HEARD IT THROUGH THE GRIPEVINE: OUR NEW ABNORMAL
For the Entertainment and Lifestyle/Culture sections of the Manila Bulletin, I regularly review films, streaming content, museums, dining places, theater, and music – live theater and concerts hopefully to return very soon. It’s a service we render, and it comes from my love for these things, and how we hope to provide indicators for the reading public to know which may be worth their time or patronage, given that there are so many options to choose from. We’re not infallible, and reviews are often a matter of judgment mixed with taste.
Insofar as restaurants are concerned, for example, it helps to experiment with different reviewers and find which one seems to be aligned with your own notion of what makes for good food. One person’s culinary Nirvana, can be the next person’s idea of mediocrity. You look for the food writers who share your own ideas of what’s worth exploring, and you stick to them, as they’re the ones you find you can “trust.”
It’s the same with films and streaming content. I followed film critics Siskel and Ebert before they passed away; and I’ll lean to the reviews of the Guardian and Empire, over those of the daily telegraph or variety. That’s just the way I’m wired, and it took time for me to understand where to source the reviews I’d follow or subscribe to. And it’s not a matter of who’s right or wrong, but more about affinity, and again, trust.
What I like to do is create capsule reviews as teasers for the full reviews I’ll write here on the MB website, or as they find their way to be published on print. I mention all this because earlier this week, I posted on social media a capsule review of Red Notice, and I was amused by the reactions I elicited, the comments made by some people, and how defensive people can get over something they obviously enjoyed, and that I trashed.
My IG post that had some people reacting with misplaced vehemence.
With a budget north of $200 million, and a cast led by Dwayne Johnson, Ryan Reynolds, and Gal Gadot, I safely predicted this would shoot up the charts of Most Watched, but I characterized the heist/adventure film as derivative, sorely lacking in originality, seemingly conceptualized by an algorithm, and with a director who left his cast just riffing on their previous film portrayals (Reynolds doing Deadpool Lite, without any of the cuss words),and never going beyond a scratching of the surface. There wasn’t anything really wrong with the film, but there wasn’t anything right about it – $200 million, and no decent screenplay or CGI?
Hitting #1 Most Watched means people watched, and most likely, enjoyed it; and I have no issue with that. But I loved how someone commented that I shouldn’t take the film seriously, that it’s no Godard or Coen Brothers film, and that I should lighten up. Really? Do you think I’ll see The Rock, Reynolds and Gadot working together, and think serious drama? Of course I know it’s light, escapist fare; but that doesn’t mean we suspend expectations of quality. I loved Reynolds in his Deadpool’s, and even Free Guy – but there were strong ideas and solid execution in those fun films. I loved Bob Odenkirk’s Nobody, with its mix of action, violence, and deadpan comedy. So no, I don’t have to lighten up. Those films worked because of elements sorely missing in Red Notice.
And can I just add that the Coen Brothers know how to make great, funny films, suffused with dark humor. Raising Arizona, Fargo, The Big Lebowski, and The Ballad of Buster Scruggs are all wonderful comedies that Red Notice will never come close to being talked about and loved, as those Coen Brothers films are. So all I was saying, is that if you have some standards that you’d like the films you watch and/or enjoy to carry, this one was a big Red No! Didn’t even do enough to “tease” some laughter out of me, as Reynolds did this motormouth shtick so much better in the aforementioned Deadpool. If your young kids had never watched Deadpool, then of course they’ll go crazy, enjoying what Reynolds is doing here – but it’s a far cry from Ryan at his best.
I loved how others were defending the film with “considering its Netflix.” I don’t think that holds water anymore, as Netflix has financed some of the stronger quality films of the last few years – Roma of Cuaron, The Irishman of Scorsese, Marriage Story of Baumbach, and later this year, The Power of the Dog of Campion. So it’s serves no purpose to say that; a film is a film, and should be judged on its merits, and not qualified because it’s on Netflix, HBO, Apple+, or Amazon Prime. In fact, these streaming services are the new big time Hollywood producers of today.
Finally, it’s just a review, an opinion. If you enjoyed the film, I’m fine with that. But don’t try and convince me I’m wrong, or presume I’ve approached the film in the wrong manner. Like I said, if you don’t agree with me, find the one who writes film reviews that jive with your taste in films.