Rated at 7% Tomatometer and 15% Audience Score, Authors Anonymous is one of the lowest rated movies at Rotten Tomatoes. The most common thread running though all the bad reviews is that the movie was done in "mockumentary" style. They seem to think that mockumentaries are a rip off of real documentaries, but while they are raging over style and format, they missed a great movie. I've watched it 10+ times so far and haven't gotten tired of it yet.
A mostly earnest (but mostly untalented) group of scribes hold regular meetings where they critique and encourage each other. Henry Obert (Chris Klein) is a pizza delivery guy with three unpublished novels. Hannah Rinaldi (Kaley Cuoco) is an airhead who doesn't even know who Jane Austen is. John K. Butzin (Dennis Farina) is a tough guy who self-publishes a war novel. William Bruce (Jonathan Bennett) is a Bukowski wannabe. Colette Mooney (Teri Polo) is an aspiring romance writer and her husband Alan Mooney (Dylan Walsh) is the founder and group leader.
The first one in the group to sign with an agent is the one who had never even heard of Jane Austen or even read The Great Gatsby, and a few in the group are a little jealous of her. When Hannah comes to the meetings with her writing to critique, the group begs off commenting, saying that the stuff is being published and doesn't need critiquing. Sensing the envy from the group, Hannah tries to keep secret the six-figure movie deal she gets for her book. Of course the aspiring authors find out about it, and turmoil besets the group.
John K. Butzin, who always refers to himself in the third person, takes matters into his own hands by self-publishing his book with a shady overseas publisher called You Are the Publisher. He's outraged when he receives his books to find pages printed out of order and the back cover written in Chinese. Undeterred, he takes his inventory of books to a book signing at the only place he could find for it, a hardware store, where he sits morosely alone as customers squeeze by him to buy hardware supplies.
Henry is suffering from writer's block, and he begins showing up at the meetings with no new writing to critique. We soon learn why Henry isn't writing anything—it's because he's developed a crush on Hannah. However, after enduring a particularly distressing experience, Henry returns to his apartment, opens his laptop, and gets to work. He crushes his writer's block, finishes his novel, and sends it out to agents.
Perhaps it could be said that the mockumentary style is a cliche, but what matters is the content. Authors Anonymous is an uproariously funny movie, at times poignant, with characters who many not all be likable, but are all believable. Anybody who's ever tried to write a novel or been in a writer's group would love this movie.
Hugh Blanton is the author of A Home to Crouch In. He has appeared in Drunk Monkeys, The American Journal of Poetry, and other places. He can be reached on Twitter @HughBlanton5.