Tuesday, October 23, 2007

I loved it! I hated it! It's hilarious! It's terrible!

I laughed all the way through Mike Judge's Idiocracy -- a brilliant futurist send-up in which the world of tomorrow has only gotten dumber through the years -- and it seems clear that Christianity Today reviewer Frederica Greene-Mattewes did too, which is strange, considering the review she gave it.

This is a classic example of that rare form: a negative review that negates itself, a pan that misses no opportunity to recap all the funny scenes, only to arrive at the view that the movie isn't that funny, or that good, or something.

Maybe bi-polar reviews like this are common on Planet Bizarro, or will be on this planet in 500 years: "Stay at home! Do not watch this hilarious film that I cannot stop quoting in loving detail! You'll be sorry if you see it!"

3 comments:

Elizabeth M. said...

I expect they're already pretty common on Planet Evangelon. Maybe she's regurgitating the entire plot so her readers won't have to soil themselves firsthand with potty humor. Consider the source -- she's writing for an audience that has to have Office Space explained to them. Sad!

nnyhav said...

Great post! Really sux! So incisive! And utterly clueless!

Anonymous said...

Hi Rodney! I tried emailing you to inquire about your interest in joining a group of former meanderers but it got bounced back. Please email me at sarah dot plum at drake dot edu

And I loved the Lessing post! I fell for that book hard the first time too and wonder how it would hit me now. And I love that you quoted Carly Simon!