Everybody's a (Film) Critic

Once upon a time a while back ago, specifically my freshman year here at college, I did a segment called 'the search for the worst movie ever.' Basically, I seeked out the worst the Walmart one dollar bin had, then showed clips and generally tore it apart. It was all good natured fun and most of these movies were so unbearably bad that I considered it a public service of sorts. I produced the short segments throughout the year, put them online, and forgot about them.

That summer I finally made the leap from short films and 40 minute mini features to my first 90 minute full length film. I struggled through the production and poured every ounce of my heart into the project. My hardy and fiercely hardworking cast and crew of only a few people brought their best to the table in order to make the best film possible.

Later, on one of the many long nights editing that film, I looked at some of my old videos, including the Search for the Worst Movie Ever segments I worked on. I looked at the comments that people had posted. Some agreed with my assessments, some were the usual mature YouTube LOLZ U FFAGS commentary, but a handful of other comments got to me. They were the few that stood up for the films that I made fun of, that told me I didn't understand, that I was too young to say anything.

I continued slaving away at Run Hollywood Summer for months in post, all the while immersing myself in further research on independent production. And I kept thinking about those segments. What right really did I have to make those comments? Some of the videos I tore apart were the work of people who had put all their passion, their life into making their film. They really cared, and what if it all had come to a mediocre film? Aren't they entitled to some sort of respect for even putting themselves out there in a way that most of us are far to afraid to ever do?

But mostly, what if my film, the one I put so much sweat and love into, turned out to be a piece of shit? What if Run Hollywood Summer, despite all my efforts, was utterly unwatchable? How would I feel if some snarky college kid just called it a piece of crap left it at that?

So late one night I got online and removed every Search for the Worst Movie Ever segment from youtube. I was embarrassed that people ever saw them at all, saw a younger, far less experienced me rip on filmmakers I have now come to respect.

For example, I don't love Michael Bay, so what? He makes movies he loves and quite a few others love as well and I respect him for that. I could pick apart any movie I've ever seen, but anybody who can sit in a chair can do that. Could I have done a better job? Maybe, but probably not.

There are so many variables that go into the production of a film that hard work and good intentions alone don't always result in a great movie. Everybody who works on a project wants it to be the next Pulp Fiction or Godfather, but it just doesn't work out that way. The secret is, nobody knows how to make a great film. It just happens. Some have a better track record than others, but if we truly knew, how come every film isn't a great film?

Lately it feels like Facebook and the internet is filled to the brim with amateur film critics. Everybody rates everything, gives their own opinion why a film is garbage or not. They usually speak with complete authority and conviction. A movie is such an easy entity to judge, such an inviting target to just tear apart. While I applaud so much interest in the medium, the idea that some teenager at a computer can publish a scathing review of a project that hundreds put all their effort into to create just seems unsettling.

Don't get me wrong, I love film criticism. I check Metacritic on a regular basis and look at reviews before I ever plop down a dollar to see a movie. But the best film critics have a love and understanding of film that only comes with age and experience. Such as I do not have.

I'm still learning, and as I embark on my second feature length I find that I know far less than I ever thought. The experience of directing is a humbling one, and I realize how little I truly know and understand, and how much I have to learn from everybody around me. I am in no position to publicly criticize anybody who has ever put their film, their baby, out there to entertain the world. Because, for the first time in my life, I'm starting to understand what it feels like to be on the other side.

So Ron Marchini, I owe you an apology. I tore apart your indie low budget futuristic flick Karate Cop in my first Search for the Worst Movie Ever segment. You went out there in the days when independent film was far more expensive and difficult than it is now in the digital age and made a movie, to hell with anybody who told you no. Wannabe filmmakers, such as myself a year ago, have nothing on you, because you made your movie. And for that, you have my utmost respect.

And so, a toast to the good, bad, and ugly of film. Celebrate it all, because anybody can talk, but only a few get out there and do. So if you're a doer, my hat's off to you, even if your film makes my spleen want to claw its way out of my body. You did it anyway.


dan