I remember I was just a kid in 1997 when The Postman came out. Immediately there was a huge flurry of negative press and it was assaulted as being the worst movie of all time, and widely thought to be a flop. I may have been young but I have a distinct recollection of how horrible this movie was thought to be. Even my dad used to make fun of it. He had never even seen it - he was only making fun of it because everyone else was.
Anyway, two nights ago I rented Waterworld (another movie that was mocked and ridiculed when it was released) and watched it with my friends. To our surprise, we liked it a lot. Dennis Hopper’s over-the-top villain was really entertaining, and the battle scenes were action-packed. So, since we enjoyed it so much, we decided to rent The Postman tonight.
Well, let me tell you - this is one of the most entertaining movies I’ve seen. It’s cheesy, and pompous, and unintentionally humorous, but it is really fun to watch. Here are some reasons why:
[ul]
[li]The outdoor scenery is amazing.[/li][li]The scenes with horses are incredible.[/li][li]The costumes are extremely detailed and well-done.[/li][li]There are more unintentionally hilarious moments than I can count [/li][li]The story is actually pretty good[/li][/ul]
But the main reason I liked this movie is because even though I made fun of everything the whole time, by the middle of the movie I was genuinely rooting for the good guys to win. The villain is just so fuckin’ evil, and such a power-hungry and malevolent character - Will Patton is really good in this role. And Kevin Costner may be really cheesy but his character in the movie is definitely sympathetic. The supporting cast’s acting isn’t quite as good, but there is a cameo by Tom Petty. There are also no less than two seperate outdoor music festivals, both extremely hilarious (one of them features a version of “Come and Get Your Love.”) The Postman has every single cliche in the book, but they’re all so hilarious that it’s actually very entertaining.
It’s definitely a “B” movie, but I think it is going to be a future cult classic. I don’t think all the criticism of it is warranted at all. Does anyone else feel the same way?
Yes, I haven’t see The Postman, but I’ve seen and loved Il Postino. But I understand that the only thing they have in common is a mail deliverer as the central character.
I saw The Postman when it first came out because I knew and loved the David Brin story it was based on. I agree with your points about the movie, in retrospect, but it was such a botching of the originally well-written story that it just pissed me off at the time.
Water World, however, was abso-frickin’-lutely hilarious in its awfulness. We saw it new, too, and the whole theater was laughing its ass off. Not quite the reaction Costner wanted, obviously.
I’m the total opposite. Ok, maybe not total, because I didn’t love the movie as much as you loved the book, but I thought the book sucked. Especially when it got all "Wizard of Oz"y. The movie dropped all that, to its betterment.
Yeah, I liked The Postman. The ending is a bit saccharine and unnecessary, I thought, and yes, there is plenty about it that is glurgy, formulaic, predictable and trite, but all in all it’s not a bad movie and I think it succeeds in most of what it attempts. I’d sooner watch it than any of the Mad Max films, if that’s saying anything at all.
The only thing that really irks me about it is[spoiler]that he gets his uniform off the skeleton of a postal worker that died and decayed in the driver’s seat of his van. There’s no way that uniform would have been even remotely wearable. Silly, isn’t it?
I agree. I watched The Postman when I felt like watching something really dumb, and given the movie’s reputation I expected it to deliver. Nuh-uh. It’s really a tribute to civilization, and while there are a few of those in movie history they always tend to feature warriors of some sort as their heroes. Celebrating postal carriers, who are among the legions of people that are the glue that holds civilization together, was new. We need to honour people like that a whole lot more.
The dialogue was really bad in places (“you give out hope like it was candy in your pocket”), but the movie is credible, gripping and interesting.
I found out here that it was based on a book, but I haven’t been able to find it. Would love to read it.
I agree. I remember when I watched it that Abby says:
“They took it in because it looked like you’d lost some weight.” I always mentally added, “And it looks like you went through the process of putrefication, too. Must have been a hell of a year for you.”
The “Candy from your pocket” line isn’t a bad line. It’s just the way she delivers it. She’s sincere. And that line has to be said with a little hint of sarcasm.
The only thing I really dislike is the epilogue with the statue.
