For many years friends encouraged me to seek out opportunities to write film reviews for local rags. I protested that there was little point in doing so because the tastes of most readers differed from my own. I found much mainstream fare formulaic and dull. So what kind of taste guide could I be for the majority of readers? One of the very special pleasures of the internet is that those with minority tastes can so readily find like-minded souls to share our ideas and enthusiasms with.

It is, so often, a matter of taste. It’s a wonder we try to form opinions at all sometimes.

But seriously? You think this is the golden age of television? Are you kidding me? Now that Hysteria, M*A*S*H, Animaniacs and The Cosby show are off the air, what else is there?

sartre, thanks for the kind words. Perhaps I was too forgiving, but the people in the audience loved this movie. I mean, really really really loved it. I was kind of overwhelmed by the response, and as much as I wanted to say it, I couldn’t just go “they’re all stupid sheep and don’t really understand good comedy.” They saw something to like, and I felt an obligation to acknowledge that. The film is trash and probably won’t exist very long past its DVD release date, but it provided a lot of entertainment to those people for that 2 hours. That has to count for something, I guess.

And I just checked the BO reports, and Step Brothers did $30 million, which I guess isn’t too bad. I’m going to assume that TDK stole all the thunder again with its $75 million take, and the 20-30 male demographic that Step Brothers targeted were seeing Batman for the second time.

But you’re right, that is the grand question: why does some trash (Daddy Day Care) succeed magnificently and other trash (Kicking and Screaming) bomb like Britney Spears? The American audience, she is a fickle creature, is she not?

Daniel, interestingly the one comedy you missed, Robert Altman’s farewell film, A Prairie Home Companion, is by far the most worthwhile of the lot and I don’t begrudge John C. Reilly showing up in that one bit. That was one of my Top Ten of 2006, a very fine piece of Americana from a wonderful director exploring many of his own interests very well. You should actually see that one.

Aside from that one film, though, I do not understand why Reilly has been sidetracked into such lame, pitifully dumb “comedies” over and over. For a while I was thinking he was going to be a fixture in the Scorsese-DiCaprio Train, but as you note, for a few years now he’s been on more of the Will Ferrell Train.

And, Daniel that was a really telling pre- and post-2005 comparison. Nicely done. It saddens me to see Reilly in the most artless populace entertainment. I think he and Ferrell have a terrific talent for comedy but they squander it on the lamest of high concept vehicles.

Trash can be enjoyable and inventive, but you know – most trash is trash. Calling a film out as falling into this category, and backing your conclusion up with persuasive reasons, doesn’t automatically equate with being a pretentious critic. I find very few critics pretentious, off the top of my head Armond White, and sometimes Andrew Sarris, come to mind.

What I don’t always understand is why a film like Step Brothers might be a relative box office failure with its main target audience yet something equally repetitive, and filled with redundancy and sameness , is a hit. Now that’s an analysis I’d like to see – when trash works as box office gold and when it doesn’t. Then again, if we could accurately answer this question the studios would be knocking at our doors.

Regardless of which is ‘best,’ I think we can all agree we’re experiencing a golden age of television. People will look back fondly on things now in 30 years.

Oh, and by the way, welcome to MZ Brandon. Glad to have you.

John C. Reilly, prior to 2005:
Casualties of War
Days of Thunder
Hoffa
What’s Eating Gilbert Grape
The River Wild
Boogie Nights
The Thin Red Line
For Love of the Game
Magnolia
The Perfect Storm
The Anniversary Party
The Good Girl
Chicago
Gangs of New York
The Hours
The Aviator

John C. Reilly, since 2005:
A Prairie Home Companion (I actually never saw it)
Talladega Nights
Tenacious D in the Pick of Destiny
Year of the Dog
Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story
The Promotion
Step Brothers

Too true, Pat, too true. Where are the days of Magnolia? If Reily isn’t carefule he’s gonna pull a Cuba Gooding on us.

Thanks for validating me, Daniel. With the squeals of delight from the audience, I was wondering if I wasn’t just being really prudish.

A lot of the meat of this review came out of our discussion, Eric. I’m finding it more and more of an asset to see films with people so they can help me gather my thoughts afterwards.

Of all the flaws and misfires in this movie (and there are a lot of them), this was the one that I had the most trouble understanding. The audience was shrieking in delight with every obscenity. I wasn’t confused; I was disturbed, and a little scared. Where’s the comedy?

Wait…I mean…I’m not arrogant and pretentious.

And I can discredit the taste of millions of people. It evidently sucks, look at all the trash that makes so much money.

One other thing: if you think Richard Jenkins is a grandfatherly figure, you haven’t seen, oh, say, Six Feet Under