Image credit: Chuck Zlotnick
Sign me up as one of those people who think that summer 2010 hasn’t exactly been a banner season for movies. So I was curious to see how the very amusing writer Joe Queenan would sum it up in his WSJ.com essay, The Worst Movie Year Ever? For the most part he was dead on. But I have to take issue with a few of his statements. “The Kids Are All Right…is no Sideways,” he alleges. Excuse me? The Kids Are All Right contains more heart, more truth, and more big laughs than that fine wine-drenched film. But the sentence that really jumped out at me comes near the top of his rant: “Stop making movies like Grown Ups, Sex and the City 2, Prince of Persia and anything that positions Jennifer Aniston or John C. Reilly at the top of the marquee.” Now, I hear him on those first three. But Jennifer Aniston’s only film this summer is the yet-to-be-released Jason Bateman comedy The Switch, which is actually surprisingly touching. And John C. Reilly’s vehicle Cyrus is a truly unique love triangle that happens to boast a score of 81 on Rotten Tomatoes and has grossed a respectable $7 million in limited release.
Does anyone else think he was out of line to lump Cyrus in with Robin Hood and The A-Team? Or have this summer’s indie flicks been as disappointing to you as the blockbusters?
The article isn’t just about summer movies, it’s about the year 2010 so far- and Aniston released the wretched “The Bounty Hunter” earlier this year. Just saying.
Agreed about Cyrus and The Kids Are All Right, though! What a bad article. The worst line is “What does it say about the current season that the third installation of “Toy Story” is better than the first installation of anything else?” Um, it says that Pixar is really great at making movies?
Aside from ‘Cyrus’, ‘Inception’, ‘Toy Story 3′, and ‘The Kids All Alright’, this summer, or this movie year so far has been a real stinker.
Amen!
With respect to Mr. Queenan, who really cares what he thinks? Why give his piece more weight and credibility by creating another piece to counter it?
There have been a lot of disappointing movies this summer. I wouldn’t include Cyrus among them.
So, who cares what you think about Cyrus?
Pfft. Sideways was FAR superior to Kids Are All Right.
agree! have watch Sideways many many times – will not be watching Kids again
I thought “The Kids Are Alright” was just alright. It’s more like a drama with (some) laughs than a comedy, which is how it’s being sold. I found it to be, ultimately, kind of a bummer.
Cyrus was ok. But The Kids are All Right was one of the best films I’ve seen in a very long time.
Aside from ‘Cyrus’, ‘Inception’, ‘Toy Story 3′, and ‘The Kids All Alright’, this summer, or this movie year so far has been a real stinker.
agree with the 3 you mentioned and would add surprisingly ‘Dinner With Shmucks’ I found it have a heart which most comedies of it’s kind do not!
I think Cyrus may be as close to perfect as a movie gets, Queenan is lumping together all the summer movies in an effort to make his predetermined point. But he loses credibility when he doesn’t recognize the true exceptions to his theory.
Jennifer Aniston needs to diversify her resume or she will continue to be a rom-com loser. I am sure Gerard Butler is kicking himself that he has been in two movies in the last twelve months with the two most one dimensional actresses in Hollywood (the other being Katherine Heigl). Both of them have damages his career.
I’d be kicking myself to star in a film with the minimally talented Gerard Butler.
This is really a reflection of the changing economics of the movie business. You simply can’t make money on the big screen without a ‘big movie’ – you’ll notice the resurgence of 3d (just like the last time the movie industry was under assault by new technology).
Interesting argument and I agree with most of it. But in such a bad year, movies that at least attempt to be creative should be praised like “Kids” and “Inception.” But nothing has made me enter a movie theater this year and pay the ten-dollar ticket price and deal with screaming teenagers. In three months, I can rent it from the comfort of home, so his argument has definite merit.
“Cyrus” was a fantastic movie- one of the best comedies I have seen in a long time. Actually- best comedy I’ve seen since “The Hangover,” now that I think about it.
That guy is an idiot for making that John C Reilly remark- he is one of our most versatile actors alive.
Queenan’s always wrong about something (in this case putting TS3, The Kids are Alright, and Cyrus in a list of bad movies), but that’s just the way he is– he’s a grumpy old guy who’s never happy… he’s funny even when you don’t agree with him.
i totally agree that cyrus and the kids are all right are excellent movies. i loved both. cyrus is perhaps one of the most unique and genuinely funny comedies i have seen in a long time if not ever.
‘The Kids Are Alright’ WAS indeed horrible…and it saddened me to realize the writers of that film tried desperately hard to make Julianne Moore and Mark Ruffalo’s characters evil and bad, yet didn’t show forgiveness or compassion to both characters at the end of the film. It disgusted me and sent out a hostile message. BAD movie.
I so agree with you Rebecca. Both of those characters asked for forgiveness…but it didn’t happen. Very flawed movie. Those kids will definately NOT be alright when they become parents. What a horrible writer and director this movie had.
Shirley you are exactly who summer movies are made for. You want everything wrapped in a nice 90 minute package with a nice R&B ballad at the end. Congrats on The Summer of Shirley!
It was a horrible movie, it supports the idea that men need to be with women.
Very disappointing and exactly what the media wants to put into everyone’s head.
The Kids Are Alright is a pathetic attempt at portraying a lesbian relationship based on stereotypes and sick attempts at drama that some straight bored business men probably thought would make a great movie. Yes, get a lesbian couple where the “butch” gets off watching gay men. There its philosophical. Oh no but now there’s a problem… the “man” of the relationship isn’t paying enough attention to “his” woman. Will another real man get her? Yeah. Get a life.
He’s just plain silly. ‘Toy Story 3′ is a masterpiece, and if it were released any other year, it would still be at the top of many people’s best of the year so far lists. ‘Kids’ is slightly over-praised, but it’s quite good. Haven’t seen ‘Cyrus’ yet, but it intrigues me. And I absolutely loved ‘Inception’. Yeah, there are slim pickens, but what’s good is great.
sorry, did not care for Cyrus at all! To me it seemed it did not know what type of movie it wanted to be – comedy? drama? dramedy? heat-touching? And The Kids Are Alright – was alright. Only 2 good movies this summer TS3 and Inception>
and Despicable Me (non 3D) was actually pretty good