Spraaaaaang break forever, biiiiiiittttchheeeeesssss! Were enfante terrible director Harmony Korine and Matthew McConaughey born to collaborate together on “The Beach Bum”? After all, McConaughey quintessentialized the idea of the laidback, carefree, maturity-arrested beach bum for a large chunk of his early ab-and-smiles career before he tore off on that McConaissance creative jag from 2011-2014 working with a rash of auteurs such as Christopher Nolan (“Interstellar”), Martin Scorsese (“The Wolf Of Wall Street”), Cary Fukunaga (“True Detective”), William Friedkin (“Killer Joe”) and many more. Even his turn in Steven Soderbergh’s “Magic Mike” appeared to draw from both facets of his newfound indie and Sunshine State-friendly career (I haven’t seen all of the early romcoms, but I assume they were all set in Florida, given their posters).
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And Korine, known for “Kids,” and outré films like “Gummo,” “Julien Donkey-Boy,” and “Mister Lonely,” has been working his way through what he calls his Florida trilogy which began with “Spring Breakers” in 2013 and continues next year with his latest, “The Beach Bum” (“The Trap,” a Florida-set movie with Jamie Foxx has been put on hold for now).
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But the McConaissance, which admittedly did cap off with an Oscar win (“Dallas Buyers Club”), is long over and what followed was a string of flops— “The Sea Of Trees,” “Free State of Jones” “Gold” and most memorably, “The Dark Tower.” McConaughey needs a hit, they’re both rebels of sorts, and perhaps the two men were drawn to each other like magnets to fulfill their separate, but unified creative destinies on “The Beach Bum” were the actor plays, Moondog, a character that basically lives in a perpetual state of Spring Break. Certainly, Korine is being pulled towards something.
“It’s like a moth to a flame or something. Something about Florida, in general, I find intriguing,” he said circa 2013. And now, he’s back. Here’s the official “The Beach Bum” synopsis:
THE BEACH BUM follows the hilarious misadventures of Moondog (Matthew McConaughey), a rebellious rogue who always lives life by his own rules. Co-starring Snoop Dog, Zac Efron, and Isla Fisher, THE BEACH BUM is a refreshingly original and subversive new comedy from director Harmony Korine (Kids, Spring Breakers).
On top of McConaughey, “The Beach Bum” also stars Zac Efron, Isla Fisher, Jimmy Buffett, Snoop Dogg, Martin Lawrence and Stefania LaVie Owen (Jonah Hill is also reportedly supposed to have a role, but he’s not in this trailer). Benoît Debie, the DP who shot “Spring Breakers” is also back.
“The Beach Bum” opens March 22, 2019. Watch the red-band trailer below and watch McConaughey try and buy LSD at a convenience store.