I unapologetically adore Shakespeare in Love, so it's unfortunate that it's been tainted by Weinstein. Proof that good movies can age poorly under bad circumstances!
Great analysis, as always. The outstanding movie to be re-appraised and lauded over time, is the original Bladerunner of course, and I think Babylon from 2022 , is going to be another.
It might just be nostalgia, but I feel vindicated by the inclusion of Home Alone II in the films that have aged better over time. I’ve always maintained that’s it’s more emotionally impactful and mature than the original.
This is such a great article and it’s right in line with why so many of the movies we return to in our podcast The Nostalgia Test fail so surprisingly. Two movies that shocked us in its inability to remain “good” films was The Wedding Singer and Airheads. As kids we loved these movies but when we rewatched them we didn’t find any jokes at all. In fact, most jokes were at the expense of marginalized communities and were the result of lazy writing.
My first thought regarding Home Alone 2 is there is supposedly a Trump cameo, and the morbid curiosity by both fans and haters to check out his acting chops?
I have never seen Super Size Me but knew many people who saw it upon release. The hype around it never struck me as being meaningfully tethered to its health messaging. It was always more like "Tiger King." People enjoyed being shocked by the story of a man who would do something like that to himself. They go to see how bad it will get, but once they know there is nothing worth coming back to.
To this day, I have never seen Super Size Me and I have no intention to do so in the future. It always seemed ridiculous that someone felt the need to eat nothing but McDonald's for 30 days, as if the health results would be surprising. It also stunned me that so many people apparently were surprised by that fact.
I remember the hype of "Supersize Me" followed by a documentary that duplicated his diet without his medical effects. Then there was the expose of how Spurlock 'doctored' his numbers. Yes, fast food is always the least health choice. Still, I think the movie didn't fare well over the years is because of those pesky facts getting in the way of his movie's doom-and-gloom format.
I was somewhat surprised to see Super Size Me on this list as I used to show it in my film classes. There were always students who loved it and others that would say, "I'm going to McDonalds for lunch!" after a screening. So maybe I shouldn't be surprised! McDonalds survives while, sadly, Spurlock passed away.
I unapologetically adore Shakespeare in Love, so it's unfortunate that it's been tainted by Weinstein. Proof that good movies can age poorly under bad circumstances!
Super Size Me had some other issues as well: https://www.themarysue.com/super-size-me-controversy-explained/
Nostalgia is the confounding variable here.
Great analysis, as always. The outstanding movie to be re-appraised and lauded over time, is the original Bladerunner of course, and I think Babylon from 2022 , is going to be another.
It might just be nostalgia, but I feel vindicated by the inclusion of Home Alone II in the films that have aged better over time. I’ve always maintained that’s it’s more emotionally impactful and mature than the original.
This is such a great article and it’s right in line with why so many of the movies we return to in our podcast The Nostalgia Test fail so surprisingly. Two movies that shocked us in its inability to remain “good” films was The Wedding Singer and Airheads. As kids we loved these movies but when we rewatched them we didn’t find any jokes at all. In fact, most jokes were at the expense of marginalized communities and were the result of lazy writing.
My first thought regarding Home Alone 2 is there is supposedly a Trump cameo, and the morbid curiosity by both fans and haters to check out his acting chops?
Why Charlie and the Chocolate Factory? Have I missed some specific cultural backlash to this film since release?
I have never seen Super Size Me but knew many people who saw it upon release. The hype around it never struck me as being meaningfully tethered to its health messaging. It was always more like "Tiger King." People enjoyed being shocked by the story of a man who would do something like that to himself. They go to see how bad it will get, but once they know there is nothing worth coming back to.
To this day, I have never seen Super Size Me and I have no intention to do so in the future. It always seemed ridiculous that someone felt the need to eat nothing but McDonald's for 30 days, as if the health results would be surprising. It also stunned me that so many people apparently were surprised by that fact.
I remember the hype of "Supersize Me" followed by a documentary that duplicated his diet without his medical effects. Then there was the expose of how Spurlock 'doctored' his numbers. Yes, fast food is always the least health choice. Still, I think the movie didn't fare well over the years is because of those pesky facts getting in the way of his movie's doom-and-gloom format.
This is fantastic and MovieLens is new to me. Do you know if there is a similar dataset for books?
I was somewhat surprised to see Super Size Me on this list as I used to show it in my film classes. There were always students who loved it and others that would say, "I'm going to McDonalds for lunch!" after a screening. So maybe I shouldn't be surprised! McDonalds survives while, sadly, Spurlock passed away.