What a fine cineaste you are, Mr. O'Hehir. And a preening dick to boot!

I'm a writer too and sometimes I feel like an anti-writer, for I write in opposition to the suffocating writers who are forever reminding their readers of their wit. Art critics, film critics, and food critics are often among the worst, so your clean prose is charming. It let me focus more on the film than you.

I didn't read gcassels' letter before posting mine. Alas, you can't please everyone.

Gcassel, if you ever acquire a kingdom, you should call it Ad Hom.

I suppose that the same could be said of Mr. O'Hehir.

"But I do not come here today to debate the ever-so-interesting nuances of the filmgoing marketplace, nor to berate the masses for their execrable taste. (I'm sure 'Blades of Glory' is the finest figure-skating comedy since, well, that other one.)"

Is it not possible to celebrate a film like "Red Roads" without denigrating one like "Blades of Glory" and the people who enjoyed it? Both films have a place and a purpose.

There is nothing new in lamenting that art languishes while product flourishes. It is a lamentation as old as art itself, and most often made by people who wish it known that they are somehow above "the masses" that surround them. Mr. O'Hehir's comments seem very much in that vein, which is insulting and off-putting, and actually makes it more difficult for me to appreciate the intellectual arguments he makes on behalf of the films he champions.

And so civil.

Thank you for the civility.

Truly.

Now I blush a bit for my bit of ad homming.

You are right. Mr. O'Hehir needs to feel a little less superior. Maybe a lot less superior. The monstrously refined critic is a hoary shtick, isn't it?

But I stand by my praise of his uncluttered prose.

Critics are allowed to take swipes at the very things that they critique. Snobbery, scathing sarcasm, pedantic nit-pickery...it's all forgiveable, as long as it's witty, compelling or revealing. And I'm not a huge fan of O'Hehir. But if you're looking for film writing for the masses, go to the theater and grab that little magazine that they give out in the lobby.

I agree with you in principle, Candypants. My point was that Mr. O'Hehir's comments about the masses and their execrable taste were not witty, compelling, or revealing. Rather, they were hoary and cheap.

(My calling him a dick was also cheap. In the light of day, I regret having said it, and apologize).

Appreciate the feedback. It is indeed obnoxious to "berate the masses for their execrable taste," and that's exactly what I said I was not doing. Perhaps my clear prose was less than admirably clear at that moment.

Haven't seen "Blades of Glory" and have no basis for judging it or the people who liked it. Wasn't the point anyway. I do think Will Ferrell is pretty funny with the right material. Loved "Old School." Less so "Elf."

To say that you were not berating the masses strikes me as both disingenuous and revisionist, given your snarky comments on the "Blades of Glory" box office ("Three effing million! Jesus H. Christ!") and the film's place in some imagined skate-movie pantheon ("I'm sure 'Blades of Glory' is the finest figure-skating comedy since, well, that other one").

You very clearly say that the masses have execrable taste (based on the box office for a film you haven't seen), even as you loftily decline to berate them. Why berate, when mockery suffices, I suppose. You can back away from it, of course, but your original purpose in making these statements was clear, even if it was not the main purpose of your article.

Indeed, your main argument seemed to be that "Red Roads" is a fine film that deserves a wide, theatrical audience. I am sure that this is so. But why that point had to be framed by taking cheap shots at "the masses" escapes me, especially given the passion, power and persuasiveness found in the rest of your review.

God forbid I should like both "Red Roads" and "Blades of Glory." The conflict between refinement and execration might make my head explode...

What little magazines are available in movie theatre lobbies?! I've never seen any at the local multiplex. How's one to collect ephemera?!

Oh! Three "effing" million! My bad -- I read "three ELFING million" and thought that was a kinda lame but still funny Ferrell reference....

Well, you learn a little tiny bit more about writing every day you do it. What I have learned today (for about the 47th time) is that the sardonic tone is not as easy as it looks.

Truthfully, Mr. O'Hehir, other than my objection to the target of your sardonic tone, I agree with Holly Capote--that's fine writing.

And I do apologize for the tone of my original post. I disappoint myself some times...

I once had a prof state that most people can't begin to comprehend how much courage it takes to admit to a mistake. I think that's so.

If I thought you could see them, I'd launch some fireworks for the two of you right now.

I want to see this film just because of Kate Dickie's face alone. That look on her face has a story in it. Reminds me of a young Glenda Jackson, who played her share of edgy, desperate, interesting women.