VIEWPOINT
by Taylor Jensen/entertainment editor
Calling someone famous a “female hippo” in a movie review is not OK, especially when you are being paid for the words.
Rex Reed, an illustrious film critic for The New York Observer, has recently received wide criticism for his review of Identity Thief, a movie starring Jason Bateman as a mild-mannered businessman who travels on a wild adventure to restore normalcy to his life after zany Melissa McCarthy steals his identity.
In his review, Reed calls McCarthy “cacophonous” and “tractor-sized,” claiming she relies on the gimmick of being “obnoxious” and “overweight.” In the past, Reed has had no problem with male actors’ weight like John Goodman, Chris Farley or Seth Rogen, but now that McCarthy has landed a lead role in a comedy, she is “humongous.”
And this is not the first time Reed has sparked controversy with his carelessly chosen words.
In his long career as a critic, Reed has attacked South Korea by saying you can’t expect a good movie from “a nation that is weaned on kimchi, a mixture of raw garlic and cabbage buried underground until it rots,” and actress Sarah Jessica Parker’s appearance, saying she would “make a wonderful Halloween witch.”
I agree with Reed that Identity Thief wasn’t the best movie, but it had absolutely nothing to do with McCarthy relying on her appearance for laughs. The first rule you must follow when reviewing a film is to always remain objective, and one would think an employee of The New York Observer could manage it.
He simply attacked McCarthy in his review, gambled with his credibility and abused his power as a writer. An analysis that should have been well-formulated and clever came off instead as a self-aggrandizing ramble.
Calling names, even if one uses big words, doesn’t change the fact that one’s a bully, and attacking someone based on personal opinions that have nothing to do with the film makes one a bad critic.
Anyone can ramble. Only a few can make a difference when they write.
