1. The widespread failure of critics to appreciate the Big Lebowski is really part of a more general tendency not to appreciate off-kilter comedy.https://twitter.com/notjessewalker/status/971576839352344576 …
-
-
3. It's true that loopy, bug-eyed comedy is hard to do well & the Coen's biggest failures (Hudsucker, Lady Killers) are in this genre, when they lose control of their material.
Show this thread -
4. The larger problem is that default mode of most film criticism is naturalism -- so any exuberant, deliberately exaggerated art is suspect (reviews of Kubrick have same problem).
Show this thread -
5. This is a good point. All good movies improve on re-watching but Lebowski is on a steep curve -- after 3 or 4 viewings it is a different movie.https://twitter.com/rianjohnson/status/971589084584976384 …
Show this thread -
6. Yeah, Paul Thomas Anderson is in same camp as Kurbrick/Coen -- although PTA does get his share of critical love.https://twitter.com/dcherring/status/971589779723726848 …
Show this thread -
7. Back to Kubrick: I was recently re-reading a lot of Pauline Kael recently and noticed that she hated every Kubrick movie after Dr. Strangelove. That's amazing!
Show this thread -
8. I mean you can dispute the relative merits of Clockwork Orange or The Shinning, but to consistently dislike all of Kubrick's major post-Strangelove works suggests a critical blindspot.
Show this thread -
9. I think Kael wasn't able to appreciate most of Kubrick because she mistook his high artifice (a deliberate choice of modes) as a failure of naturalism & sign of lack of feelings.
Show this thread -
10. But, ultimately, good film criticism isn't about being right or wrong so much as it's about explaining your reaction convincingly. So Kael or Kubrick or the Lebowski pans don't bother me.
Show this thread -
11. In fact, my favorite movie podcasters (
@williamfleitch &@TimGrierson) still don't like the Big Lebowski! But they explain their lack of enthusiasm well here:https://soundcloud.com/grierson-leitch/a-fantastic-woman-winchester …Show this thread
End of conversation
New conversation -
-
-
I tend to agree with the critics. I didn't even like O Brother Where Art Thou? and may have even turned it off before it was done.
Thanks. Twitter will use this to make your timeline better. UndoUndo
-
Loading seems to be taking a while.
Twitter may be over capacity or experiencing a momentary hiccup. Try again or visit Twitter Status for more information.
....