Posted by AK Wolf at cbl244.pool006.ch001-pasadena.dhcp.hs.earthlink.net on August 19, 2001 at 13:23:09:
In Reply to: Re: And yet MORE thoughts on J&SBSB... (no spoilers) posted by arniec on August 19, 2001 at 12:44:43:
Ah, black and white... if the world existed without greys, "Clerks" never would have been made...
I believe you misunderstood my post - or, possibly, assumed that I was coming from an unassailable "fanboy" point of view. "Not getting it" does NOT make your opinion any less valid; in fact, it can be a powerful arguement for why a film IS a piece of crap. Not communicating properly to your audience is the cardinal sin in filmmaking - or in any entertainment medium, for that matter. If Kevin Smith didn't manage to communicate properly to the audience he was attempting to reach (and deciding WHICH audience that was is a debate in and of itself), then yes, his film (and all of his films, for that matter), are shit. I personally didn't "get" "Dunston Checks In." I think it's crap. Ok, so maybe that's not a good example, since that is a VERY widely held opinion... so how's this? With a couple of moderate exceptions, I don't "get" most of John Waters' films. In fact, I think that "Serial Mom" is the worst piece of garbage I've ever seen on celluloid. However, John Waters also has fans who will devoutly defend any of his films as masterpieces - including "Serial Mom"; many critics hailed it as an exceptionally funny dark comedy. Does that make my opinion any more "right" than theirs, or vice versa?
Believe me, it is VERY possible to be "too hip for the room" - as a professional stand-up comic, I've seen it happen a LOT. Dennis Miller being booed off the stage in Tempe, AZ (which actually just happened earlier this week) doesn't necessarily make him a bad comedian (although, there ARE people who hold that viewpoint). Many of us, myself included, would say that he was simply "too hip for the room." ...Or, argueably, did he not do his job by communicating properly to the audience before him?
This is why opinions are not facts. There are no fixed "good movies" or "bad movies" - there are just movies that the general public agrees on one way or the other, and then there's the flicks that we'll argue about 'til the end of time. I believe that J&SBSB is destined to become one of those flicks.
- AK Wolf
"...of course, that's just my opinion; I could be wrong."
: Let me start by saying I did NOT hate the movie, but this post may make it sound like I did. I will post a full review shortly (as well as thoughts on Kevin at WizardCon and some questions raised by J&SBSB). That said, I NEED to reply to a part of this.
: : *** My most important impression of this movie after seeing the preview is that this is a film that will be discussed for a long time to come. It's one of those rare pictures that is a completely different movie depending on your viewpoint. Some people, quite frankly, are just not going to "get it", and it will be a long and ongoing debate about whether this picture is unique, outside-of-the-box filmmaking... or just a total piece of crap.
: That is the most outrageous defensive comment I’ve ever heard. It’s a preemptive strike against all the statements against the film. Saying it’s “too hip for the room” is a cop-out argument against a movie that, in the end, is fairly bad. I guess it’s the only defense you can stage against logical arguments like “the plot was bad, and at times almost nonexistent”.
: If you follow this logic, you could claim that ANY piece of shit is the best film ever made, and it’s just that no one else “got it”.
: Your statement elevates your own self-opinion while, at the same time, disses anyone who may not share the same opinion of the movie as you. I admire your craftiness in preparing for all the well-deserved criticism this film will receive, but at the same time it’s really annoying.
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: AC