On April 4th, legendary film critic Roger Ebert passed away after a long battle with thyroid cancer. It was a sad day that left a huge void in the profession that I first became aware of at ten years old. "Wait a minute, you can ACTUALLY get paid to give your opinions about movies?" It seemed to good to be true. But even if I were to ever join the professional ranks, I couldn't possibly match Ebert's contributions. Next to Pauline Kael, he was without question the most famous and influential film journalist of all time. He definitely influenced me. I probably wouldn't be writing blogs about movies if the rotund Illinois native hadn't done so much to pioneer the art of film criticism. He started his career in 1967 with the Chicago Sun Times, published more than 20 books, and became the only critic to ever win a Pulitzer prize. In 1975, he started reviewing movies on television with his Windy City rival Gene Siskel. For nearly two-and-a-half decades, this dynamic duo bickered as they broke down every new release, and their trademark endorsement of 'Two Thumbs Up" entered the public lexicon. Sadly, Siskel died of a brain tumor in 1999. Richard Roeper took his seat on the balcony in 2000 and the show went on for several more years. Roger's health rapidly deteriorated in 2006. He never stopped writing reviews, but was unable to do the show anymore and it was ultimately cancelled in 2010 after a series of stuffy stand-ins had failed to click with the masses. Nobody else has ever been able to launch a successful movie review show.
Ebert reminded me to never judge a movie based on what it's about. A good movie can be made about any subject, and good movies are never depressing. Only bad ones are. He detested the star rating system. Just because two movies get the same star rating doesn't mean that they're on the same level. Film is too complex for such simplicity. Movies and politics are two subjects that everybody THINKS they know about, but most people know nothing about either one, and movies are at least as complex as politics. Maybe even more so. We're talking about a medium that has existed for almost 100 years and a man that dedicated his life to studying every genre as well as countless actors, writers and directors. But despite a wealth of knowledge, he was never pretentious or alienating. He recognized when a film was weighty and 'important', yet never dismissed 'entertainment'. His list of 'Great Movies' included "Citizen Kane" AND "Planes, Trains, and Automobiles". He loved "Schindler's List" AND "Indiana Jones", and when the likes of Rob Schneider needed to be dealt with on the flip side, he could handle that, too.
Some people don't give a damn about film criticism. They never refine their tastes. They like what they like, and are unapologetic about it. These are the same people that will line up for the sixth installment of "Fast & the Furious" and "The Hangover Part III" on Memorial Day weekend. We should never discriminate against people, but we MUST discriminate when it comes to movies. There's simply too must crap that isn't worth our time and money. If we stop funding so much crap, Hollywood might produce less of it. I don't know, it's just a wild theory. I doubt I would be thinking this way if it wasn't for this bespectacled scholar and his iconic thumb. Thanks for the education, Roger.
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