What is the Barry Berkman movie? Strange things happened in the Bill Hader-led TV show in the run up to its finale, but one of the craziest threads of the series is the plans to make a movie about the titular character's exploits.
Let's be honest, the events of Barry are pretty damn entertaining, which is what makes it one of the best TV series of recent years. The wild lives of the Barry characters make for excellent viewing, so it should come as no surprise that season 4 includes a storyline where Warner Bros want to make a thriller movie about them.
So, what is the Barry Berkman movie about, which actors are rumored to star in The Mask Collector, and how do the characters feel about this development? We've got all the answers you need.
What is the Barry Berkman movie?
In the world of Barry, Warner Bros make a movie based on Barry Berkman's life and the murder of Janice Moss. The film is called The Mask Collector. After the Barry season 4 time jump and the resurfacing of Gene Cousineau, the studio thinks it's a story ripe for the big screen.
The problem was, although Warner Bros planned to make Barry the movie villain in this fictional biopic, the studio was also keen to position him as the main character. This leads Cousineau to feel like the project is glamorizing what Barry did. He is initially very much against the idea, and even leads an online protest to shut the production down before it begins.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_4lf2LKZwoY
That all changes in Barry season 4 episode 7, when an agent tells Cousineau one of the best actors of all time wants to play him in the movie. The news that Daniel Day-Lewis is willing to come out of retirement for the role is enough to pique Cousineau's interest, and he's all in when he hears Mark Wahlberg would be on board to play Barry.
Cousineau decides to completely sell out his morals and agrees to Barry being portrayed more sympathetically to get the project over the line. But, the rumors of Day-Lewis and Wahlberg are all a ruse set up by Jim Moss, who wanted to test Cousineau's commitment to the memory of his daughter.
So, the Barry Berkman movie was never going to star Daniel Day-Lewis or Mark Wahlberg. But, thanks to Cousineau's actions, he ends up being painted as the villain of the story and people think he ordered Barry to kill Janice. In the finale of the comedy series, Cousineau kills Barry before the hitman can confess to his crimes, which leaves Cousineau to become the ultimate bad guy in the mind of the public. This alters the proposed film entirely, leading to The Mask Collector.
What is The Mask Collector?
The Mask Collector is the title of the movie that is eventually made by Warner Bros, in which Barry Berkman is portrayed as a decorated war hero.
Barry is portrayed by indie film actor-director Jim Cummings in the fictional action movie, and the story is completely dramatized to the point that it's entirely factually incorrect. In the film, Cousineau (Michael Cumpsty) is depicted as an evil man who has long been involved in the criminal underworld. In The Mask Collector, Cousineau kills Janice in cold blood and manipulates Barry into helping him cover it up, before killing his unwitting apprentice in an epic shootout.
We get to see a decent chunk of The Mask Collector through the eyes of John, Barry's son, who watches the film with a friend. At the end of The Mask Collector, we are told the real Gene Cousineau is serving a life sentence for his alleged crimes. Barry Berkman, meanwhile, has been laid to rest in a military grave with full honors.
For more on the hit show, here's all we know about the Barry season 5 release date. While we're speaking about the big screen, look ahead to all the new movies on the way this year, or check out our list of the best movies of all time.