We've made it to the 2020 edition of the Against the Crowd Blogathon!
This is the event where you get to say ow you really feel about certain movies even though your opinion doesn't match the popular one. I'm going to start things off this year by getting something off my chest. It's bugging the crap out of me. So, with no further adieu, let's get into it. The beloved movie I can't stand took home the Oscar for Best Picture. Sigh.
Green Book
I like Mahershala Ali, but no. No.
NO!
I felt that way from the time I saw the trailer. There he was, sitting in the back of a car driven by a white man and claiming to have never eaten fried chicken before, being shown how to do so by this guy, and asking him what to do with the bones.
Really.
Against my better judgement, I watched it anyway. It was exactly as I thought it was going to be: a full blown White Savior movie. The White guy had to save Ali's character repeatedly throughout the film. He saved him from being not black enough for Black people. He saved him from being too black for White people. He saved him from being too gay for everybody. Of course, the Black man did some saving, too. Well, teaching to be more precise. He taught the White guy how to not be racist homophobe. Sorta. He taught the White guy how to not be a slob. All of it is extremely trite, and off putting.
Things surrounding the film didn't help endear it to me, either. The White guy in this scenario, Viggo Mortensen, made some problematic remarks when the film was being promoted. It came out that the writers of this film, and the book it was based on, play fast and loose with the facts, as if the whole chicken thing wasn't a dead giveaway. Of course, the main writer is a relative of the White character.
The Academy made matters worse. In a year filled with better, more progressive, and original American films about race relations, they not only nominate Driving Mr. Daisy for Best Picture, but like I said, they give it the win! I would say it was a tone deaf decision, but it felt purposeful. It felt it was being rewarded for being the movie about the hot subject that White people were most comfortable with.
I still like Mahershala Ali, but no. No.
NO!
I can always say yes to a dead teenager movie, though. So let's talk about that hated film I love.
Dr. Giggles
This movie doesn't pretend to have any depth whatsoever. It's just a slasher flick that came along during the sub-genre's heyday in the 1980s. If I stop right there I've already given you enough information to justify why I like this movie better than Green Book. While Dr. Giggles says nothing, Green Book says a lot, and none of it is as enlightening as it thinks it is.
You know what I get from Dr. Giggles? Over the top murder. Gloriously bad medical jokes. Larry Drake chewing scenery with reckless abandon while committing over the top murder and delivering gloriously bad medical jokes. If you've never seen it, you have no idea how gratifying it is to hear him say, "It's time to take your medicine," just before he kills someone.
And then there's the morgue scene.
I mean...
Whew!
You have to see it to believe it. When you do, you'll understand (if you're an enlightened homo-sapien) that this one scene is worth all 130 minutes of Green Book. Twice.
You know what would be a better scene than that? A scene of Dr. Giggles grabbing a scalpel and feverishly slicing up the screenplay for Green Book before it has a chance to be filmed.
I feel better now.
You'll feel better after you own up to your unpopular opinions. Therefore, I look forward to all of your entries in this year's Against the Crowd Blogathon.