SHOWBIZ STOCK WATCH: Male Film Critics More Likely to Pan 'Sex and the City!'
by Steve Mason
Have critics been fair to the "Queen of All Chick Flicks," Sex and the City? This Warner Bros. property, based on the HBO series that debuted a decade ago, received a less than spectacular reception from America's critics. On Rotten Tomatoes, this decidedly female-skewing film movie has received only 55 percent positive reviews. The bad notices did not stop women from flooding America's multiplexes as this estrogen- and Cosmo-fueled phenomenon delivered a stunning opening of $57 million or so on opening weekend.
Still, I was curious. How many of these critics are women? Were men harder on the movie than female reviewers? And, is this, perhaps, another case of critics being out-of-touch with a film's intended audience?
As it turns out, Rotten Tomatoes presents 139 reviews, 69 percent of which were written by men. Only 49 percent of male critics wrote positive reviews while 51 percent panned Sex and the City. Meanwhile, only 14 of the 40 female reviewers were negative about the box office sensation with 65 percent of women giving Carrie Bradshaw and friends the critical "thumbs up."
Just wondering. Should male scribes have recused themselves from this assignment?
Good point;
Def. a "chick picture."
Another...Should white critics review the Tyler Perry ouevre? Should non-Christian critics be allowed to review Narnia?
But seeing as how you're not recusing yourself from your hobby of box office prognosticating (Badly. What did you pick, $30 million for SATC? Have you come close yet this summer?), maybe the critics can continue to watch, review and call them as they see them, target audience of the film be darned. Yes?
Posted by: Otowner | June 03, 2008 at 10:19 AM
You just have to build that into your box office projections for your Ultimate league. Your slashers, chick-flicks, and urban targeted movies will get hammered on IMDB while the target audience eats it up and counts in for box-office. I used to work in a media store, and S&tC Seasons sold like hotcakes. This was a show with a huge following that I knew would bring it to the theatres. Be warned, this is going to be a very front-loaded picture since I do not see a lot of repeat business out of this movie. Women needed to see it, and they did. It will be out of the top 5 by week 3 and off the top ten by week four.
Posted by: BrettS | June 03, 2008 at 12:49 PM
Dude, Mase saw a discrepancy in the stats and pointed out an opinion - a question even. And no matter how much you struggle against it, when 65% of women rate a film positively and only 49% of men do, then it's definitely time to take a closer look at the effects of a male-dominated critic group on a movie that isn't aimed at them. In my opinion, websites should definitely divide up critics into various demographics and throw in appropriate equalizing factors for respective movies. For example, they should multiply each male vote by a factor of 50/69, while each female vote should be scaled up by 50/31 and then the male and female vote would count equally and films wouldn't be panned by critics who can't identify with a movie's message/intended audience!!
Also, on another note, it seems to me that old Otowner either had a really, really disturbed childhood, or is the online equivalent of a rage patient; buddy, it's perfectly normal for humans to converse in civil/polite terms without resorting to having a laugh at the expense of another person, especially one who has a valid point, in stark contrast to your own post. Please refrain from such vile attacks in the future, especially on the Fantaverse's favorite Oracle.
Posted by: ashkul88 | June 03, 2008 at 08:00 PM