Post number 5!

Movie reviews may be the quintessential article in all things pop-culture. Despite being all opinion, movie reviews always seem to be wildly popular among readers.

For the final installment of "I Wish I Had Written That" I've picked out a movie review by Tom Long of the Detroit News on Date Night. This is a great review, as it executes everything a great review needs.

Excerpt #1

Fey may be the funniest person alive right now; she's certainly one of the most successful funny people alive. With her TV powerhouse "30 Rock" packing more chuckles in a minute than most shows do in 30 and her nation-rocking Sarah Palin impersonation poised to rule the next presidential election cycle (don't kid yourself, the Fey factor may alter American history), she's everywhere and we're undoubtedly better for it.

I really like this excerpt because it's not really about the movie, but why you should see the movie. Long writes about Tina Fey in a way that entices you to check out the film. By focusing on Fey, he is able to get his point across for why you should want to see the film without discussing plot lines, or jokes made in the film. The thing about reviews is you want to discuss the film, but not in a way that would ruin it for someone whom hasn't seen it yet. By talking about how funny Fey is - not necessarily in the film, but in the other things she does, it'll grab the reader's attention.

Excerpt #2

As a result "Date Night" never pretends to be a great film. It's a series of quickie jokes built into a predictable storyline, goosed consistently by Fey and Steve Carell. It offers nothing beyond silly entertainment and the opportunity to recognize one's own self in far-fetched circumstance.

Knocking down films is just part of a film critic's job. However since it is all opinion-based, you have to go around doing it in a polite-manner. This is what's going on in this excerpt. A lot of people do go into films - even comedies - ready to witness top-notch film making. Long reassures us Date Night isn't the greatest film we will ever see, but we will see lots of entertainment and funny moments. Lots of critics will write a review toward films as if the director was aiming for the film to be Oscar-worthy. I remember watching this documentary Heckler, which was about film critics, and this one actor was talking about how he saw a critic totally bash the film, Piglet's Big Movie, and called it juvenile. Well no duh it's juvenile, it's a kid's cartoon film. Long does a great job by realizing Date Night is not so much about the story, but the jokes Tina Fey and Steve Carell deliver.

Excerpt #3

The far-fetched circumstance at hand involves husband and wife Phil (Carell) and Claire (Fey) Foster, New Jersey suburbanites who try to break the monotony of family life with a date every week, usually to the same dull restaurant.

I picked out this excerpt because it's the first time Long reveals any plot details in the film, and this graf comes halfway into the review. In the review's entirety, he reveals hardly anything that happened. The most in-depth things he goes in about are all things you can see in the trailer. There's a fine line between what the reader does and does not to read in a review. Of course writing a review on a film is much easier when you go highly in-depth to what happened, but the best critics write a review while barely touching the surface of the plot.

Well, that's all I got this week. Enjoy your weekend!