erik lundegaard

 RSS
ARCHIVES
LINKS

Sunday December 01, 2013

The Worst Movie Review of the Year

It belongs to Kyle Smith of The New York Post, writing about the film “Philomena,” starring Judi Dench and Steve Coogan.

Here's a snippet:

There’s no other purpose to the movie, so if 90 minutes of organized hate brings you joy, go and buy your ticket now.

“90 minutes of organized hate.” I can't remember the last time I ran across such a mean-spirited review about such a gentle, and genuinely heartwarming, movie. Here's Smith's full review.

And here's the real Philoemena's defense of the film.

I came across all of this last night after Patricia and I saw the movie, which we both loved. Can the film be read as an attack on doctrinaire (that is, anti-sex) Catholicism and doctrinaire (that is, anti-gay) Republicanism? Sure. But the greater takeaway is a lesson in the meaning of forgiveness, upon which Philomena's open letter to Smith concludes:

Just as I forgave the church for what happened with my son, I forgive you for not taking the time to understand my story. I do hope though that the families heading to the movie theatre to see the film decide for themselves – and disagree with you.

Judi Dench in Philomena

Posted at 07:42 AM on Sunday December 01, 2013 in category Movie Reviews