# ABC's film critic walks out of Clerks II screening **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [July 19, 2006, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/abcs-film-critic-walks-out-of-clerks-ii-screening/365196 "2006-07-19T17:16:57Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Achren](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/898d66/32.png) [@Achren](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Achren)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2006, 11:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/abcs-film-critic-walks-out-of-clerks-ii-screening/365196/41 "2006-07-19T23:20:27Z")
[QUOTE=Beware of Doug] Misread as: **ABC’s film critic walks out of Clerks II _screaming_**. Makes just as much sense, actually. [/QUOTE] I didn’t realize it was “screening” till your post. I can read! Really! :smack: ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Sam\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Stone)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2006, 11:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/abcs-film-critic-walks-out-of-clerks-ii-screening/365196/42 "2006-07-19T23:55:37Z")
Is that any worse than **Bachelor Party** , with Tom Hanks? Does any one remember, “Max, the magical sexual mule”? The boys hire a prostitute and a donkey, and she has sex with it for the crowd. Lots of donkey sex jokes. They even show the hooker crawling all over the donkey suggestively. Then there’s a disturbance, and while everyone is distracted the donkey snorts up all the drugs on the table (coke, etc. Lots of drugs in the movie), has a heart attack, and dies. Then plenty of donkey corpose gags. Really, Siegel must not get out much. Bachelor party didn’t get too many panties in a bunch, and it was over 20 years ago. ---
**Author:** ![t-mobileguy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/65b543/32.png) [@t-mobileguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/t-mobileguy)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2006, 12:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/abcs-film-critic-walks-out-of-clerks-ii-screening/365196/43 "2006-07-20T00:17:38Z")
[QUOTE=duffer] I will never understand how people base movie choices on what a critic says. No offense to anyone that will surely link to 50 good reviewers, but the main reason you know these people is because of the catchy phrases and cutesy wordplay. It just isn’t all that difficult to watch a movie and then write what you thought of it. I generally tend to watch movies that critics hate, knowing there’s a good chance I’ll like it. [/QUOTE] It has taken me years to find a reviewer that I like. I listen to Nick D on radio 720 in Chicago. The reason I listen to him rather than the others is after a lot of years listen to him review moves I’ve already seen I know we have the same taste in movies. It’s like listen to a friend recomend a flick. I know if my wife says it is the best movie ever made I should pass. But if one of my gaming buddies thinks it’s cool than i’m golden. I don’t understand people who base their movies on what critics they don’t know think. (ps. I hope this post comes out ok, i’m posting for the first time using my blackberry internet browsers and I can’t see everything I type. ) ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2006, 12:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/abcs-film-critic-walks-out-of-clerks-ii-screening/365196/44 "2006-07-20T00:22:12Z")
[QUOTE=Sam Stone] Really, Siegel must not get out much. Bachelor party didn’t get too many panties in a bunch, and it was over 20 years ago. [/QUOTE] And the stripper in _Bachelor Party_ was HOT! She had some moves, above and beyond the donkey. And the chain saw! ---
**Author:** ![Duke\_of\_Rat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ad7895/32.png) [@Duke\_of\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duke_of_Rat)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2006, 12:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/abcs-film-critic-walks-out-of-clerks-ii-screening/365196/45 "2006-07-20T00:43:28Z")
[QUOTE=NoClueBoy] I like Rex Reed. [/QUOTE] Fuckin’ A. Myra Breckinridge was on FMC just the other night and damn that’s a flick. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2006, 2:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/abcs-film-critic-walks-out-of-clerks-ii-screening/365196/46 "2006-07-20T02:45:06Z")
I was going to mention _Bachelor Party_ also. I wonder if Siegel has refused to watch every Tom Hanks movie made since 1984? ---
**Author:** ![Foldup\_Rabbit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/df788c/32.png) [@Foldup\_Rabbit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Foldup_Rabbit)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2006, 2:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/abcs-film-critic-walks-out-of-clerks-ii-screening/365196/47 "2006-07-20T02:53:55Z")
[QUOTE=DoctorJ] One wonders–did Siegel see the original _Clerks_? A major plot point was a woman having sex with a stranger who had died on the toilet several hours earlier. Walking out of a Kevin Smith movie because of offensive subject matter is like walking out of a Michael Bay movie because shit kept blowing up. [/QUOTE] I had the same thoughts. I mean, it’s not like this is Smith’s first movie - or even his first highish-profile movie. After the accidental necrophilia, demon made of shit, and creative use of ‘fingercuffs’, you’d think JS would have a slight idea of what he’s getting into. Walking out is one thing. Walking out and being a dick about it is another. Walking out of a movie that you are _being paid to review_ while being a dick is a whole other pile of stupid. ---
**Author:** ![duffer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/duffer/32/1026_2.png) [@duffer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/duffer)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2006, 3:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/abcs-film-critic-walks-out-of-clerks-ii-screening/365196/48 "2006-07-20T03:38:20Z")
[QUOTE=Robot Arm] I find those two statements to be somewhat at odds with each other. [/QUOTE] I didn’t even think of that, obvious as it is. :smack: Thanks for pointing it out. What I should have said, for the most part is, when a film gets a bad review, chances are I’ll like it. For that, I like critics. Sorry for any confusion. And thanks again for pointing that out. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![duffer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/duffer/32/1026_2.png) [@duffer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/duffer)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2006, 3:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/abcs-film-critic-walks-out-of-clerks-ii-screening/365196/49 "2006-07-20T03:44:30Z")
[QUOTE=Foldup Rabbit] Ialking out is one thing. Walking out and being a dick about it is another. Walking out of a movie that you are _being paid to review_ while being a dick is a whole other pile of stupid. [/QUOTE] I keep lumping together film/food/wine/etc “critics”. People that leave their homes each day, to earn a living, sampling free stuff to either rave about or tear down. And it doesn’t matter the competence of the “critic”, if they can write well, they get the ink. New post for an idea unrelated to this quote. ---
**Author:** ![saoirse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/5daacb/32.png) [@saoirse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/saoirse)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2006, 3:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/abcs-film-critic-walks-out-of-clerks-ii-screening/365196/50 "2006-07-20T03:56:51Z")
Did he not get the donkeysex reference in **Godfather II**? ---
**Author:** ![duffer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/duffer/32/1026_2.png) [@duffer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/duffer)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2006, 3:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/abcs-film-critic-walks-out-of-clerks-ii-screening/365196/51 "2006-07-20T03:59:55Z")
Here’s what I propose. Film critics are required to watch Animal House, Office Space, Sleepless in Seattle, Braveheart, GoodFellas, The English Patient, Chariots of Fire, Gone With the Wind, 6th Sense, Plan 9 From Outer Space, The Devil’s Rejects, Rocky Horror Picture Show, Gigli, The Wedding Planner, and The Net. They are then judged on the rankings of each film they give, and beaten accordingly. Or forced to watch Gilgi in Swahili subtitles sitting on burning coals. That’s up for a vote. Wine critics are required to drink everything from MD2020 to Cristal. and everything in between, including everything nastier then MD2020. We need a baseline in these categories to base our opinions on. Plus, we all drink boxed wine while watching the fun in all 3 events. Food critics are regired to sample Taco Bell, McDonald’s, Wendy’s, Jank in the Box, Burger King and White Castle. And the one that gives the highest ranking to Gigli has to wash down 8 boxes of Sliders with the bottle of Mad Dog. Yeah, I’m feeling evil. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2006, 4:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/abcs-film-critic-walks-out-of-clerks-ii-screening/365196/52 "2006-07-20T04:01:20Z")
[QUOTE=Duke of Rat] Fuckin’ A. Myra Breckinridge. [/QUOTE] Now that sounds like an interesting movie. ---
**Author:** ![Martini\_Enfield](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/martini_enfield/32/11123_2.png) [@Martini\_Enfield](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Martini_Enfield)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2006, 4:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/abcs-film-critic-walks-out-of-clerks-ii-screening/365196/53 "2006-07-20T04:13:17Z")
I was going to ask “Which one?” when I saw the title, since I can’t imagine either [Margaret or David](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/At_the_Movies) walking out of a movie- especially one which hasn’t been released here yet! Then, of course, I realised that the OP was talking about the US ABC, and it made more sense… ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2006, 8:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/abcs-film-critic-walks-out-of-clerks-ii-screening/365196/54 "2006-07-20T08:12:32Z")
Yet another reminder that film critics are completely unnecessary. A.O. Scott pretty much made that point in an article this week, and he’s the lead critic for the New York Times. I talk about movies a lot, good and bad, and I agree with the critical consensus more often than not. But between word of mouth and trailers/commercials, I know everything I want to know about an upcoming movie months before the critics see it. So the hell with Joel Siegel. I’ll be paying about $10 to see this movie on Friday, but he couldn’t be _paid_ to watch it? Hah. Let him get a real job in journalism. I know what would happen to me if I walked out of an interview because I disagreed with (say) the politics of my subject. ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2006, 12:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/abcs-film-critic-walks-out-of-clerks-ii-screening/365196/55 "2006-07-20T12:36:28Z")
:smack: I had Joel Siegel mixed up with Joel Stein from I Love the 70s/80s/90s and I guess Newsweek?? and thought this was one big whoosh. After all, that guy makes snarky comments about gross things all the time. :smack: ---
**Author:** ![Gozu\_Tashoya](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/7993a0/32.png) [@Gozu\_Tashoya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gozu_Tashoya)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2006, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/abcs-film-critic-walks-out-of-clerks-ii-screening/365196/56 "2006-07-20T18:05:42Z")
[QUOTE=Marley23] Yet another reminder that film critics are completely unnecessary. A.O. Scott pretty much made that point in an article this week, and he’s the lead critic for the New York Times. [/QUOTE] Sounds interesting. Out of curiousity, can you come up with the headline for that article? (Or better yet, a link?) ---
**Author:** ![MovieMogul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f08c70/32.png) [@MovieMogul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MovieMogul)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2006, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/abcs-film-critic-walks-out-of-clerks-ii-screening/365196/57 "2006-07-20T18:10:48Z")
[Here](http://www.nytimes.com/2006/07/18/movies/18crit.html?_r=1&oref=slogin)’s the article in question. ---
**Author:** ![mobo85](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b19c9b/32.png) [@mobo85](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mobo85)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2006, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/abcs-film-critic-walks-out-of-clerks-ii-screening/365196/58 "2006-07-20T20:38:47Z")
[QUOTE=Pashnish Ewing] To be fair to JS, I belive that the majority of newspaper columnists do not write their own headlines. That job belongs to the editors. [/QUOTE] Sorry to bring up Ebert again, but I remember reading in one of his columns that someone had written him regarding a bizarre blurb on the back of the video box of _Hoosiers_ reading, “Hip Hoop Hooray! Four stars- Roger Ebert, _New York Post_.” Ebert commented that he doesn’t write his own headlines, and he never would have written something as bad as “Hip Hoop Hooray.” Presumably, his _Tribune_ column was reprinted in the _Post_ with this headline. ---
**Author:** ![Gozu\_Tashoya](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/7993a0/32.png) [@Gozu\_Tashoya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gozu_Tashoya)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2006, 9:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/abcs-film-critic-walks-out-of-clerks-ii-screening/365196/59 "2006-07-20T21:14:01Z")
[QUOTE=ArchiveGuy] [Here](http://www.nytimes.com/2006/07/18/movies/18crit.html?_r=1&oref=slogin)’s the article in question. [/QUOTE] Thanks very much. An interesting read. ---
**Author:** ![saoirse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/5daacb/32.png) [@saoirse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/saoirse)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2006, 9:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/abcs-film-critic-walks-out-of-clerks-ii-screening/365196/60 "2006-07-20T21:35:24Z")
[QUOTE=Miller] Now that sounds like an interesting movie. [/QUOTE] And a very appropriate comment. My friend’s review: “Surprisingly boring considering it features Raquel Welch doing some guy with a strap-on.” [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/abcs-film-critic-walks-out-of-clerks-ii-screening/365196.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/abcs-film-critic-walks-out-of-clerks-ii-screening/365196.md?page=4)