Twice in the last week, my attention has been turned back to SUCKER PUNCH.
First, on Matineecast 77 my friend Steve Johnston mentioned it when discussing the track record of Zack Snyder. When I mentioned my utter disdain for the film, Steve used my own mantra against me and suggested I watch it again.
Just days later, a somewhat smarmy though well-intentioned video was posted on /Film where Adam Quigley presented the film as a misunderstood vessel of female empowerment. His theories might be present within the films narrative (though I disagree), but to me that didn’t change the fact that they are buried under layer upon layer of melodramatic, effects-driven, fanboy wankery.
My reactions to these suggestions then prompted my friend Jess Rachel to question the universality of my mantra. Specifically, she asked “When is it OK not to watch it again”?
A good question. After all sometimes a turkey is just a turkey.
So here is the criteria. If you ever hear me, or someone like me, suggest that you watch something again, run down this little checklist.
Can you answer all of these questions with a “yes”
- For films designed on an epic scale, did you see it in a theatre?
- Was your audience well-behaved?
- Did you watch the movie until the end?
- Were you paying attention throughout the film?
- Did you approach the film intending to like it?
- Really?
- Were you well-fed and well rested when you started the film?
- Comfy seating?
- Is the film’s cast completely devoid of athletes, wrestlers, or rock stars?
- Did you “get it”?
Can you answer all of these questions with a “no”
- Did you pause the film midway through so you could watch the finale of The Voice?
- Did you find the film personally offensive?
- Were you watching it as “homework” (ie, for blogging/podcasting purposes)
- Is the person recommending you watch it again a fan of the property?
- Is the person recommending you watch it again being a dick about it?
- Are the reviews for the film overwhelmingly negative?
- Is your reason for disliking the film “It was boring”?
- Did you watch the film in a room full of people who drowned it out with discussion about how “OMG, Sally came into my office today and was all WTF?” ?
- Were you watching the film to complete some sort of list (AFI 100, S&S Top 10, etc)?
- Did you watch the film on your phone or tablet?
Congratulations – if you can do all of that, you’re in the clear. You never need to watch the film again.
16 comments
tederick says:
Jan 31, 2013
The ceaseless efforts of film bloggers to present overcomplicated schema for how to do literally everything.
Howsabout this: do you want to watch it again, for any reason you consider justifiable? y/n
Ryan McNeil says:
Jan 31, 2013
By that criteria, I never would have gone back to PIRATES 3.
tederick says:
Jan 31, 2013
That’s fine.
Jandy Hardesty says:
Jan 31, 2013
I have no intention of ever going back to Pirates 3, unless and until I run out of all other possible movies to watch. Since that’s unlikely to happen in my lifetime, yeah. No second chance for Pirates 3.
Jandy Hardesty says:
Jan 31, 2013
I would say there’s also an element of length of time since you watched it/amount of new life experiences you’ve had since you watched it. The first time I saw West Side Story I didn’t like it. Now it’s in my top ten of all time. I didn’t have bad viewing conditions the first time, I just needed some time to pass, I needed to grow up a bit, and I needed to have a broader concept of creative freedom in adaptations. I could name tons of examples like that, where it’s not that something negatively impacted my first viewing, it’s just that I was 14 the first time and I needed to be 30. The Graduate was a great example of that. Seeing it before college and after college were two totally different experiences.
Ryan McNeil says:
Jan 31, 2013
Aw man – how the hell could I have forgotten that!!?? That’s one of my go-to reasons!
Damnit.
Oddly enough, that can work both ways. I’ve seen several flicks that I loved as a kid and when I revisited them as an adult I wondered what the hell I was thinking the first time. (read: TOP GUN)
Jandy Hardesty says:
Jan 31, 2013
Yeah, it can go both ways! A lot of ’80s movies that most people my age saw growing up I didn’t see until later, and I KNOW I would’ve liked most of them better if I had seen them earlier. And that’s both good and bad, I guess – I’d rather like movies than dislike them, so in a lot of cases, I’d rather have that haze of nostalgia at least to push me over the edge. Stuff like Ghostbusters and Gremlins that I didn’t see until my 20s and can mostly enjoy only on a campy, silly level.
I realize my comment was basically geared toward why people SHOULD rewatch things, but to fit in with your post of when you don’t need to, maybe there’s an argument for not needing to rewatch something YET. Let some time pass. If there’s a huge push in fifteen years to consider Sucker Punch a feminist classic, maybe then I’ll take another look. Right now, nope.
This argument also admittedly works better for highly acclaimed, older films, as I figure if I don’t care for Citizen Kane, maybe it’s my failure rather than the film’s. Not that I think every classic deserves its reputation or we should like them all, but there’s a bit more pressure to understand why it’s well-regarded than there is to understand, like, why one or two people say Sucker Punch isn’t that bad. (Full disclosure – I’m not that big a fan of Citizen Kane, but I’ve watched it five or six times and I’ve at least gotten to the point where I appreciate it even if I don’t have actual affection for it. I think that’s fair. I didn’t write it off after one viewing.)
James Blake Ewing says:
Jan 31, 2013
I vehemently agree with a couple of these. I don’t think you should have to watch it again if you find it personally offensive. I’m never watching THE BREAKFAST CLUB again because it offends the hell out of me and I’m fairly certain my reasons for finding it’s stiflingly shallow views of what makes a woman attractive are not going to change during my lifetime.
Also, having to watch an epic film on an epic scale is both (a) not always possible, especially with older films and (b) the sense of scale may have nothing to do with your problems. If you find the pacing lacking and the characters annoying, a bigger screen isn’t going to fix that.
Going into a film expecting to like it is also pretty silly. I try to see every film with an open mind, but I don’t go in expecting to like every little thing I watch. That being said, going into a film wanting to hate it is certainly something I have a problem with, but if you tell me to watch films outside my comfort zone in anticipation to like it, you’re being silly.
Oh yea, and expecting me to watch it again because of rave reviews is another peeve of mine. Argo can get as much praise and accolades out there as it wants, I’m not going to revisit it.
But yes, in general, most of these are reasons outside the film that can often hamper an individual’s enjoyment/appreciation of a film they should revisit.
Ryan McNeil says:
Jan 31, 2013
Why does BREAKFAST CLUB offend you? When I said personally offensive, I said it more in a “I find it racist/sexist/etc” sort of way. But now you have me curious.
You’re right to bring up the point that access to a big-screen where classics are concerned isn’t always possible, but if someone says they “Saw Lawrence of Arabia on their laptop” my response would be “No you didn’t”.
Look closer at the review criteria. I asked if they were overwhelmingly negative. As in: “Are more than half of the people who see it coming away from it saying that it’s bad?” If so, you get a pass.
But here’s the one that saddens me sir – you don’t sit down to watch a film expecting to like it? If that’s the case, then why are you watching it? I might *think* something someone else suggested isn’t going to be up my alley, but if I’ve committed to it, I still *want* to be entertained. If not, the review has been written before the curtain has even gone up! Admittedly, it’s a glass-half-full line of thinking…but it reminds me of all the times I’ve been surprised, and how much I want that every time.
Jandy Hardesty says:
Jan 31, 2013
You could also argue that expecting to like a film creates expectations that may not be met, whereas expecting not to like one allows more room to be pleasantly surprised. I always hope to like a film (or I wouldn’t watch it), but I also try not to get too excited about anything, because the same film could surprise or disappoint me, depending on my mindset going in.
Andy says:
Jan 31, 2013
From a personal point of view there is one reason to watch a film for a second time, because I want to, and one reason not to, because I don’t want to. You on the other hand have put up such a strong argument for giving movies a second chance I’m not sure you have any justification/get out clause to not see a movie again.
Furthermore, I wouldn’t go as far as to defend Sucker Punch, as it is a poor movie, but I have to say it isn’t without merit or as bad as you claim. The fantasy scenes are actually quit good, they are visually impressive and good fun, its just the overriding story that connects them that is an utter mess.
From another point of view, its possible that the more you hate something, the more it deserves to be seen again.
Ryan McNeil says:
Feb 8, 2013
Sure – most of this was in jest, mind you.
As for SUCKER PUNCH, I’d be whistling a different tune if anything it presented visually came with any sort of originality or craft. As a for instance, there wasn’t a whole lot I liked about TRON LEGACY, but the look of that world at least made for some delightful eye-candy. It also brought that thundering Daft Punk score. Nothing in SUCKER PUNCH came with that sort of flourish of craft. Everything felt like it could have been ripped from any number of different places.
Sean Kelly says:
Feb 1, 2013
I don’t need a complicated checklist. Whether or not you want to see a film again is a simple yes or no answer. You’ve made it very clear that you don’t want to see SUCKER PUNCH again, so I don’t really feel that you need to justify that decision. (Though, for the record, I liked the film enough to buy it on blu-ray).
Ryan McNeil says:
Feb 8, 2013
This post was a joke Sean.
Colin Biggs says:
Feb 1, 2013
Adam Quigley, just because you can apply a theory to a film doesn’t mean it should be.
Ryan McNeil says:
Feb 8, 2013
No kidding, right? I’ve talked to a lot of women who weren’t crazy about this film – none of them brought up it’s underlying message of empowerment.