Heckler

When we are critical of things in life there is a fine line between "intelligent criticism," and just outright "mean criticism." Too often people confuse the two together and think regardless of what is said that it halls into the former column. Not just that, but also that it is necessary. You see as a viewer, listener, or consumer of media some people feel it is their right to be openly derisive toward the person who presented the work. However, far too often people go too far into the hateful side of their comments and miss the nuance of criticism.

In the mid 2000's, Jamie Kennedy released two films that were met with almost universal condemnation. As it stands right now, 2003's Malibu's Most Wanted currently has a rating of 30% on Rotten Tomatoes.com. However, his 2005 film, Son of the Mask, has a rating of 6% on the site. Stinging from some of the criticism on that film Kennedy sort of went into a funk about working in the movie business. So he and director Michael Addis set out on the road to try and figure out when did criticism become just spewing hate fueled rage. But let's backtrack a little first.

Kennedy starts out by tracing the idea of the heckler. It's a person who goes to an event and chooses to insert themselves into a show that they bought a ticket for. They insist it's there right to give instant feedback to a comedian or singer about their material. Kennedy gets a hold of tons of great comedians and has them relay stories of their own performances that were interrupted by hecklers. He shows video clips where Bill Maher was heckled on his HBO show, Barbara Streisand takes someone to task at MSG, a rare clip of Bill Hicks losing it, and one scene where a comedian hits a heckler with a guitar. All these scenes play out in some sort of attempt to understand why someone feels that paying a ticket makes them part of the show. In two different sections of the film Kennedy is heckled by fans. The first fan is brought backstage by Kennedy and he interviews the guy to understand as to why he felt the need to interject his thoughts. The guy says that, "I thought it would make you a better comedian." There is a certain audacity involved in saying something like that and even Kennedy- who is trying to land a smug point on the guy- has no comeback for that. In the second event, Kennedy invites the heckler on stage and the guy completely bombs out before slinking back to his seat. It's a rare moment that shows that while the show on stage may seem easy, perhaps it truly isn't.

From there though is where the film reveals the true purpose of the film. The jump is made from heckling to film criticism, and it's here where the film feels disjointed- albeit while having some flashes of brilliance. The Internet has made comment on film (and other things) far easier for the common person. If you type "movie reviews" into Google it comes up with 322 million hits. That doesn't include either all the message boards and comments that are left on said reviews. Basically film criticism has become an inclusive industry where even someone with a rudimentary knowledge of anything film related can offer up their two cents. (And yes it is slightly ironic that you're reading a movie review- of sorts- discussing this).

Kennedy and the director interview as many people as they can involved in the film making process and movie review community. Tucked into this section of the film are some real head scratching gems where you just have to think someone was writing just to see their name in print. One film writer relays the story of reading a review of Piglet's Big Movie and the reviewer referred to the film as "juvenile." Never mind the fact that Winnie the Pooh is geared towards audiences under the age of about 8. Robert Englund- most famously known as Freddy Krueger in the Nightmare on Elm Street series- discusses the dichotomy of what reviewers see. He remarks that the same people who love, rave, and vote for Oscars on Meryl Streep films, are the same reviewers who review horror films. There is not a lot of crossover between those two styles of film. A horror movie is geared towards the sensibilities of a certain group of people while an Oscar caliber film is usually trying to be accessible to more people.

One of the highlights here is the section where Jamie Kennedy sits down with Carrot Top to discuss his 1998 film Chairman of the Board which currently sits at 14% on Rotten Tomatoes. Kennedy reads to Carrot Top some of the reviews that people wrote about his film. In many of the reviews the reviewers don't just attack the film- they attack the person. As Kennedy reads through some of the quotes there is quite a bit of hurt that you can see behind the steely resolve of Carrot Top. He is clearly emotionally battered by what people said about him. It's there where you actually start to feel bad for the guy even if you don't find him particularly funny. However, a few scenes later Patton Oswalt is interviewed where he brings up an interesting quote. He says that comedy and eroticism are the only two principles where one can't determine what you like. Patton says that it's not up to me to tell someone watching a porn, "Hey don't be turned on by that." Comedy is the same way. What one finds funny, someone else may not. So while Carrot Top may not be for everyone he has made enough money that he is for someone.


Kael's and Roger Ebert's of the world in with the guys from eFilmCritic and other lesser sites. Obviously there are bad film critics out there, but that doesn't invalidate the entire process of criticism which Kennedy seems to be trying to do at times. I think this movie is essentially an excellent idea with a first part, but after that ti sort of loses its narrative and works too hard to connect dots instead of letting them fall into place naturally.

SO TO RECAP...

There is a great idea buried in this film. However, I don't think the director, and Kennedy, do a  great job of linking that great idea to the point they are truly trying to make. I do agree with them that far too many "Internet critics" are preoccupied with being mean instead of insightful. However, I agree with Andy Kindler when he says in the film, "I don't care what Satan's Scrotum 1956 has to say about me." By the end of this I was wishing they had spent more time tying up the narrative to create their ties, but I recommend the film as it is never boring, and offers some interesting insights.