Joe Dante Defends Maggie Gyllenhaal’s ‘The Bride!’ as a “Bold” Movie Panned by “Mostly Male Reviewers”

Much has been written about Maggie Gyllenhaal’s “The Bride”, and much of it negative. Critics and audiences alike seemed united in their dislike for the film, which was made available on PVOD today.

Much like Quentin Tarantino, who defended “Joker: Folie à Deux” when few others did, filmmaker Joe Dante has stepped up to defend Gyllenhaal’s $90M+ costing bomb. He doesn’t understand all the hate the film has been receiving.

In a new Trailers from Hell video, Dante praised The Bride! as a “truly bonkers” monster movie and emphasized just how bold and unconventional the project is:

If there ever was a movie that deserved an exclamation point after the title, it’s “The Bride!” […] It’s a truly bonkers reimaigining […] It may have been a mistake to release it so close to Guillermo del Toro’s “Frankenstein.” However, largely condemned, by mostly male reviewers, as an incomprehensible genre mashup, “The Bride!” is one of the most refreshingly bold additions to the Frankenstein saga […] How many big-budget studio movies have you seen lately that swing for the fences?

He also praised Jessie Buckley, calling her performance “astonishing and brave” and even more impressive than her Oscar-winning turn in “Hamnet.”

Dante’s swipe at male reviewers here seems off. Many female critics also disliked The Bride—this isn’t about gender. He ought to know that. Inserting sexism as the reason for this film’s failure distracts from the real issues with the movie.

When an artistic misfire like “The Bride!” occurs, contrarian opinions are inevitable, and claims that the film has been “misunderstood” are bound to emerge from certain corners of the internet. Only time will tell if people like Dante are correct — at the very least, the film might eventually achieve cult status.

“The Bride!” only grossed $23M at the worldwide box office. Taking the numbers into account, plus marketing costs, Warner Bros. is looking at $100M+ in losses on the film. Gyllenhaal endured a tumultuous production—reshoots, studio interference, delays, multiple edits, and poor test screenings.

Gyllenhaal recently admitted that the theatrical cut was not entirely hers, describing the unusually intense testing of “The Bride!” with audiences and Warner Bros. executives scrutinizing the film’s depiction of violence and sexual violence. This led to Warner Bros. co-chief Pam Abdy asking Gyllenhaal to soften some of the imagery; Gyllenhaal acknowledged that what ended up in the final cut was “pulled back” from her original vision.