Johnson, and Thune will play Rich Johnson's johnson.
I got to say, anthropomorphizing genitalia—while bizarre—seems a concept rich for comedy. And as my only memorable exposure to Thune is as the scruffy hippie musician of Barefoot Pedaler on the sidesplitting Happy Endings, I'm already amused at the idea of him playing pretty boy Gigandet's fed up junk. Even as an indie, if this movie is able to balance the crude humor its premise implies with an earnest—albeit twisted—story of redemption, Johnson could prove a standout to critics and audiences.
Johnson will go into production October 10th in Chicago.
