ranters and ravers

A.O. Scott Still on Romantic-Comedy Detail, Getting Grumpier

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After last Friday’s takedown of Over Her Dead body — which he grumpily followed up on Sunday with a lengthy jeremiad on the state of the American romantic comedy — venerable Times critic A.O. Scott has yet again been forced to suffer through another crappy major-studio rom-com, this time Kate Hudson and Matthew McConaughey’s Fool’s Gold. The result? It’s not pretty. In today’s write-up, Scott sounds even more defeated than he did last week, forgoing any attempt to say even a single nice thing about the film. In fact, before he’s done, he turns palpably cranky and even ruins the movie’s ending.

Will Finn and Tess find the treasure before the bad guys? Will they put aside their differences and rekindle their love? Yes to both questions! I haven’t spoiled anything, by the way. But perhaps I’ve saved you some trouble.

Listen, Manohla Dargis, Stephen Holden, and Matt Zoller Seitz, it’s not been lost on us that you’ve managed to hog all the plum assignments this week (like In Bruges, Vince Vaughn’s Wild West Comedy Show, and Welcome Home Roscoe Jenkins). That kinda-bad-looking Ryan Reynolds–Rachel Weitz movie, Definitely, Maybe, comes out next Thursday. Perhaps one of you could bite a bullet and give poor A.O. Scott a break?

Tropical Pursuit of Love, Coins and No Tan Lines [NYT]
Earlier: Pity Poor A.O. Scott As the Dog Days of February Arrive
A.O. Scott Is Still Grumpy About ‘Over Her Dead Body’

A.O. Scott Still on Romantic-Comedy Detail, Getting Grumpier