As Director Dave Green’s Coyote vs. Acme opens, cartoon Wile E. Coyote wears his Acme magnetic glove and pours bird seed over Acme metal pellets to catch his arch nemesis cartoon Road Runner. Road Runner eats the birdseed and metal pellets. However, something goes wrong with his magnetic glove. Instead, Coyote’s glove attracts a speeding truck that runs him over like a rag doll. As usual, Road Runner escapes. As usual, Coyote’s Acme product fails, too.
I grew up religiously watching the Coyote and Road Runner Cartoon on Saturday mornings. As brilliant as Coyote was, he never could catch Road Runner. His Acme products failed leaving him crushed like an accordion or scorched from an explosion. Still, Coyote never quit.
Literally, back at his drawing board cave, Coyote works on his next blue prints to catch Road Runner. On TV, Attorney Kevin Avery, played by Will Forte, describes numerous Acme products failures that are all too familiar for Coyote. Kevin says, “It’s not your fault… Acme is evil.” Kevin’s Law Firm specializes in Class Action Suits against the Biggest Company in the world, Acme.
Seeing the light, Coyote travels to Albuquerque, New Mexico to hire Kevin as his attorney in his lawsuit against Acme. That’s the hysterical ingenious narrative of Samy Burch’s screenplay from the story by James Gunn, Jeremy Slater, and Samy Burch.
It’s a miracle that I saw Coyote vs. Acme in the movie theater. Back in 2023, Warner Brothers shelved the completed movie to get a tax break. Because of public outcry, Warner Brothers sold the distribution rights to Ketchup Entertainment. Given all that, Coyote vs. Acme is the funniest movie I’ve seen in the last 10 years that is surprisingly poignant.
John Cena embodies his hysterical rigid character zenith as Acme Attorney Buddy Crane, who’s Kevin’s former Yale Law School Classmate. John Cena is drop dead funny playing Buddy as the straight up asshole. Kevin and Coyote meet Buddy in his office. Hulking muscular Buddy condescendingly pats Kevin on the back, “You look good.” Will Forte is John Cena’s sublime comedic foil as Kevin, who wears his Sears suit rocking his very average physique. Kevin is smart, not so cool, and sincere. While Buddy is the insufferable cutthroat. Director Dave Green generates the space for Kevin and Buddy to be genuinely funny.
Ironically, cartoon Coyote’s attentive big eyes and resilient spirit gift Coyote vs. Acme its signature soul and really, it’s authentic humanity. Yeah, Coyote is an amazing actor. In Samy Burch’s conspiracy narrative, Acme hides its secret Project Sisyphus. In Greek mythology, Sisyphus was the king condemned for eternity to push a heavy bolder up a hill, only to watch it roll back down each time. Sisyphus is the metaphor for indomitable Coyote.
Corporate Deep Throat Bug Bunny, voice by Eric Bauza, hilariously informs Kevin and his partner Paige, played by smart funny Lana Condor, about Project Sisyphus. Project Sisyphus designed Acme products to fail for cartoon characters like Coyote, to leverage that technology to make safe products for their human consumers. The cartoons are expendable unknowing beta testers. Acme CEO Foghorn Leghorn, also voiced by Eric Bauza, vehemently denied the accusation in the Senate Committee Hearing chaired by Elmer Fudd, again voiced by Eric.
Seeing the bigger picture, Kevin refuses the $1 million bride from Buddy to withdraw Coyote’s law suit. Later, Kevin discovers Coyote really plans to eat Road Runner. That seems the hysterical no-brainer. Nonetheless, Kevin feels betrayed causing a rift in his partnership with Coyote.
Coyote is the heartfelt poignancy of Coyote vs. Acme. He continually fails in his quest for Road Runner. Still, every time he fails, every time he falls, he gets back up. In the Samurai proverb: Nana korobi ya oki. Fall down seven times, get up eight. Kevin calls Coyote, “He’s the bravest person I know.” Coyote is.
In the Senate Hearing, Kevin says of Coyote, “He’s one of the hardest working people I’ve ever met. He would never think of quitting. And I think everyone should be inspired by that.” I am, too.
In the touching narrative arc, Kevin asks Road Runner, “Is Coyote your friend?”
Road Runner answers, “Beep. Beep” Yes.
Coyote cried. Me too. When you don’t give up, when you keep getting back up when you fall, getting back up when you fail, that matters. That deserves mad respect and love. That makes Coyote vs. Acme very special, too. It’s one of my favorite movies of the year. Big laughs. Even bigger heart.
