In January of 1996, during a visit to the UK, friends and I patronized a posh Chinese restaurant on the outskirts of the Knightsbridge neighborhood where we were staying. Just hours before our arrival, Mel Gibson had exited with his companions after enjoying a meal he deemed "superb." The waitstaff stood proudly over our menu-holding posse while brandishing a large scratch pad and spinning the now famous story of Mad Max And The Glorious Bang Bang Chicken. It would become legend because Mel and his mates apparently were in stitches, repeating the words "bang bang chicken" in a bizarre and animated manner until the dish actually arrived. Then everyone ate and went home. Faced with the idea that we might be bold enough to reject the entree that had actually pushed its way down the gullet of an Aussie superstar mere hours before our arrival, the head waiter leveled a stern look at our table and told us without words exactly what we should be ordering.We obeyed.
Cut to 2012 and a devastating downward spiral has befallen the juggernaut of yesteryear. His career is all but extinguished due to a series of bad choices, off-color rants, drunken escapades, and all-around jackassery. Nowadays it would be fair to say that getting the stamp of approval from Gibson would be considered faint praise indeed. As a matter of fact, some might consider it more toxic than the kiss of death, with one exception. Mad Max.
