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Checking the most recent box office tallies, a troublesome question comes to mind:
Are film critics becoming obsolete?
Certainly this isn't wishful thinking. Eleven years ago, I left a gratifying job, teaching in public schools, for this one, and hope to continue in it until retirement. Maybe that former profession prepared me for this one, because both entail presenting information to audiences that sometimes aren't interested. Recalcitrant students and blind-faith moviegoers have more in common than they might suspect.
Take the past two weekends, for example.
The box office leaders were movies hidden from film critics until the night before they debuted. That meant most critics couldn't publish reviews until the day after the openings. Alien vs. Predator earned $38.3-million from Aug. 13 to Aug. 15, and last weekend Exorcist: The Beginning made $18.2-million. That's a lot of people buying tickets on personal whims rather than educated guesses.
What teacher worth an apple would encourage students to make life choices that way?
As a critic, I get the same sinking feeling when bad or mediocre movies are successful that I got as a teacher when promising students were suspended. I bite my tongue (or try) when someone tells me he can't wait to see Little Black Book the way I did when class clowns tried to shock me. Then I explain why that isn't a good idea and get the same "I don't care" expression.
Teachers complain that some parents don't support their authority, in effect teaching their children not to listen. Film critics can say the same about movie studios. Slap together a snappy preview trailer and saturate television with it, and the masses can be convinced that an inferior film is a must-see. The studios can help moviegoers skip "school" for a day or two by keeping critics in the dark. By the time the lesson is learned, the money's in the bank.
If Alien vs. Predator and Exorcist: The Beginning were likely to be admired in reviews, Twentieth Century Fox and Warner Bros. would have bent over backward to provide screenings for critics. They knew they were dishing out junk disguised as art. They also knew enough people would take the bait to make the switch worthwhile.
It's that portion of moviegoers that worries me. What does it take to get the lesson across?
The best teachers feel duty-bound to expand their students' horizons, to make them reach for something better. Serious film critics - not those "substitute teachers" who like anything if its gets their byline in an ad - raise the standards of moviegoers, urging them to demand more challenging, ingeniously entertaining cinema.
Students are repeatedly taught to respond with their top efforts, so why shouldn't moviegoers? Teachers steer people toward better life choices, as critics do with movie choices. Admittedly, both are subjective goals, although life has its steadfast rules and cinema's are amended whenever a shiny new distraction arrives at megaplexes.
The only encouraging sign from the past two weekends is how rapidly that sheen wore off. Alien vs. Predator made the lion's share of its first weekend haul on Friday, then dropped a precipitous 25 percent on Saturday, a rarity in this business. Exorcist: The Beginning's opening weekend gross was the lowest leading total since April, when The Passion of the Christ was running out of steam. The horror sequel took an 11 percent tumble from Friday to Saturday, ensuring it won't be around theaters long.
Did the day-late, mostly negative reviews make a difference? I'd like to think so. More likely it was that impulsive factor separating honor roll students from underachievers. Moviegoers already inclined to do what they want wouldn't allow authoritative voices to interfere. But the evidence suggests that number is getting smaller, at least in these two circumstances.
Are film critics obsolete? Not any more than teachers are. As long as impressionable minds are available, film critics and teachers have a responsibility to spur them to intelligent thought. (Although moviegoers can be older, more set in their ways and therefore tougher to influence.) Movies aren't as important as life, but the same goal of enhancing it applies.
I occasionally run into former students, some of them problems years ago, who tell me they still appreciate my lessons and technique of handling students - some of which might get me fired or killed these days. Most of them are doing quite well. It makes those times of doubting my influence seem unnecessary. It's a good feeling.
Something similar happens when moviegoers say they should have stayed away from what knew to be a waste of time and money. Or when they take my advice to try something different from their usual tastes and love it. Making a difference for the better, in classrooms or theaters, is what matters.
Conscientious teachers expect to leave no child behind. Film critics should believe the same about moviegoers.