Us movie fans are a passionate bunch. That’s both a very good thing… and at times a very bad thing. Our passion sparks great discussion, causes us to seek out fantastic little gem movies and share those movies with others and gives us perspectives into the world we live in, or could live in that we otherwise wouldn’t have considered or thought of. We are entertained, we are made to feel, we are made to think, we are made to laugh, we are indeed at times made to cry.
One of the problems with us being passionate about movies, and loving them so much, is that often when we love a film (and all film is subjective) we treat it like a relative and feel the need to jump to it’s defense if anyone dares say anything negative about it. Somehow we feel that if we admit that a film we love has flaws, then somehow that invalidates our love for the film, thus we (sometimes blindly) attempt to invalidate any talk of possible weaknesses in a film instead of acknowledging them and engaging in why we love the film anyway.
Take Transformers for example. I LOVE that movie. LOVE IT LOVE IT LOVE IT! It struck a chord for me in terms of entertainment value, nostalgia, excitement and charm. Many people agree with me. Many disagree. But wow… those who don’t like it seems to refuse to admit or acknowledge some of the things that made that movie great… and many of those that love it, seem to refuse to acknowledge some of the weaker elements of the movie that others see more starkly.
When we did our Movie Blog Transformers DVD commentary, everyone knew I loved that movie, but in the commentary I talked very openly about the weaknesses of the film and how, even though I loved it, I can see where people who didn’t appreciate it the way I do are coming from. I was so open about the flaws, that many people commented and emailed me asking “I THOUGHT YOU LIKED THIS MOVIE?”, or “SO YOU ADMIT IT’S A BAD MOVIE NOW!”. It’s like people from both sides can’t get their heads around the notion that you can love something, and still admit its weaknesses. That you can see flaws in something, and still appreciate and enjoy it. Sadly, it seems like this is a foreign concept to a lot of people. And we all do it sometimes, myself included.
Cloverfield is the most recent example of this. Personally, I like the movie. I side with those who saw Cloverfield as a positive movie going experience. However, even though I like the movie and gave it a positive review, I’m forced to acknowledge some of the glaring weaknesses of the movie. A movie advertised as a monster movie with less than 5 minutes of the monster. An artificial supporting cast with bad dialog. Unimpressive visual effects and camera work that often leaves audience members feeling sick. And, as a couple of commenters have posted on the boards already:
“Like Titanic is a love story with a boat in it, Cloverfield is a love story with a monster in it. Except Titanic gave you a lot more of the boat”.
That’s a fair criticism. As a matter of fact I agree with it. I even agree with those who complain that the love story in Cloverfield is a weak one. And come on, if you’re going to have a monster movie with no monster, your main story better be a damn good one then… and Cloverfield’s love story isn’t. And because I acknowledge all the above, those who dislike the film assume I’m on their side… and those who like the film feel the need to fight against me.
The fact of the matter is that I do like Cloverfield. I still encourage everyone I talk to who hasn’t seen it to see it at least once. Despite the flaws, I found Cloverfield to be a scary, unique, at times exciting and realistic feeling movie. Yes, I acknowledge all the flaws, I admit they are there, but from my subjective point of view I still think it was a good film and one worth seeing. Many disagree with me, and that’s cool, that’s the beautiful thing about film, we can all see the same movie, and come away with different opinions, impressions and thoughts about it. They effects us all differently.
But again, some people feel that if you acknowledge something good about a film, it invalidates your opinion that it wasn’t good, or the opposite, that if you acknowledge a films flaws, it somehow invalidates your position that it was a good movie. Neither is right.
The irony is, I think the “affection” we have for movies become all the more dear, unique and special when we recognize all the flaws or weaknesses in them. Kind of like people. I love my dad to death. He’s great man. A strong man. A caring man who always looks out for his family. But guess what… he’s not a perfect man. Holy shit he’s got some issues (like all of us)! But it’s almost like recognizing those flaws in him makes me love him all the more for the strengths he has. I’m not explaining this point very well… but some of you will see what I’m saying.
“The most beautiful thing about film, is the pure subjectivity of it”
That has been my mantra here on The Movie Blog for 4 years. It’s the ground work for us to engage each other’s opinions, to have different points of view on a film presented to us, and the philosophical platform for some great debates. But those opinions, views and debates are greatly enhanced when we, as passionate film fans are open to, and willing to see the pieces of beauty in the films we hate, or acknowledge the weaknesses of the films we love. It doesn’t invalidate our opinions. On the contrary, it strengthens them and makes our discourse all the more fun.
Having said that… Spider-Man 3 still sucks ass. :)
