Tuesday, July 04, 2006

Why are movie reviewers such jerks?

Really, I mean it, why are they? It's like they're the cool kids in the class that are just so much better than everyone else, and spend all their time looking down their noses at the ignorant plebes.

Jaded, cynical, snotty. If a movie isn't arty it's an abomination, and if it's popular then it must be horrible. They seem to revel in their own cleverness and self-importance.


I'm on this rant because I went to see Click this weekend. Confession time: I like Adam Sandler. I think he's freakin' hilarious. Happy Gilmore and The Wedding Singer are among my favourite movies.


Frank Capra he ain't, but you'll bust a gut laughing and have a fun hour and a half. I liked Click too. It's a nice story idea well executed, with a lot of funny stuff and some emotional scenes. And Kate Beckinsale too. About the only unbelievable part of the film was that anyone would use their life-controlling universal remote to fast-forward through "quality time" with her.


If I relied on reviewers like Liz Braun in the Toronto Sun though I probably wouldn't have gone to see the movie though. Luckily, I didn't read her review until today. Liz says it's "Like It's A Wonderful Life on speed. Like that." OK Liz, you've seen It's a Wonderful Life. We're proud of you.


Liz wasn't as bad though as the dean of reviewers, Roger Ebert. Roger sees it as a Scrooge ripoff, and haughtily laments Click "could have been elevated into a metaphysical adventure, as in "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind," or made to generate a series of paradoxes, as in "Being John Malkovich," but "Click" stays resolutely at Level 1 -- the tiresome explication of the basic premise." Or, you might say, funny.


Is there some rule that film reviewers have to hate any entertaining, popular movie that appeals to the common masses? Maybe it's taught at film reviewer school. Or maybe they're afraid of getting beaten with biscottis by their reviewer colleagues.


Maybe it's something in the water. Assigned to write a film review for The Charlatan back in the day, I went into the theater determined to be positive. Alas, I just couldn't give a positive review to Tomcats. If you were one of the 10 people that saw it, youd understand.


Click, though, I liked. Roger can go watch that French movie with the red balloon floating around Paris all day long, I'll take Big Daddy, thanks.


I also saw Superman Returns over the weekend, the 3D Imax version. The 3D was pretty cool, and so was the movie. It was very much in keeping with the feel of the 1978 original. I much prefer the Superman style, corny though it may be, to the darker Batman style. Two thumbs up for Superman as well.


And what's the deal with all this Superman is gay nonsense? Surely it's not just because he presses his clothes and combs his hair? Judging from the movie, he clearly still has the hots for Lois Lane, not Jimmy Olsen. And when she's played by Kate Bosworth, who can blame him?

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6 comments:

Robert said...

I think the thing with reviewers is that they see so many movies that they do become somewhat jaded, and their expectations are that much higher.

I try to ignore them myself.

ottlib said...

If you want an explanation for film critics watch the episode of The Simpsons where Homer becomes a food critic for the local newspaper.

Some of Homer's fellow critics get rather huffy with his glowing reviews of Springfield restaurants and they explain the error of his ways very well.

Red Tory said...

Would it be fun reading reviews if they always agreed with you? That might actually get a little creepy after a while.

Simon Pole said...

With the internet and blogs, there's actually no reason to read critics of any stripe anymore -- books, music, movies.

There's so many people out there talking about what they're interested in and genuinely enjoy, that you just hear about what you might like.

Jeff said...

Indeed ottlib, that was a great episode. The pulsating pastry and all.

Red, I don't mind if they disagree with me, what annoys me is they all seem like snotty dicks. If you don't like the movie, fine, just don't act morally superior is all I'm saying.

Anyway, I hear a Simpsons movie is in the works, looking forward to that.

AJSomerset said...

"There's so many people out there talking about what they're interested in and genuinely enjoy, that you just hear about what you might like."

Then you'd be reading ... critics, albeit amateur ones.

Guess you still have a reason to read them, Simon.