What makes a “good” movie?
I’m convinced that part of our opinions of the merits of a film are due to circumstances surrounding our movie-watching experiences, and not to the actual picture itself.
Expectations play a huge role in forming one’s opinions. Though I didn’t appreciate The Matrix when I first saw it on the big screen, I grew to love it and watched it voraciously prior to the releases of the second and third parts in the trilogy. Reloaded and Revolutions were disappointments to me; my expectations were too high and inhibited my enjoyment of the movies. On the other hand, I went to My Big Fat Greek Wedding expecting a fun, fluffy flick and I had a good fun, fluffy time.
Physical surroundings also play a role. I’ll always associate The Adventures of Baron Munchausen with these nasty tasting calzones from Sam’s Club I was eating while watching the movie. Coincidentally, Adventures also left a nasty taste in my mouth. Watch any slightly humorous movie with Charity and you can’t help but smile—the girl is a major movie laugher! We all know flicks like Dumb and Dumber and Tommy Boy are best watched in the right crowd, preferably late at night or accompanied by a few drinks (I mean KoolAid for you minors!). And we’ve all had bad movie-going experiences, ones where a kid kicks your chair through the entire two hour screening or someone with major b.o. sits right next to you. All these things can affect your opinion.
I bring all this up because I’ve had several discussions about movies in the past few days that have resulted in the following phrases: “What?!?! I HATED [or LOVED] that movie!!” …And I’ve been surprised by how different my perception of the film is from my friends’ opinions.
– After reading negative reviews, I ended up really liking Troy. My younger brother thought it was terrible. In fact, the scene I was most impressed by (Priam’s request in Achilles’ tent), Andrew thought was the worst. Huh.
– Though my psyche will forever be scarred, I thought The House of Sand and Fog was a decent movie. My friends Sarah and Dave thought it was just terrible. They also actually walked out of Cold Mountain out of boredom—and I really liked that show! Hmmm.
– I despised American Splendor. Everyone raved about this film so I suppose my expectations were quite high. Hated it. Only watched the whole thing because I kept hoping it would get better. Three friends in the past few days have mentioned how much they liked it. Ugh.
– Perhaps this goes without saying, but my parents and Jeremy’s parents hardly ever agree with us on “good” movies. One of my favorites, O Brother, Where Art Thou?, put my mother-in-law to sleep and made my mom roll her eyes. Ah well!
So who knows what makes a good movie? Academy Awards are given out year after year, and year after year people argue why one deserves the statuette and why another does not. I guess we can all just agree to amicably disagree.
8 Comments
andrew Jun 17, 2004 7:15 PM
i must comment. i would gladly go see troy again, however, after having read the iliad i felt a little bit underwhelmed, to use a movie critic’s choice word, and am left wanting more. the redeemer: brad pitt. nuf said.
kerri Jun 17, 2004 11:47 PM
“o brother where art thou?” definitely improves upon re-watching. we thought it was just okay upon first viewing; then enjoyed it more and more upon subsequent re-viewings. it’s now among my favorites.
it is puzzling sometimes, others’ tastes…my brother-in-law loved “short circuit” (yes, the one with ally sheedy and the annoying robot) and didn’t appreciate at all the humor and edginess of “fargo”…and he normally has pretty good taste. go figure.
Bethany Jun 19, 2004 2:33 PM
Perhaps you did not like American Splendor because you are not a nERd. (That is my best approximation of how to type the way Toby says “nerd”) :)
Jason Jun 20, 2004 7:44 PM
I’m a firm believer that there are certain movies that are “crowd” movies (much more enjoyable with a ton of people), “personal” movies (much more enjoyable when it’s just you, or a select group of people), and certain movies that can be enjoyed in both setting (though differently). For example, freaky Hong Kong kung fu movies and MST3K episodes are always better in a crowd.
As far as expectations go, I have a tendency to absorb as much as I can about a film that I’m interested in, which has proved detrimental in the past. For example, I’m being very careful with how much I expose myself to news about “The Life Aquatic”, “Sky Captain”, “Old Boy”, and these other movies that I’ll be seeing in the future – simply because I want to be able to take them on their own terms as much as possible. But it’s a very fine line. I’ll say this… there truly is nothing better than going into a film completely unprepared, only to have it totally blow your mind (like the first time I saw “The Matrix”).
Bethany Jun 20, 2004 9:26 PM
Or the first time I saw “The Royal Tenenbaums” in the theatre.
I agree with Jason. I was trying to articulate that feeling to someone recently, that having become so much more “into” movies in the past several years, I miss being able to go to a movie not knowing what it’s all about, what to expect, having seen the trailers, stills, read reviews on AICN, etc. It still happens, just not as often.
bobw Jun 21, 2004 12:59 AM
I think it’s even better to have high expectations met or exceeded. “eternal sunshine” did this for me. I cant resist, so I always read the reviews before I go to a flick and pretty much find out all about it. and it was very highly reviewed. and it was very good and I left very happy. clever, funny, touching, compelling, a bit wacky, only a little offensive (well, maybe more than a little if you have a problem with vulgar language). if it hits most of those points, I usually like it.
similarly, we had high expectations for our combi stroller that we ordered sight-unseen, and it totally freakin rocks. check the conversation on my blog if you think this is a non-sequitur.
Jason Jun 21, 2004 9:45 AM
Yeah, having really high expectations and having those blown away is an equally enjoyable experience. “Eternal Sunshine” did that for me, as well as “Hero”.
rebecca Jun 21, 2004 5:43 PM
i would rather walk into a movie with low expectations — that way i’ll be pleasantly surprised if i like the film. it’s like going to the dentist and being prepared for lots of pain; then happily walking out with just a minor ache. okay, so maybe the two can’t be compared!
the matrix blew me away, too, but not in a good direction. my knowledge of sci-fi at the time was really pathetic. today i’d appreciate that kind of surprise first-viewing much more. (six years together in holy matrimony and jeremy’s got me appreciating sci-fi AND fantasy! i wonder if he enjoys jane austen more now?)