San Francisco Chronicle - (Sunday)
“Booksmart” wasn’t really that good, was it?
Dear Mick LaSalle: Wow, you really felt “Booksmart” was worthy of a little clapping man? I thought it was cliched, unoriginal and cheaply filmed as well.
Laurie Trainor, Santa Rosa Dear Laurie Trainor: That was a strange one for me. I saw “Booksmart,” liked it, thought it was funny, wellmade, wellacted and welldirected. So, I started saying that in the review. But then, as I got to the nexttolast paragraph, I realized that I didn’t like it, that I thought it was insufferably politically correct and pleased with itself. It reeked with all the selflove and selfsatisfaction of the upper classes in Los Angeles. It got on my nerves. So now I had a choice. I could start all over again or keep going. I decided to keep going, because I felt that my hostile response had more to do with my own workingclass origins than with the movie itself, so that maybe the problem was me, not the movie. But if I were to write it again, I would just work all that in. I’d leave the first part of the review as it stood and then just announce to the reader that I’d changed my mind. That would have been weird, right? Unfortunately, when you work for a daily newspaper, it doesn’t help to get great ideas a month later. You sort of need to have them on the spot.
Hi Mick: When I watch a film, I live in two worlds: the world of the film and the world of making the film. It’s kind of schizophrenic but it seems to enhance my overall appreciation. I’d like to know, what kind of world do you live in when the lights go out?
Cornell Barnett, Point Richmond Hi Cornell: Unless something calls my attention to the filmmaking, I’m totally in the world of the film. I think it’s really happening.
Dear Mr. LaSalle: Reasonable people can disagree as to whether the 569 Fbombs (by IMDB’s count) in “The Wolf of Wall Street” represent “filmmakers reflecting how people really talk.” But that hardly makes a coward of the guy who prefers to keep his 20 bucks rather than pay to hear some actor throw it in his face 569 times in two hours. Nonetheless, three cheers to you for reminding us that MPAA ratings, for all their faults, make it relatively easy to avoid gratuitously offensive content.
Christopher Larsen, Lafayette
Dear Mr. Larsen: The person who holds on to their 20 bucks because they don’t like certain kinds of language is fine by me. That’s totally reasonable. The people I have no patience for are those who are shocked that an Rrated movie contains untoward language. Likewise, people who like some Rrated movies because they deem the strong language appropriate and dislike others because they deem it inappropriate should not be scandalized to discover that the rating system, the culture, individual filmmakers and the entire universe haven’t calibrated themselves to their precise standards. Of course, we all believe that we know what’s proper and what the line should be — it’s wherever we decide, that day. But most of us aren’t so solipsistic that we get the vapors if our taste isn’t reflected in everything we see or hear. As for me, I admit that I have no sensitivity in this direction. I saw “The Wolf of Wall Street” and didn’t notice that anyone was cursing in it. I thought they were just talking.
Dear Movie Man Mick: Is it wrong to be a scene junkie? I can’t help but watch some scenes over and over.
Ward Loveland, Redwood City
Dear Movie Man Ward: I do it, too. Near the end of the year, I’m going to do an article about the best scenes of the decade — it will be a labor of love. In the meantime, there’s Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper’s duet in “A Star Is Born” to think about, plus the yacht scene in “The Wolf of Wall Street,” every scene with Melissa Leo in “Novitiate,” and every scene with Christoph Waltz in “Inglourious Basterds.”
Have a question? Ask Mick LaSalle at mlasalle@sfchronicle.com. Include your name and city for publication, and a phone number for verification. Letters may be edited for clarity and length.