Tweet

I’m having a crisis of faith in humanity. As I write, the laughs from my entire family echo upstairs as a pleasant visit home has descended into a group viewing of Jackie Chan’s The Tuxedo, which has been described as “The funniest thing I’ve ever seen” by my own mother. Flesh and blood people! This is the same person who didn’t want to watch Inglourious Basterds as it “looked crap”. What is wrong with the world?!

I’m getting dangerously close to a point that I’ll make now, what makes a film good? The Tuxedo is technically funny, it isn’t actually funny, but technically it’s creating humourous situations out of a freaking tuxedo. I know this to be terrible, and yet my family enjoy it. Does that make it good? Is enjoyment the only real barometer? Rejects, have you ever watched a film that has been hounded by those in the know and thought, “I loved it!” or are these decisions made for us by the shady people known as ‘critics’?

I’d love to know, as its literally impossible to avoid preconceptions on films. We are hounded by trailers, posters and such months in advance including commentary that attempts to sway you on what the film will be like.

Can you realistically make an honest judgment in this environment?

Maybe The Tuxedo is a hidden masterpiece and maybe Basterds an overhyped crap-a-thon. How can we say for sure which is true?

What say you? What makes a film good?