Brett Ratner had a curious response when he was asked about whether he had difficulty understanding the first lady’s English while filming her documentary, Melania.
Ratner told The Hollywood Reporter that it was no trouble at all: “I understand broken English. I’ve made movies with Chris Tucker.”
Tucker played one-half of the Rush Hour buddy comedy duo with Jackie Chan. Both stars are expected to reprise their roles in the franchise’s next installment, the Trump-sanctioned Rush Hour 4.
The Daily Beast has reached out to Tucker for comment.
His reference to Tucker and Rush Hour is an interesting one, considering that Chan’s English is a recurring punchline in the movie series.
Ratner’s comments to the publication come on the first day of critical reviews of Melania, which have been scathing.
Critics have called the film “pure, endless hell,” “chillingly vain,” and “exhaustingly boring.” The film’s marketing—driven by a massive $35 million promotional push—has been marred by severe vandalism. Its Letterboxd page was ruthlessly review-bombed. But the first lady told the outlet via email on Friday, “I take pride in every detail.”
The previously blacklisted director added, “It was probably the hardest film I ever made. I was there from the moment she woke up to the moment she went to bed. And it was all improv. We couldn’t stop anything—we couldn’t say, ‘Let’s do that again.’ It was all happening in real time. I’m used to yelling ‘Cut,’ but there was no cut.”
While Melania Trump’s language barrier wasn’t part of that “hard” process, Ratner himself has been cited as the reason others who worked on the movie had a less-than-pleasant experience. Crew members told Rolling Stone that making the film was “chaotic,” and that Ratner—previously accused of inappropriate behavior by several women—was “slimy.” He has denied all wrongdoing.
Ratner told THR that the first lady never asked him about his “controversial” reputation, but he offered an explanation anyway. “I said to her, ‘I’m a controversial figure. And if we do this film, we’re going to be tied together for the rest of our lives.’ And she had no issue with it.”
