CHAPTER 27 (2008)

Who's in It: Jared Leto, Lindsay Lohan, Judah Friedlander
The Basics: This is the one where Leto gained 60 pounds to play Mark David Chapman, the crazy guy who killed John Lennon because he thought Catcher in the Rye told him to. But now that you know how it ends, there's not a ton of suspense left besides finding out what Leto looks like chubby and shirtless (answer: like a greasy Pillsbury Doughboy).

What's the Deal? This isn't as awful as it's going to be received. But it does have one big glaring thing wrong with it, and that's that there's nothing going on here except watching Leto try to become a method actor. I can kind of sympathize with the guy's clear rebellion against being typecast, when what he's most known for is being a teen heartthrob on a long-cancelled '90s TV drama. It all feels like a bid to be the male Charlize Theron in Monster.

One Thing I'd Honestly Never Thought About Before Watching This, Mostly Because I Don't Spend a Lot of Time Obsessively Connecting the Dots: That Lennon lived in the Dakota, where they shot Rosemary's Baby, which was directed by Roman Polanski, whose wife Sharon Tate was murdered by Charles Manson, who was inspired to do so by a Beatles song. This coincidence — mentioned by Leto in the movie — actually has nothing to do with the quality of the film itself. But I got bored enough to find it somewhat fascinating to think about for a bit.

What Are Lohan and 30 Rock's Friedlander and a British Character Actor Named Mark Lindsay Chapman Doing in This? Not much. She plays a Beatles superfan named Jude. She quotes lyrics (and gets freaked out by Leto). He plays a paparazzo. The strangely named Chapman plays, yes, Lennon. But that's about it. It's Leto's show.

What the Title Means: Chapman believed that killing Lennon would be a way to write a 27th chapter to the 26-chapter-long Catcher.

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