# My daughter really wants to see RIPD.. **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [July 19, 2013, 2:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-daughter-really-wants-to-see-ripd/663934 "2013-07-19T14:22:10Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Kamino\_Neko](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kamino_neko/32/34_2.png) [@Kamino\_Neko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kamino_Neko)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2013, 6:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-daughter-really-wants-to-see-ripd/663934/41 "2013-07-19T18:01:54Z")
> [@Alley\_Dweller](#): > > I don’t know anything about RIPD except all the ads I keep seeing. But it sounds like a ripoff of Dead Like Me with added violence and without the warmth and humor. But I could be wrong. It’s not at all similar, unless you’re defining the premises in the most broad of strokes. The ‘dead people hired in the afterlife’ part being the only part they have in common. RIPD officers aren’t grim reapers, collecting the souls of the dead. They’re afterlife cops pursuing spirits who refused to stay dead. It’s more in the vein of [The Collector](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Collector_%28TV_series%29), [Brimstone](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brimstone_%28TV_series%29), or [Reaper](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reaper_%28TV_series%29), or early installments of the manga/anime Bleach. Or, as mentioned before, a supernatural version of MiB. ---
**Author:** ![sitchensis](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sitchensis/32/4892_2.png) [@sitchensis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sitchensis)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2013, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-daughter-really-wants-to-see-ripd/663934/42 "2013-07-19T18:39:04Z")
The critics are butthurt because it wasn’t screened for them and it is a MIB ripoff. Most of them aren’t very good at their jobs so any excuse to down vote a movie is a good excuse. The audience has it at 66%. Not great, but it’s probably entertaining. ---
**Author:** ![zoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zoid/32/336_2.png) [@zoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zoid)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2013, 7:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-daughter-really-wants-to-see-ripd/663934/43 "2013-07-19T19:25:53Z")
Here’s what you do, you take her to the movie… If she thinks it sucks you can laugh about it later when you take her out for a ginormous ice cream Sunday If she loves it you can both gush about it later when you take her out for a ginormous ice cream Sunday You ARE taking her out for a ginormous ice cream Sunday, _ **RIGHT?!** _ ---
**Author:** ![Sparky\_the\_Wonder\_Spirit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/848f3c/32.png) [@Sparky\_the\_Wonder\_Spirit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sparky_the_Wonder_Spirit)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2013, 7:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-daughter-really-wants-to-see-ripd/663934/44 "2013-07-19T19:36:32Z")
Kids very rarely have the same taste as movie critics. And kids should get to pick what they want to watch on their birthdays, without hearing about what bad taste they have. ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_Lowry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e95f7d/32.png) [@Sam\_Lowry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Lowry)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2013, 9:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-daughter-really-wants-to-see-ripd/663934/45 "2013-07-19T21:15:40Z")
> [@sitchensis](#): > > The critics are butthurt because it wasn’t screened for them and it is a MIB ripoff. Most of them aren’t very good at their jobs so any excuse to down vote a movie is a good excuse. > > The audience has it at 66%. Not great, but it’s probably entertaining. Ignoring your anger at the critics, that the audience has it rated as 66% seems like a bad sign. Audience ratings seem to usually be somewhat high, because these are the people who think they’ll like the movie, want to have a fun night out, and are likely to look on the bright side of things. For the other movies released today, Rotten Tomatoes has Red 2 at 76% of Users liking it, Turbo at 78%, The Conjuring at 90%, and The Way Way Back at 88%. The only ones in the previous top 10 in the box office with lower using ratings are Grown Ups 2 at 65% and The Lone Ranger at 63%. So really, RIPD has one of the lowest user ratings of films in the theaters right now. It’s one thing if critics aren’t reviewing it well, but audiences don’t seem too enthusiastic either. I would ask her if she was really sure if she wanted to see it, because it’s probably not very good and you want her to enjoy herself on her birthday. If she says she’s sure, then just suck it up and try to enjoy yourself as best you can. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2013, 9:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-daughter-really-wants-to-see-ripd/663934/46 "2013-07-19T21:21:51Z")
> [@sitchensis](#): > > The critics are butthurt because it wasn’t screened for them and it is a MIB ripoff. Most of them aren’t very good at their jobs so any excuse to down vote a movie is a good excuse. > > The audience has it at 66%. Not great, but it’s probably entertaining. Yeah, the Critics can sometimes get the hate on for some films, witness Lone Ranger, John Carter, etc. Both of which I had great fun watching. The Dude is in it, and it looks to be fun, what more can you ask? ---
**Author:** ![Alley\_Dweller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alley_dweller/32/430_2.png) [@Alley\_Dweller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alley_Dweller)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2013, 12:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-daughter-really-wants-to-see-ripd/663934/47 "2013-07-20T00:59:56Z")
> [@Kamino\_Neko](#): > > It’s not at all similar, unless you’re defining the premises in the most broad of strokes. The ‘dead people hired in the afterlife’ part being the only part they have in common. RIPD officers aren’t grim reapers, collecting the souls of the dead. They’re afterlife cops pursuing spirits who refused to stay dead. > > It’s more in the vein of [The Collector](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Collector_%28TV_series%29), [Brimstone](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brimstone_%28TV_series%29), or [Reaper](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reaper_%28TV_series%29), or early installments of the manga/anime Bleach. Or, as mentioned before, a supernatural version of MiB. OK, thanks. But I would point out that all the ads I’ve seen emphasize the fact that the dead people look one way to each other and the audience (a young white man) and another way to the living (an old Chinese guy), which was also a plot device in Dead Like Me. ---
**Author:** ![woodstockbirdybird](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/woodstockbirdybird/32/7905_2.png) [@woodstockbirdybird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/woodstockbirdybird)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2013, 1:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-daughter-really-wants-to-see-ripd/663934/48 "2013-07-20T01:11:03Z")
> [@obfusciatrist](#): > > Whether a movie is good or bad has very little to do with whether a kid will like it. This, for example, explains the success of John Hughes. You must be high, sir, if you’re claiming _Planes, Trains & Automobiles_ was not a good movie. Hell, I’d even go so far as to claim adults could mostly enjoy _Ferris Bueller, Pretty in Pink, Sixteen Candles, National Lampoon’s Vacation_ and _Weird Science_ to varying degrees. ---
**Author:** ![jz78817](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jz78817/32/1028_2.png) [@jz78817](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jz78817)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2013, 1:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-daughter-really-wants-to-see-ripd/663934/49 "2013-07-20T01:30:01Z")
> [@muldoonthief](#): > > But it’s at 10% at rottentomatoes. And even the good review, which was giving a hometown discount since it’s a Boston website reviewing a movie set in Boston, couldn’t give it more praise than this: > Now how to break her little heart? On her birthday no less? don’t. this day is not about you. stop trying to make it so. ---
**Author:** ![agnesnitt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d78d45/32.png) [@agnesnitt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/agnesnitt)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2013, 2:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-daughter-really-wants-to-see-ripd/663934/50 "2013-07-20T02:15:50Z")
Dear OP, your daughter is a child. She wants to be see in public with you, so I’ll guess she’s about 10. Her idea of a ‘good movie’, is not YOUR idea of a ‘good movie’. It’s her birthday present, Take her. Next year when she wants a new dress are you doing to tell her “It’s not a pretty color. You have bad taste, it makes you look fat.” No you’re not. You’re going to buy her the dress. By telling her the movie is bad, you’re telling her SHE HAS BAD TASTE. That’s something a dad shouldn’t do. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2013, 2:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-daughter-really-wants-to-see-ripd/663934/51 "2013-07-20T02:23:26Z")
> [@agnesnitt](#): > > By telling her the movie is bad, you’re telling her SHE HAS BAD TASTE. That’s something a dad shouldn’t do. Yeah, you’re supposed to wait for her first boyfriend for that. d&r ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2013, 2:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-daughter-really-wants-to-see-ripd/663934/52 "2013-07-20T02:47:49Z")
Presumably everyone who makes a movie thinks they’ve done a good job. Presumably if they themselves liked what they made, then others with similar sensibilities will too. I don’t know if there are any movies that absolutely nobody likes, there’s always a small number that seem okay with it. Maybe that will be you or your daughter. ---
**Author:** ![agnesnitt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d78d45/32.png) [@agnesnitt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/agnesnitt)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2013, 2:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-daughter-really-wants-to-see-ripd/663934/53 "2013-07-20T02:48:51Z")
> [@runner pat](#): > > Yeah, you’re supposed to wait for her first boyfriend for that. > d&r She’ll be a teenager by then, she won’t care about your opinion anyway. ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2013, 5:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-daughter-really-wants-to-see-ripd/663934/54 "2013-07-20T05:13:19Z")
> [@GuanoLad](#): > > \ I don’t know if there are any movies that absolutely nobody likes, there’s always a small number that seem okay with it.\ I just looked at [a list of the worst summer movies -](http://www.rottentomatoes.com/guides/worst_summer_movies/) the last couple on the list have a rating of 0%! ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2013, 6:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-daughter-really-wants-to-see-ripd/663934/55 "2013-07-20T06:30:32Z")
> [@Alley\_Dweller](#): > > OK, thanks. > > But I would point out that all the ads I’ve seen emphasize the fact that the dead people look one way to each other and the audience (a young white man) and another way to the living (an old Chinese guy), which was also a plot device in Dead Like Me. Except that they looked a little like they used to look, not radically different. And this was used before. ---
**Author:** ![Face\_Intentionally\_Left\_Blank](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/face_intentionally_left_blank/32/288_2.png) [@Face\_Intentionally\_Left\_Blank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Face_Intentionally_Left_Blank)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2013, 11:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-daughter-really-wants-to-see-ripd/663934/56 "2013-07-20T11:06:22Z")
> [@blondebear](#): > > Side question: What happened to Jeff Bridges’ voice? My wild-ass guess? Karmic vengeance for doing that godawful growl/grumble/vowel movement all through _True Grit_. Momma always said if you made a face it could freeze like that. Guess it works for voices too. ---
**Author:** ![FriarTed](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/friarted/32/1052_2.png) [@FriarTed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FriarTed)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2013, 12:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-daughter-really-wants-to-see-ripd/663934/57 "2013-07-20T12:39:09Z")
> [@agnesnitt](#): > > She’ll be a teenager by then, she won’t care about your opinion anyway. Alas, she’ll then probably care about that boyfriend’s opinion. ---
**Author:** ![Justin\_Bailey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/justin_bailey/32/8792_2.png) [@Justin\_Bailey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Justin_Bailey)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2013, 12:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-daughter-really-wants-to-see-ripd/663934/58 "2013-07-20T12:55:57Z")
> [@Alley\_Dweller](#): > > But I would point out that all the ads I’ve seen emphasize the fact that the dead people look one way to each other and the audience (a young white man) and another way to the living (an old Chinese guy), which was also a plot device in Dead Like Me. It was also a plot device in G vs E, a short-lived show about undead cops hunting down demons. G vs E debuted four years before Dead Like Me. ---
**Author:** ![brainstall](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/35a633/32.png) [@brainstall](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brainstall)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2013, 1:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-daughter-really-wants-to-see-ripd/663934/59 "2013-07-20T13:15:04Z")
My nephew dragged me to all kinds of awful movies when he was a young lad. Surprisingly, I enjoyed most of them. Maybe because it was a time for just us to hang out together, or because I expected so little from the movies he picked, but I sometimes even found myself laughing. Yup, I liked Deuce Bigelow. Go have fun with your daughters. If the movie isn’t great, just enjoy it for the timewaster it is. ---
**Author:** ![Seanette](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/seanette/32/9139_2.png) [@Seanette](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Seanette)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2013, 4:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-daughter-really-wants-to-see-ripd/663934/60 "2013-07-21T04:44:40Z")
> [@muldoonthief](#): > > But it’s at 10% at rottentomatoes. And even the good review, which was giving a hometown discount since it’s a Boston website reviewing a movie set in Boston, couldn’t give it more praise than this: > Now how to break her little heart? On her birthday no less? Maybe teach her that it’s OK to form her own opinions instead of letting “experts” decide on subjective questions for her? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-daughter-really-wants-to-see-ripd/663934.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-daughter-really-wants-to-see-ripd/663934.md?page=4)