Why You Can't Trust Critics on Comedies

I visit this site so that I can get a different opinion on those kinds of movies. I like several critics, and have tremendous respect for Roger Ebert for instance, but he's what, sixty years old? Why would I expect his opinion and taste in films to be similar to mine (I'm half his age).
I see two things happening here.
One, is that every critic alive writes as if he's writing his movie review for a 65-year-old woman. "Would my grandmother like this movie? Yes. Well then it's five stars!" My guess is it's because these blue haired critics are primarily writing for newspapers and magazines which are only read by senior citizens. Makes sense.
Which brings me to point two... The advent of the internet and the death of newsprint has caused a severe shortage in new, young critics. Well, there are plenty on blogs obviously, but very few could even write their way out of a paper bag. I think younger critics would be more inclined to give comedy a little more respect.

Reply

Wait... are the movies misunderstood or are you? Alas, I guess this is why blogs exist. Maybe if everyone was more like you, Hollywood Homocide would have been a sucessful picture.

Reply

Despite the mixed reviews for Fired Up and every other comedy released in the last 90 years, I usually see what I want to see, because I do not care what critics think anyway. They're paid to REVIEW movies, so I can't trust they'll respect the people that have to pay to SEE the same movie. These people are of a different mind-set, and are not normal. They are robots who mindlessly swim through film after film, without a break, and as we know - robots can't be trusted.

I find that the same truth applies to the horror genre. Expect a bad review for every horror movie from every mainstream critic, and you'll never be disappointed when you love the same film everyone else saw.

Reply

The thing about critics is they always seem to want every film to have multiple layers. Now I've got nothing against a layered film, but not every film has to contain a deeper message. Especially comedies.

The most important aspect of a comedy is whether or not it makes us laugh. That said, the best, most enduring comedies do have something more to say. Which is why they endure.

Reply

You said a mouthful when you said: "Making a smart movie that plays like its stupid is an underappreciated art."

I have long thought the key to stop critics from under-appreciating this type of art could be for critics to consult with authors or directors about what’s going on or what was attempted, before, critics go and make assertions that can’t be substantiated and have little to do with what’s going on or what was attempted.

If authors or directors are deceased and critics are forced to guess or have no chance to keep from making fools of themselves, that’s one thing. But when all critics have to do is ask, to keep from being dead wrong, or under-appreciating a piece of art because of a lack of communication then that seems like a lack of commitment on a critic’s part. It’s really this simple: don’t guess.

Reply

Mike.
Bear our season a second.
Now (this season) is a new era. An age of instant (internet type stuff) communication; not the stone age, where remote combinations and unrelated circumstances stood for understanding. I have a friend from junior high school and high school that is color blind; he can’t tell the difference between blue and green. Not being able to tell the difference between green and blue is a common color blindness in males; I don’t have it, my friend does. I never lie to my friend about what is blue and what is green. My friend has to ask all the time.

Reply

I can agree almost fully with view of critics, although the point of being a critic is being critical of things you personally you don't like (as you said, personal).

However, I can also think of a few examples like this; most recently, Sex Drive. It made me laugh on repeat viewings even.

That said, I didn't really think Fired Up was one of these kinds of movies, at least not from the trailer. I'd like to hear what others who've seen it thought.

Reply

Marci X is another great example of a smart movie that critics and audiences seemed to think was dumb. Like it or not, it was a very clever, daring movie!

Reply

I absolutely agree "that making a smart movie that plays like it's stupid is an underappreciated art," but I couldn't disagree more with your opinion of Fired Up! I watched the film on opening day to review it for my up-and-coming film blog, cobaltnovember.com, and I'm truly taken aback by your appraisal.

"Self-referencial?" Hardly. Do you mean because it opted to be super-overt in its Staples product placement? Yes, that was clever, but absurdly hypocritical in light of the fact that other examples of product placement, like antagonist Dr. Rick's BMW, were treated just as any film treats product placement: secretively, thus undermining their own point. Does this self-reflexivity make it subversive? No, because any good film scholar will tell you that self-reflexivity is a trait common of almost all films made in the modern and post-modern period. And "witty??" There are no breaks between lines because the director was clearly afraid any time the audience had to catch up would help them realize how UN-witty the dialogue was! By the end, characters were resorting to insults like "suck bucket" and "crunt-sack," I kid not!

Adding to that, the cast gave one-bit performances and the literary design was dreadful--I mean what self-respected grown woman would actually cave into statutory rape just because a kid can write a few good poems? And I won't even get into the grave disservice this film does for the gay community.

In short, I don't understand you at all.

Reply

I agree with you entirely - I had the same experience with Fired Up! I thought it was a light, fun comedy. It wasn't Bergman, but "stupid" isn't a word I'd use at all. I thought the insults and catch-phrases were inventive, and that the pacing was spot-on.

Reply

I guess the thing to take away here is... critics should watch out how they throw around comparisons to Seltzer/Friedberg.

That's basically taking the nuclear genie out of his bottle on something that maybe doesn't completely deserve it.



The other thing here is that there's no reason to rush to a theater to see a comedy...there's nothing to really experience. They're just as good at home without the $10 charge.

Reply

I agree with you 100%. I'm getting tired of pretentious critics out there. You know what I mean.. these persons who think shows like Arrested Development and Curb Your Enthusiasm are intelligent humor, while Two and a Half Men is dumb. Meanwhile I'm literally bawling after an episode of Men and find myself scratching my head about what I'm supposed to be laughing at for those other two shows.

Funny = Makes people laugh.

Reply

I totally agree with you. "Fired Up" is marketed like a stupid teenage movie, so that's what most critics will automatically assume it is before they even see it. But even if they like it, they don't want to other people to think they're stupid, so they write about how bad it is.

(I've only found a couple good reviews besides yours, one is from Entertainment Weekly.)

I think this tends to happen with romantic comedies too. Even when an original rom-com comes around, critics will still write about it as if's it's just like all the others.

Reply

I'm sorry but I have to totally disagree here..

Fired Up was the first movie in 15 years that I actually walked out of because I didn't laugh.

The Disaster movie/Fired Up type of comedy is for people who lack a real sense of humor.

Reply