Three Terrible Comedies That Roger Ebert Loved
Roger Ebert was never afraid to go against the grain. While most critics loved films like A Clockwork Orange, Gladiator, The Usual Suspects and The Elephant Man, Ebert gave them a big thumbs down. It went the other way as well, though. Far Out Magazine recently noted a number of terrible movies that Ebert inexplicably loved, including three comedies that would be more at home at the Razzies than the Oscars.
Here are three terrible comedies that got kudos from arguably the greatest film critic of all time…
Home Alone 3
No Macaulay Culkin? No Chris Columbus? No problem for Ebert. “To my astonishment, I liked the third Home Alone movie better than the first two,” he wrote. “I’m even going so far as to recommend it.”
What was so great about it? “This movie follows the exact formula of the first two, but is funnier and gentler, has a real charmer for a hero, and provides splendid wish fulfillment and escapism for kids in, say, the lower grades,” he continued.
Ebert also thought the violence was funnier this time around. “Sure, people fall down dumbwaiters and through floors, and get hit on the head with dumbbells and flower pots, and end up in the frozen swimming pool,” he explained, “but Raja Gosnell’s direction sidesteps the painfulness and makes it okay.”
Paul Blart: Mall Cop
The Kevin James comedy gets mostly pans on Rotten Tomatoes, but Ebert is the guy boosting its score. He loved that the comedy didn’t rely on nudity and F-bombs for laughs. I guess you can say the mall cop and his Segway had that going for them.
Mainly, Ebert loved Paul Blart, “a hero who is a nice guy. I thought that wasn’t allowed anymore. He’s a single dad, bringing up his daughter with the help of his mom. He takes his job seriously. He may be chubby, but he’s brave and optimistic.”
In fact, Ebert might be the president of the Kevin James Fan Club. “He demonstrates what fat men have been secretly believed for a long time. Should Daniel Craig someday retire, I am supporting Kevin James for the next James Bond.”
Land of the Lost
Land of the Lost holds the dubious distinction of receiving the most Razzie nominations in 2009, including Worst Picture, Worst Prequel, Remake, Rip-off or Sequel, Will Ferrell for Worst Actor, Jorma Taccone as Cha-Ka for Worst Supporting Actor and Will Ferrell and any creature as Worst Screen Couple. Way to go, gang!
But that didn’t stop Ebert from enjoying his afternoon at the multiplex (although he knew he was on an island with this one). “Amid widespread disdain,” he wrote, “I raise my voice in a bleat of lonely, if moderate, admiration.”
What did Ebert see that everyone else missed? “There are many jokes about dinosaur manure, dinosaur urine, dinosaur intelligence, dinosaur babies and dinosaurs’ hurt feelings,” he wrote — which I guess is an endorsement? “Also blood-sucking insects, carnivorous trees and the soundtrack from A Chorus Line. The use of the songs is utterly wacky, of course, which is why I liked it.”
Maybe the explanation is as simple as this: “I guess you have to be in the mood for a goofball picture like this,” he confessed. “I guess I was.”