In 1990, “Coyote vs. ACME,” a satirical essay by Ian Frazier,first appeared in The New Yorker. Written as an opening statement in Wile E. Coyote’s case against the fictional ACME, the essay documents injuries the cartoon predator suffered as a result of using the corporation’s shoddy products while relentlessly pursuing Road Runner in vain. More than 30 years later, right around the time that the word “enshittification” entered our lexicon, Coyote vs. ACME was adapted as a live-action animated feature with an expanded plot digging into corporate conspiracy and an overarching theme that the system is designed to keep the little guy locked into failure. Then the studio shelved the film as a “tax write-off.”
But, a lot of people wouldn’t shut up about Coyote vs. ACME, so, almost three years after it was nearly killed, the movie finally opened on the big screen. I saw it last week and am writing to urge you now to see Coyote vs. ACME while it’s still in theaters, not so much because of the story behind the film, but because of the story in it.
The premise of the film is that Wile E. Coyote decides to sue ACME because he keeps getting injured using their products. He goes to an attorney, Kevin Avery (Will Forte), who prefers to settle cases instead of having to go up against slick, corporate attorneys in court. But, after Mr. Coyote tears up a settlement offer, that’s what happens. Then, Coyote’s team catches wind of something called the Sisyphus Project.
I’m trying not to spoil things here, but, if you know your Greek mythology, you can probably get an idea of what’s in store. As the stories go, Sisyphus pissed off multiple gods for multiple instances of hubris. So, when he finally died, his punishment was to push a rock up a hill. Every time he neared the summit, the rock would roll back down the hill, forcing Sisyphus to repeat the job for eternity.
Today, we refer to a futile effort as Sisyphean. We also derive a lot of comedy from the conceit that one is doomed to repeated failure. That’s core to sitcoms from Gilligan’s Island to Married…With Children. It’s a practical solution in some respects. If the castaways escape the island, or if Al Bundy wins at life, you don’t have a show. Similarly, failure is baked into Looney Tunes. You know that Coyote won’t catch Road Runner, the comedy is in how he will botch the job. Failure is really good for both slapstick and absurdist comedy. When it’s done well, which is the case in Coyote vs. ACME, you get physical, visual comedy that kids can understand and weird, existential stuff for the adults.
Coyote vs. ACME is a movie about corporate power. It’s about how the system is designed to benefit the big guys, while keeping the little ones down. The too-big-too-fail ACME, with Foghorn Leghorn at the helm, uses their vast resources to break Coyote and his attorneys. Congress members like Elmer Fudd side with big money. The press, unsurprisingly, defends the establishment until it’s too late.
When you watch Coyote vs. ACME, you might think of recent corporate trials and other news involving the billionaire class. You might also think of modern inconveniences likes new clothes that barely last a handful of washes, printers that never quite work right, subscriptions that you’re sick of paying and surveillance pricing. That’s the point of the movie. We’re all Sisyphus. As for the rock, it will always roll back downhill because that’s what it was designed to do.
I re-read “The Myth of Sisyphus,” the Albert Camus essay that’s a cornerstone of absurdism, after watching Coyote vs. ACME and came across a paragraph that seemed relevant to the movie. In it, Camus says that, when melancholy sets in, “this is the rock’s victory, this is the rock itself.” So, if you apply that to the absolute absurdity of 21st century life, every time we let melancholy set in, shrug our shoulders and say, “it is what it is,” the rock wins and the system wins. We have to try even though we know we’re setting ourselves up for failure. That’s the message of the movie and it’s clear that would have been the message regardless of the situation surrounding its release. That Coyote vs. ACME ended up in a pretty similar real world situation is just a weird instance of life imitating art, imitating life, that makes the message harder to miss.
Liz O. is an L.A.-based writer and DJ. Follow on Instagram or sign up for the weekly, Beatique newsletter for updates on new stories and gigs.
Listen to the September, 2026 edition of Beatique, which also features music from Olivia Rodrigo, ear, Purity Ring, Brigette Calls Me Baby, Slayyyter and more.
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