Scan barcode
blooker's review against another edition
4.0
This book kicked off with a hilarious intro and plunged into Ebert's reviews of bad movies released since 2000 or so. The only thing that could improve this book would be a concluding chapter, something bringing everything back together that doesn't leave the book feeling so open-ended.
brizreading's review against another edition
3.0
It can be hard to keep up energy when reading through a bunch of reviews, and so I'd actually recommend this more as a bathroom reading - something you can just dip into from time to time. That said, I read it cover to cover and it did:
(1) get me perversely interested in several of these terrible, early-/mid-2000s films, and
(2) make me laugh, even when I was down/seemingly un-laugh-capable.
Two choice quotes that caused me to lol:
On A Lot Like Love: To call "A Lot like Love" dead in the water is an insult to water.
On Freddy Got Fingered: This movie doesn't scrape the bottom of the barrel. This movie isn't the bottom of the barrel. This movie isn't below the bottom of the barrel. This movie doesn't deserve to be mentioned in the same sentence with barrels.
HA! So good.
(1) get me perversely interested in several of these terrible, early-/mid-2000s films, and
(2) make me laugh, even when I was down/seemingly un-laugh-capable.
Two choice quotes that caused me to lol:
On A Lot Like Love: To call "A Lot like Love" dead in the water is an insult to water.
On Freddy Got Fingered: This movie doesn't scrape the bottom of the barrel. This movie isn't the bottom of the barrel. This movie isn't below the bottom of the barrel. This movie doesn't deserve to be mentioned in the same sentence with barrels.
HA! So good.
theartolater's review
4.0
You know exactly what you're getting with this - Ebert's at his best when he's snarky, and there's some great snark in this. It took me a good three months to plow through this because it's the perfect "pick up and read a few entries" read. Really worth it if you can find it for a couple bucks.
beecatbell's review against another edition
3.0
3 1/2.
Really funny guy. Book is a collection of bad movies he has reviewed.
I just read a handful each day for some laughs.
Really funny guy. Book is a collection of bad movies he has reviewed.
I just read a handful each day for some laughs.
theresidentbookworm's review
3.0
I love movies, but sometimes I think I love making fun of movies more. Roger Ebert, of course, was an expert in this. In this collection of his reviews of the worst films he's seen, he ridicules, critiques, and attempts to figure out just what the filmmakers meant to say. I wouldn't say I agree with all of his selections. I have a couple guilty pleasures in this book, and I will stand by Sleepover damn it! I guess what we have to remember is that film is objective. Some movies people praise I hate and vice versa. (I still can't figure out how Forrest Gump won Best Picture over Shawshank Redemption and Pulp Fiction. Forrest Gump is two hours of great man-ifying American history with the great man in question being a mentally challenged white man.) What I like about Ebert is that he is brutally honest without ever being mean. He is not intentionally cruel or insulting. He just tells it how it is. I recommend any of Roger Ebert's books, and I sincerely hope he rests in peace.
brucemri's review
5.0
This is a great book. It is often hilarious, in a variety of styles from bemusement to sympathetic condolence to sarcasm, and clear about the failings of a lot of bad movies. But it's more than that. It's very thoughtful about what might have turned failure into success, and profoundly sympathetic to ambitious struggles that don't work out. There's a lot of food for thought here about many ways movies can work, and about what it takes for them to get there. There's also autobiographical rambling, interesting commentary on the reviewing trade, and a whole lot more.
wagburger's review
4.0
great set of reviews and very quick reading.
A reminder that Ebert did, and still does, yeoman's work on an ongoing basis. Domestic Disturbance, The Princess Diaries - Royal Engagement II, Ladies Man -- all blurry and instantly forgotten, these most assuredly don't deserve the work he's put into the reviews. But the details of how wrong things can go are quite entertaining.
A reminder that Ebert did, and still does, yeoman's work on an ongoing basis. Domestic Disturbance, The Princess Diaries - Royal Engagement II, Ladies Man -- all blurry and instantly forgotten, these most assuredly don't deserve the work he's put into the reviews. But the details of how wrong things can go are quite entertaining.
djblock99's review
4.0
This is a collection of Ebert's reviews for bad movies released between 2000-2006. Star ratings range from 0 to 1.5 stars. Begin with his review for Deuce Bigalow: Male Gigolo, which is the inspiration for the book's title. Then, for a good laugh, take a look at the index and pick out the movies that you've seen and also hated. Next, pick out the movies that you haven't seen, but have heard are sucky. It's also fun to pick through the flops that star big name people who should have known better. Finally, look at the movies that you have seen and actually enjoyed, to find out what he didn't like about them. Most of the reviews are very funny, and include some classic lines. As you read more and more of the reviews, you learn a lot about Ebert's views on what makes a comedy funny, and what distinguishes a good horror flick from sadistic trash. Some of my favorites include The Village, Pearl Harbor, and Battlefield Earth.
More...