Twrant (n.) - to go on an annoying rant in Twitter.
Kevin Smith, the director of such acclaimed movies as Clerks, Dogma, and the latest Cop Out is once again in the spotlight for a rant on his Twitter account recently regarding the harsh criticism his latest movie Cop Out received. Just recently, he turned to Twitter to vent his frustrations over an ugly spat with SouthWest Airlines and their two-seat policy. Now, Smith is targeting film critics, and hitting back, telling film critics to get a life.
I have to say I am a huge fan of Smith’s, and I have to agree with part of the rant of his, stating that some critics focus on such tiny details that they often miss the joys of watching film. I also agree that this is not rocket science, and writing film reviews is not saving the world. Some people get so focused on the film and their job, they often forget that we are studying an art, and some critics written words are really just opinions.
I do, however, feel very disappointed with Smith and his rant, and not just because he shows his dislike for film critics, but because he defends his latest movie, Cop Out, by admitting it’s stupid, childish, and “like a retarded child.” This leads me to believe that any passion for film the once great director of Clerks had is now gone, and seems to be simply a form of income, which is hard to take, given we’ve seen such passion out of him with previous films. If you are going to defend something you’ve done, it should be because you did the best you possibly could with what you are given, and that if people don’t like your work, than that is their problem, not because it’s stupid and pathetic. I would think that if that attitude was applied to Clerks back in the day, we wouldn’t know who Smith is.
When Dogma came out, Smith had his loyal supporters, and people who hated his movie. He, meanwhile, stood by the film, which resulted in more than a few comedic stories, but he stood by it, saying this is a great movie, and at the time, the critics agreed. Now, critics hated this movie (it’s at 19% on Rotten Tomatoes), so Smith, in turn, hates critics, which just seems childish to me. I think the best reviews I’ve read (including our own Joe Bardi’s, who actually liked the movie) complained about poor execution, and the un-funny jokes, not the subject matter being serious enough for them. The movie does not have to be Citizen Kane to be a great movie.
Finally, I have to comment on the idea that he wants to take his Twitter followers and get them to see the movie for free and force film critics to pay the money for his movies. While I can respect giving people who want to see film the chance to see it over those who have to for their job, why would I read a fanboy’s reaction to one of his movies? Isn’t that the problem we have been talking about this whole time, poor reviewing? Aren’t they just people with a blogger account?
If you follow movie blogs, you’ve probably heard of CHUD.com, and their editor, Devin Faraci. Faraci wrote an editorial in response to Smith’s rant, lambasting Smith, and more importantly, his fans, which I see no correlation with. Faraci says “Fifteen years ago I thought Kevin Smith was the voice of a generation. It turns out he is - the generation just happens to be lazy, stupid people who are perfectly content going through life without an original, interesting thought in their heads.” Faraci does make a good point, however, when talking about defending a film with the “hey, it’s a stupid piece of crap, back off” mentality saying “If Smith doesn't want to be judged on a filmmaking level let's judge him on a sheer consumer level - does he really believe that Cop Out, a retarded child of a film, is worth a full price admission at a movie theater?” But, he goes right back to supporting some of Smith’s claims saying that he will no longer review Smith’s movies, and he now has two hours of his life for more important things; once again, a film critic who looks at film as a job, not as a source of entertainment.
Here is the full rant, for your reading pleasure:
So, what do you think? Was Kevin Smith’s Cop Out judged too harshly? Is movie criticism going too overboard on all of this? Tell me all about it in the comments section!(1/5) @coked_up_jesus "I gotta say that every day I hate film
theory & film students & critics more & more. Where is the fun in
movies?" Sir(2/5) sometimes, it's important to turn off the chatter. Film
fandom's become a nasty bloodsport where cartoonishly rooting for failure
getsabout 14 hours ago via web(3/5)the hit count up on the ol' brand-new blog.
And if a schmuck like me pays you some attention, score! MORE EYES, MEANS MORE
ADVERT $.about 14 hours ago via web(4/5) But when you pull your eye away from
the microscope, you can see that shit you're studying so closely is, in reality,
tiny as fuck.about 14 hours ago via web(5/5) You wanna enjoy movies again? Stop
reading about them & just go to the movies. It's improved film/movie
appreciation immensely for me.about 14 hours ago via webSeriously: so many critics lined-up to pull a sad & embarrassing train on #CopOut like it was
JenniferJasonLeigh in LAST EXIT TO BROOKLYN.about 14 hours ago via webWatching them beat the shit out of it was sad. Like, it's called #CopOut ; that sound
like a very ambitious title to you? You REALLY wannaabout 14 hours ago via
webshit in the mouth of a flick that so OBVIOUSLY strived for nothing more than
laughs. Was it called "Schindler's Cop Out"? Writing a nastyabout 14 hours ago
via webreview for #CopOut is akin to bullying a retarded kid who was getting a
couple chuckles from the normies by singing AFTERNOON DELIGHT.about 14 hours ago
via webSuddenly, bully-dudes are doing the bad impression of him, using the
"retart" voice. The crowd shifts uncomfortably. #IfOnlyDaltonWasHereabout 14
hours ago via webAnd you may impress a couple of low IQ-ers who're like "Yeah,
man! Way to destroy that singing retart!" But, really? All you've done is
makeabout 14 hours ago via webfun of something that wasn't doing you any harm
and wanted only to give some cats a some fun laughs. Yes I compared My Flick To A Retarded Kid about 14 hours ago via webIt was just ridiculous to watch. That was it for me. Realized whole system's upside down: so
we let a bunch of people see it for free & theyabout 13 hours ago via
webshit all over it? Meanwhile, people who'd REALLY like to see the flick for free are made to pay? Bullshit: from now on, any flick I'm everabout 13 hours ago via web
involved with, I conduct critics screenings thusly: you wanna see it
early to review it? Fine: pay like you would if you saw it next week.about 13
hours ago via webLike, why am I giving an arbitrary 500 people power over what I
do at all, let alone for free? Next flick, I'd rather pick 500 randoms fromabout
13 hours ago via webTwitter feed & let THEM see it for free in advance, then post THEIR opinions, good AND bad. Same difference. Why's their opinion more valid?about 13 hours ago via web
It's a backwards system. People are free to talk shit about ANY of my flicks, so long as they paid to see it. Fuck this AnimalFarm bullshit.about 13 hours ago via webReply Retweet
1 comment:
He doesn't even know how to spell. Maybe Twitter is in text jargon, but I noticed several things spelled wrong.
-M
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