Let It Grow On You

I was watching a Quentin TarantinoQuentin Tarantino interview a while back, and he mentioned that his favourite movie of all time was Taxi Driver... directed by Martin ScorseseMartin Scorsese and starring Robert De NiroRobert De Niro. And my reaction upon hearing that was, "You have got to be kidding." I understand that Taxi Driver is thought of as a classic. I totally get that. But I just don't get why. When I read lists of the greatest films ever made, I feel that most of them are movies that I will never want to watch... while the rest of them are ones that I have watched and hated. By the way, Quentin Tarantino is highly overrated -- both as a director and as a writer. That's not to say he's not good at both -- he certainly is talented... but he is not the greatest director ever nor is he the greatest writer ever.

People love to talk about how compelling his dialogue is. I just don't find it that compelling to hear John TravoltaJohn Travolta's character in Pulp Fiction talk about how a Quarter Pounder in France is known as a Royale with Cheese. And I detest the violence in Tarantino films. The scene in Reservoir Dogs where Michael MadsenMichael Madsen's character tortures the cop while dancing and singing along to Stealers Wheel's "Stuck In the Middle With You" is incredibly disturbing... as is the rape scene in Pulp Fiction (with Marcellus Wallas, Zed, Butch, and the Gimp). There's a Gimp in that scene, for cryin' out loud! I don't even know what a Gimp is... but I know that I do not like it. Male-on-male rape scenes bother me. I especially disliked the prison rape scene in American History X (starring Edward NortonEdward Norton). Male-on-female rape scenes -- I can live with. But male-on-male rape scenes are unacceptable.

I don't think I'm against all violence in movies. Martin Scorsese's films often contain a lot of violence; however, Scorsese directs violent in scenes in such a way that they aren't unbelievably disturbing, and they don't leave the viewer with a bad taste in his/her mouth. But as a great a director as he is, he's slightly overrated as well. Take Taxi Driver for instance. I thought it was very dull and very boring. People that liked it (including Tarantino) have described it as a "character study" of a man slowly disintegrating. These serious film aficionados appreciate the subtlety and intelligence in movies like Taxi Driver. I'm not a serious film person. I don't like subtlety, and I don't like intelligence... and not just in movies, but in life as well.

I am a fairly anti-intellectual person. Don't get me wrong; I'm not waging a crusade against the serious film folks. I just find it incredibly annoying that it's these people that get to compile the Greatest Films lists. In almost every single list, Citizen Kane is ranked Number 1. I've watched Citizen Kane; it ain't all that. The fact of the matter is that different people have different tastes and preferences. Movies like Taxi Driver and Citizen Kane are not for everyone. To each his own; that's what I say. But I don't understand why it's the pretentious and hoity toity film crowd that gets to decide what movies are good and what movies aren't. I like movies with exciting car chases and big explosions, and yet not a single Jerry Bruckheimer film ever makes it to the Top 10 in any of these Greatest Movies lists.

I like slapstick humour, and I feel that there should be at least one Farrelly Brothers comedy in any Top 10 list. "There's Something About Mary" is way better than Citizen Kane. Getting back to Taxi Driver, I've watched the famous "Are you talkin' to me?" scene from Taxi Driver multiple times. And I gotta say... it did not speak to me. It's a fairly straightforward scene with Travis Bickle (played by De Niro) looking at himself in the mirror and acting like a tough guy. This is not ground-breaking film-making in my opinion. And Citizen Kane went on for far too long... and on top of that, it's freakin' black and white!

The lovers of Citizen Kane love to talk about how innovative the camera shots are, and how great the lighting is, and how well the director used the space (i.e. mise-en-scene), and how wonderful the composition is. I have no interest in any of these things. The film was boring and it was long, and it shouldn't be ranked anywhere near Number 1. Casablanca is often ranked in the Top 5. I enjoyed it, but is it one of the best movies I've ever seen? Not by a long shot. Shawshank Redemption also tends to show up near the top in a lot of these rankings. It's a good film, but it's far too depressing. I don't like being depressed. I like to laugh. Dumb and Dumber made me laugh. Dumb and Dumber should be ranked in the Top 5. I liked it way better than Citizen Kane, Casablanca, and Taxi Driver.

There's another thing I don't get. When the serious film crowd ranks the Greatest Comedies of all time, the Top 5 often includes films like Some Like It Hot (starring Jack LemmonJack Lemmon and Tony CurtisTony Curtis) and Tootsie (starring Dustin HoffmanDustin Hoffman). I may have watched Some Like It Hot (or at least part of it) when I was very little so don't remember it too well. And I saw Tootsie not too long ago; it was OK -- not great. Dustin Hoffman always gives a thoughtful performance. Both of these movies are about guys dressing in drag. What is it with film critics and their obsession with movies about trannies???

You know, there's always an exception to the rule: The Godfather. Fantastic, awesome, fabulous -- there aren't enough adjectives. What's great about The Godfather is that not only does it appeal to the pretentious snobs of the film world, but it appeals to the anti-intellectual crowd as well. That's part of it's magic; it's a very entertaining movie... with a lot of layers. There's something for everyone. I could say the same thing about Goodfellas -- another fantastic, fabulous, and awesome film.

I personally feel that a movie has got to be entertaining the first time you watch it. The serious film aficionados like to tell us that we have to let a film "grow on us." So this would mean that I have to keep suffering through movies like Taxi Driver and Citizen Kane until I lose the will to live... in order to let the film "grown on me." Get real. I'd much rather chuck the DVD out the window than let it grow on me.