Friday, August 21, 2020

Against the Crowd Blogathon 2020




For the past several years, Wendell over at Dell on Movies has hosted a fun blogathon called "Against the Crowd". The rules are simple. Pick two movies to blog about. There's just one catch. One has to be a movie that "everybody" (as determined by a Rotten Tomatoes rating) loves but you hate, and the other has to be on that the same everybody hates but you like. We're upon that time of year for the blogathon, and it made me think about what movies I'd use this year. Fortunately, I had just watched a movie that fit one of the two categories, but had to think about the other....

Movie everybody else loves that I hate: Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf (1966).



Real-life couple Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor play insane drunkards George and Martha, inviting colleagues (George Segal and Sandy Dennis) over for a nightcap after a university professors' function. The elder couple proceeds to treat their guests like dire. I absolutely hated both of the main characters, and hated the fact that the younger couple pretty much stood there and took the abuse. Not long after watching this one, I watched Old Acquaintance, which has Bette Davis literally shaking some sense into vapid Miriam Hopkins. As I watched, I thought that perhaps Segal should have shaken Burton and Taylor. Not only are the characters obnoxious, they go on and on has the movie runs well over two hours. It got every Oscar nomination it was eligible for and won for Taylor and Dennis, but I find it tedious.

Movie everybody else hates that I like: Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (1978)



OK, this isn't exactly a good movie. Music producer Robert Stigwood had the "brilliant" idea of having a bunch of musical stars -- and some non-musical stars -- of the late 1970s reimagine Beatles songs, against a backdrop of a story about a Middle America town called Hearland, its hometown hero Billy Shears (Peter Frampton), and developers' plans to do something to the town. The plot is forgettable; Frampton can't act; I'd have to look up who played his love interest; and it's otherwise all-around cringeworthy. But it fails so spectactularly that it's fun! And to be honest, some of the music is better than is given credit for. The Bee Gees go back to their harmonies from the earlier era that produced "How Can You Mend a Broken Heart" for their rendition of "Nowhere Man", which I think they pull off well. The highlight is Earth, Wind, and Fire's tremendous funk version of "Got to Get You Into My Life". And Aerosmith aren't nearly as bad as you might think. But then there's the awful, like George Burns singing "Fixing a Hole" or Donald Pleasance (seriously!) doing "I Want You (She's So Heavy)".

This is the fifth time I've joined the Against the Crowd blogathon; previous entries can be found here:

2019
2018
2017
2015

I don't know what I was doing to miss the blogathon in 2016.

6 comments:

Dell said...

I like WAoVW, but fully understand your point. No one is likeable, they spend most of the movie yelling at each other.

I've been hearing about Sgt. Pepper's for years but never bothered because I heard it was terrible. Now, I might have to for two reasons. 1) Earth, Wind, and Fire 2) Donald Pleasance singing. That sounds fantastically bad.

Thanks for joining again!

joel65913 said...

I wouldn't exactly say I "hate" Virginia Woolf but I never understood the lionizing praise either. Liz let's it rip but Martha is a dreadful beast, Burton pathetic, Segal forgettable and I loathed what Sandy Dennis was doing. I've watched it twice because I thought I missed something the first time when it left me cold. Nope I didn't.

Sergeant Pepper is a mess but it does have the Beatles songs to make it endurable. Some of it is simply bizarre though.

thevoid99 said...

@Wendell-In order to save your life and mind, I will present to you my review of the atrocity that is... Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band told by a stoner and a Brit with some stories about the production.

Brittani Burnham said...

I really love WAOVW, but I understand that perspective as well. If you can't connect with those characters, that movie would be an outright chore. Sgt Pepper I haven't seen, but I liked that album so maybe I'd like the film too. I have one of their movies on my Blind Spot list for next year.

Birgit said...

Who’s Afraid is well acted but I don’t care if I see it again because the characters are just distasteful and I still don’t care why it is called this. I have seen Clips of Sgt. Pepper’s but never the whole film and I will one day especially because I love George Burns

Tom said...

Here, here for your "hated" pick - I'm 110% with you as I absolutely loathe this one as well. It's Oscar win for Best Costume Design (B/W) and nomination for Best Original Score baffles me; I don't remember any music in this except for the opening and closing moments.