Slowly Going Bald

Great review, Dan. Too bad about the comment section.

I read your review when the storm was just in its infancy, but I decided not to involve myself commentually (new word I just made up, I like it).

I actually commented at dinner after the movie that for a teen comedy about dudes trying to get laid, it was pretty woman-friendly. Maybe my standards are low in this respect, but I liked that the girls didn't like, magically just want to date them, they liked them already and the boys were just too clueless to get it. But I mostly saw it because Michael Cera = comedy genius, which is something I think we can all agree on.

I'm glad you pointed out how ridiculous the comments section got. I mean, I love pajiba, but it's just a movie review site. Some people take it so seriously it stops being fun, you know? That's when I just stop reading. But I always love your reviews.

Dan: I love the title of your post. I think of that same phrase each time I receive or see a shirty comment - it makes me smile and take whatever has been said a heck of a lot less seriously. Also, cut yourself a break. The review was well-written, clear and thoughtful... like always:)

Kevin: Yay for 'commentually'!

Kevin: Thanks, man. And it's actually "commentutorially." Duh.

Brenda: Word. And Cera is awesome.

Rachael: Thanks, and I'm glad that someone else sees how nuts it can get there sometimes.

Constance: It's a sham with yams. It's a yam sham.

Commentatorially, you mean?

Dan,
I read your review and then went to see the movie. I found myself agreeing with you on almost all counts. It was pretty clear that the females in the film existed mostly to be ogled. I still thought it was outrageously funny though.

PS Where did the title of this post come from, it's pretty damn funny.

Just tooka peak at the comment thread - I read the review when it first went up, so there were no comments there then. I agreed with the concept of your comment (haven't seen the movie yet, sounds like a DVDer for me) and I wasn't suprised that this was the case.

One thing about the argument though and your observations about it - I thought the purpose of the internet was, with the complete lack of human contact + the abilitiy to instantly communicate, to give everyone the opportunity to argue, scream and insult from on top your soapbox until the cars come home. Guess I was wrong

One last thing - while funny, the title of this post will just raise another s***storm with some of the complainers

Guilty. I confess, I am as guilty as the rest. So I suppose I'm apologizin'.

Of course it gets nuts in there, and usually that's part of the fun. But sometimes we get a little carried away... but then, sometimes ya bring it on yourself. Anyhoo, I'm done. D-U-N done.

It was a great review, though.

And the title of this post is frickin' hilarious.

First! Pwned!Zing!Zort! Ur blog wuz teh zexy!

Sorry.

I'm kind of surprised that some people got their e-panties in a bunch when you included the tid bit that Rogen came up with this when he was 13. What 13 year old boy DOESN'T see women through hormonally fogged glasses? Anyway, thanks for the review, and keep it up.

I'm certainly guilty of this myself, as you'll see from reading the comments. It didn't dawn on me how stupid an argument it was until last night.

Word, Daniel. I read maybe 20 comments into the thread and almost yawned myself to death. I'm a 27 year old woman, I'm college educated, I and I honestly can't wait to see some dick jokes.

I saw this coming when I read the review. The bickering in the comments got out of hand, but I would have liked to see a more focused debate. I really don’t think people’s problem was with the movie itself, but with overwhelming number of these kinds of movies or movies that portray women in this manner. I just think they couldn’t express their opinions effectively, especially when people would counter by defending an individual movie. What this really comes down to, in my opinion, is peoples inability to argue, but I certainly don’t think that should prevent them from trying, no matter how annoying.

Kevin: Yes.

Nate: The title of the post came from the interwebs, one of those early memes. Enter the phrase in Google image search, and you will be duly rewarded.

Brian: Yeah, that's one of the worst parts about the internet. You'd never be a dick to a perfect stranger if you started talking to them — or anyway, you shouldn't be — but online, no one seems to care. Buncha savages in this town.

TK: Thanks, and glad you have seen the light and shaken the dust of insanity from your heels and joined the light side. Not that comment threads are necessarily bad, but that one was just stupid.

Manny: Wrod.

Johnny: No worries. You've seen the light; that puts you miles ahead of most.

Julie: If you live in the Pacific time zone, we need to hang out.

Piato: Yeah, I think everyone was arguing different points and talking past each other (or they seemed to be before I stopped even pretending to scan the comments). It's also weird and a little dangerous to think in such broad terms as "these movies" or "portray women this way"; while there's definite truth to it, I also think there's a damn fine essay to be written about how low-grade romantic comedies portray men a certain way. But it all goes to the nature of fantasy, and I'll save it for another day.

I think that some people believe that "scathing reviews" means it will be scathing for everyone else, except me (the universal "me"; not SPECIFICALLY me). In humor and satire, everyone has to be a fair target and it's a damn shame not everyone can be a good sport, but that's extremism for you.

Or as Grandma always said: Fuck 'em if they can't take a joke.

And take comfort and pity that when extremists are getting all up in everyones' shit, they are probably compensating for their own joyless lives.

Because I did not want to repeat myself, I did comment once on the review, and in an attempt to be brief, perhaps I was too general. What I meant by “these movies” was merely movies which “portray women this way”. That is, movies in which the lives of women are as “interesting as cardboard”. I could have then, as I could now, go into specific movies and depictions, but I really don’t think I’m being “dangerous” by assuming that you’re well aware of them and understand my meaning. I also think you make an excellent point about the way men are portrayed in low-grade romantic comedies, and would have loved to see that addressed in the debate. But again people weren’t arguing each other’s points, they were bickering.

I posted this on Pajiba, but I just wanted to share again, because I think a time out is in order:

I wish we could all get along like we used to in middle school... I wish I could bake a cake filled with rainbows and smiles and everyone would eat and be happy...
[about to cry]
-Mean Girls, circa 2004

I read that review when it first went up (and sent a lot of the people that I had seen the movie with on over to read it), so I missed the Commentpocalypse. I can say that I remember reading that line and thinking that, in the specific case of this movie, it wasn't an issue that bothered me overly much. (It would be like getting riled up about the fact that the guys in Mean Girls had no real roles outside of interacting with Lindsey Lohan and Tina Fey.) But I still thought it was a good observation, and, as a feminist, I appreciated the fact that it was something that you noticed. I'm kinda perplexed by the resulting over the top reaction.

Oh good grief. I'm a 51 year old second wave feminist, and I thought the movie was funny enough. I didn't expect the girls to be characterized other than through the boys' point of view. I was just happy that all the girls were nice and sweet.

I'll add my agreement that Cera is brilliant. But my heart belongs to McLovin.