Kevin Smith, the director of such acclaimed movies as Clerks, Dogma and Chasing Amy, is once again in the spotlight for a rant on his Twitter account (now apparently referred to as a "twrant") regarding the harsh criticism of his latest movie, Cop Out received. Just recently, he turned to Twitter to vent his frustrations over an ugly spat with SouthWest Airlines after their two-seat policy for overweight patrons led to Smith being ejected from an L.A.-bound flight before takeoff. As a follow-up rant, Smith is targeting film critics, those same folks who generally hated the director's Bruce Willis-Tracy Morgan cop comedy.
I'm a huge fan of Smith’s work, and I have to agree with part of this rant of his: Yes, some critics focus on such tiny details that they often miss the joy of watching a film. I also agree with Smith that film criticism is not rocket science, and writing film reviews is not saving the world. Some people get so focused on the film and doing their job, they often forget that they are studying an art, and that the critic's written words are really just his or her own opinions.
This article appears in Mar 31 – Apr 6, 2010.