Review Roundup: Take the Lead, Lucky Number Slevin, Not Phat Girlz or Benchwarmers
Filed under: Action, Drama, New Releases, Mystery & Suspense, Quentin Tarantino, Review Roundup
Once again, two major releases weren't screened for critics, thus sending much of the mainstream media in a tizzy about What This Means For The Future of Criticism. Do they not remember going over all of this a couple of months ago? Because nothing has changed -- studios still hide bad movies. It's a bummer, but also totally understandable. We did, however, get early looks this week at Lucky Number Slevin and Take the Lead. The short version: Lucky Number Slevin is either incredibly clever or just thinks it is, while Take the Lead is utterly unsurprising.
- Lucky
Number Slevin: The reviews for this one
are sort of weird. Most critics give it credit for being stylish and clever, but by the same token, many
are turned off by how self-conscious
that style and wit are; Quentin Tarantino's
name is mentioned more than once, as an example of someone whose work exhibits similar tendencies, but with a
warmth that is missing from Slevin. Others, like James and our man Roger Ebert, are
so irritated by the smugness of the
film that they can't even enjoy all the things it thinks it has to be smug about. If you know what I mean.
- Take
the Lead: Everyone agrees that it's a big pile of cliches; the disagreement is over
whether the cliches
are well-done or not (most critics, like
Jette, think not). In addition,
an unusual amount of negative
attention is paid to the screenplay, which is quite
disconcerting -- given the number of average screenplays we all regularly sit through, this one must really be
uncommonly awful. There are a few, however, who
enjoy the film, primarily (and refreshingly) for its charmingly
old-fashioned sensibilities.
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