Murray’s scenes with Vera were clearly improvised and have the unfunny, tossed-off feeling of outtakes. (Murray is so weak in this role it’s as if he had the flu during filming.) Director Franklin must have smelled trouble. Test audiences responded well to McConaughey, so the director shot new scenes with him. The result is choppy, desperation editing and absurdly over-the-top work by McConaughey. Maybe audiences didn’t really love him. Maybe they just hated everything else.
