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Why America Went Sour on Sweet Jen and Ben
NY Newsday ^
| August 5, 2003
| James P. Pinkerton
Posted on 08/05/2003 8:24:26 AM PDT by presidio9
Every now and then a movie comes along that's so hyped and so bad - and such a box-office bomb - that it reveals a larger truth about the dynamics of our society.
"Gigli," starring Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez, is such a movie. It cost $54 million to make, and yet it grossed less than $4 million in its premiere weekend - a number that would have to be multiplied by five if the film were destined to make a profit. But "Gigli" is not just a financial failure. It's also providing movie critics with an opportunity to unsheathe their swords and hack not only the film, but also the stars, into small little pieces.
When I checked, the Web site rottentomatoes.com tallied 101 critics; just five gave the movie a positive review. But numerical totals don't always convey rhetorical intensity. So to get the full measure of the fangs biting into "Gigli" - rhymes with "really" - one might consider the venomous words of Newark Star-Ledger critic Stephen Whitty: "'Gigli' is such an utter wreck of a movie you expect to see it lying on its side somewhere in rural Pennsylvania, with a small gang of engineers circling and a wisp of smoke rising from the caboose."
Whenever this much vehemence is aimed at a mere movie, something deeper is going on. Three things, in fact.
(Excerpt) Read more at newsday.com ...
TOPICS:
KEYWORDS: airbrusedbutt; fatisbeautiful; haveatwinkiejenny; jennyfromtheblock; jiggley; jlosgiganticass; startboozingagainben
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To: PJ-Comix
Did you actually spend money on watching this thing?
21
posted on
08/05/2003 8:39:28 AM PDT
by
Guillermo
(Proud Infidel)
To: JohnnyZ
They would have done better to bail on Gigli to make the movie Jiggly
To: PJ-Comix
Boy, do I miss MST3K!
To: presidio9
Whenever this much vehemence is aimed at a mere movie, something deeper is going on. Three things, in fact.
- the name sucks
- the story line sucks
- the actors suck
24
posted on
08/05/2003 8:42:35 AM PDT
by
eggman
(Social Insecurity - Who will provide for the government when the government provides for all of us?)
To: Guillermo
Did you actually spend money on watching this thing? Not exactly. It was on basic cable.
25
posted on
08/05/2003 8:42:43 AM PDT
by
presidio9
(RUN AL, RUN!!!)
To: presidio9
all due respect, but, while JLo does nothing for me intellectually, it is pretty hard to contradict that body (the face is another matter, though)
26
posted on
08/05/2003 8:43:33 AM PDT
by
NCLaw441
To: presidio9
27
posted on
08/05/2003 8:44:34 AM PDT
by
Sloth
("I feel like I'm taking crazy pills!" -- Jacobim Mugatu, 'Zoolander')
To: PJ-Comix
MST 3000 IS still around, on SciFi channel, Saturday mornings.
28
posted on
08/05/2003 8:44:37 AM PDT
by
JJ142
To: PJ-Comix; TomServo
Did somebody say MST3K?
To: BrooklynGOP
No. . .if it was going to be a profitable movie, it would have had to gross $20m million or more on opening weekend. . .
30
posted on
08/05/2003 8:47:03 AM PDT
by
Salgak
(don't mind me: the orbital mind control lasers are making me write this. . .)
To: presidio9; JohnnyZ
<< Why do "people" find this talentless chubby woman so attractive? >>
You and I don't -- and we're "people."
31
posted on
08/05/2003 8:47:38 AM PDT
by
Brian Allen
( Rebellion to tyrants is obedience to God - Thomas Jefferson)
To: NCLaw441
all due respect, but, while JLo does nothing for me intellectually, it is pretty hard to contradict that body A talented airbrush artist strikes again. Those Gigli posters were touched up to make her butt smaller and her chest bigger. They have admitted this. Lopez is very good at marketing and getting herself photographed from the right angles, but she is actually quite pear-shaped. Her butt is HUGH. Sorry to spoil your fantasy.
32
posted on
08/05/2003 8:47:59 AM PDT
by
presidio9
(RUN AL, RUN!!!)
To: Sloth
#27 -- an idea you had on another thread, I think.
33
posted on
08/05/2003 8:48:28 AM PDT
by
Sloth
("I feel like I'm taking crazy pills!" -- Jacobim Mugatu, 'Zoolander')
To: PJ-Comix
#27 -- an idea you had on another thread, I think.
9oops, that should have been directed to you the first time)
34
posted on
08/05/2003 8:49:10 AM PDT
by
Sloth
("I feel like I'm taking crazy pills!" -- Jacobim Mugatu, 'Zoolander')
To: NCLaw441
35
posted on
08/05/2003 8:49:27 AM PDT
by
presidio9
(RUN AL, RUN!!!)
To: stainlessbanner
Did somebody say MST3K?Bump!!!
36
posted on
08/05/2003 8:52:34 AM PDT
by
TomServo
("Laura Petri, you are charged with treason!")
To: PBRSTREETGANG; Chad Fairbanks
Siskel? Remember you're talking about Chicago. Why not Siskel?
37
posted on
08/05/2003 8:53:37 AM PDT
by
Paleo Conservative
(Do not remove this tag under penalty of law.)
To: presidio9
Nice beer gut. Why do people find this talentless chubby woman so attractive?Say what you will, but she still beats the h%ll out of Rosie. Why that (I can't even think of an appropriate slur) thing ever became popular is one of the great bafflements of the last 100 years IMHO.
38
posted on
08/05/2003 8:54:08 AM PDT
by
lafroste
To: PBRSTREETGANG
I always kinda hoped to see Joel and the Bots at the bottom of the screen during the Democratic National Convention.
Of course, my evil fantasy is taking the control of the sound system during prime time coverage of the Democratic Convention.
Imagine the "entry" songs for each candidate:
- FrankenKerry: theme from "The Munsters"
- Dean: Looney Toons theme
- Hitlary: a tossup: "Wicked Witch" theme from "The Wizard of Oz", "The Bitch is Back" by Elton John, or that "Bitch" song from a year or two back
- Rev. Al: Three Blind Mice/Three Stooges theme
I'm sure you can add your own choices to the Democratic Convention "Top Ten" list. . .
39
posted on
08/05/2003 8:54:30 AM PDT
by
Salgak
(don't mind me: the orbital mind control lasers are making me write this. . .)
To: presidio9
Schadenfreude is the $2 German word for delight in the suffering of others.Nobody likes to admit they delight in the suffering of others . . . but, honestly, how did you feel the night Al Gore finally conceded the '00 election?
40
posted on
08/05/2003 8:55:38 AM PDT
by
w_over_w
(TRUTH cannot take a lie continually propagated. ~Orville Wright~)
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