Live from Sundance: Loving the Hated
Filed under: Sundance, Festival Reports, Fandom
As of right this second, I believe I'm one of maybe only two or three people who actually liked Downloading Nancy. And it's strange because people look at you weird when you don't agree with them -- as if you're an idiot who has no idea how to form an opinion. I'm cool with that though; just this week Cinematical's Scott Weinberg was dealing with the same thing when it came to The Wackness; only he hated it whereas everyone else loved it. Same thing happened last year when I wrote an early review of 300 panning it, after several screenings full of fanboys loved it. Why has it become so wrong to move against the tide? And it's not just for the sake of being different; I posted my review of Nancy long before anyone else had something up.
One commenter called me an "easy lay" for liking a film no one else did. Why am I an "easy lay?" Should I arrive to every screening with a 10-foot pole up my ass, juggling dictionaries, while waiting to hear what ten other people thought of the film before writing a review so that, afterwards, I could stand in the critic circle-jerk with a smile and a nod and a few witty responses stuffed into my back pocket? Is that the appropriate thing to do? To be accepted? Look, when I leave a screening at a festival, I'm usually writing the review immediately afterward without much time to sit with a film and think about it. Thus, you're getting my gut reactions -- most of which are still pretty spot on after some time has passed. In the case of Downloading Nancy, I still feel the same way I did yesterday. It's a strong film that's hard to enjoy, but that's what makes it fun.
Which movies have you either liked or disliked when everyone else you know felt the exact opposite?
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
1-23-2008 @ 1:11PM
Aberdeen said...
I hated Hotel Rwanda and The Queen, two movies which would have been better served by staying on the small screen rather than the large.
Then again, I liked Snakes on a Plane...grand silliness!
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1-23-2008 @ 3:07PM
Emily said...
Broadly hated films that I love:
Dune--the 1984, David Lynch version. Yes, it's dense. Yes, it takes liberties. It's also visually astonishing, even decades later, and in my opinion, superior to the novels.
The Color of Night--I'm convinced it was about as sincere as Hudson Hawk, and it's jam-packed with terrific character actors. It's hot, twisted, and hilarious.
Robocop 2, Alien 3, Alien Resurrection--all roundly hated, but I still defend them. I think they're all good artistic additions to their universes.
Widely praised films that I hated:
Hard Candy--90 minutes of revenge-fueled emotional torture porn, with a ten-minute castration scene. Absolute garbage.
Breakfast at Tiffany's--Audrey Hepburn's character behaves far too intolerably to be as adorable as she's supposed to be, and Mickey Rooney's character is just plain intolerable. I'd rather go mow the lawn with scissors.
A Scanner Darkly--Brilliant story, yes. Brilliant acting, yes. But drug culture, once you leave it, isn't half as endearing. Soul-crushingly irritating and pathetic.
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1-22-2008 @ 11:55PM
Marty said...
Erik, I sympathise with you, man. Too many critics follow the crowd.
Films I have loved and others hated:
Inland Empire
Atonement
Juno
Before Sunset
Brokeback Mountain (here's to Heath!)
Films I have hated and others loved:
The Kite Runner
Mrs Henderson Presents
Evening
An Inconvenient Truth
Death at a Funeral
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1-23-2008 @ 12:09AM
Monika said...
I always thought I was alone with Grease 2. Then My Date with Drew came out, and I discovered a whole hidden society of Cool Rider-lovers.
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1-23-2008 @ 12:29AM
uforeader said...
Movies I love that others hate:
Open Water, The Village, Master and Commander.. my friends bring these up pall the time.
Movies I don't like that others love:
Fight Club, 300, Eastern Promises, The Host, Almost Famous, The English Patient
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1-23-2008 @ 12:37AM
Scott Weinberg said...
Good points, E (although I didn't HATE Wackness, I just thought it was pretty weak). People can call us crazy, stupid, or "easy," but they can't call us dishonest.
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1-23-2008 @ 5:31AM
Ethan said...
I really liked AI.
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1-23-2008 @ 8:45AM
Christopher Campbell said...
Erik, I thought the movie looked awful when watching the trailer, but thanks to your single favorable review I decided that maybe it is worth checking out. Even if I end up hating it, I'd like to judge for myself. As a fan of Lars Von Trier, I've often been on one end of a polarizing film, and I appreciate anytime a film can do that to critics.
Remember that sparking a discussion is better than riding with the masses -- even if it hurts your feelings sometimes when commenters are insulting. Always be proud of your unique approach to and opinion of movies. Without it, we're just a million unnecessary internet nerds.
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