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• Sunday, April 23, 2006 07:04 AM

  The "z" is satirical

  I just came from seeing American Dreamz, and for the most part, I understand where Stephanie is coming from. I say, what's wrong with a little pop philosophy? Why are we afraid to enjoy a movie that aspires to reach a wide audience and have some interesting insights along the way. The relationship between Hugh Grant's character and Mandy Moore's is worth the admission on it's own. That's something I can say I'm not sure I've seen before. Of course, the movie wasn't perfect, it probably wasn't funny enough in the first half for my liking, and the satire was a bit clumsy at times, but when it worked, it really worked.

  As for Stephanie being outside the majority of reviewers in her tastes, well so what? Someone should be. And besides, in the case of American Dreamz, almost half of the reviewers gave it a fresh review, which means that 1 out of every 2 reviewers liked it. In my books that makes her far from being an outsider. And even if she is an outsider, in a society that is so easily swayed by popular opinion, we need to embrace reviewers who aren't afraid to have a different opinion. Just because the Tomatoemeter is at 46% doesn't mean the movie is bad, that means 46% of the reviewers liked it, and that's a large proportion of reviewers.

  And to the person who complained about "z" replacing "s" in so much stuff these days, well I hate to burst your bubble of indignation, but in this case the "z" is satirical. When not even Salon readers can recognize simple satire, I fear for us.

  —Jason Neufeld
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