June 03, 2005

"ESCAPE TO THE MOVIES"? NOT IF THE NEW YORK TIMES HAS ITS WAY

How many who saw the movie, Seabiscuit, were appalled by its flag-waving pro-Americanism? None of you? Well,Manola Dhargis, the New York Times's new movie critic was. The Times's latest addition to its roster of politically correct reviewers is relieved to find that Cinderella Man has no such shameful pro-American themes. Ron Howard is praised, mostly for what he has omitted from his film- anything that might be interpreted as celebrating America. Furthermore, the movie's theme of a good man triumphing against the odds is, in Ms. Darghis's view, unsuitable to the world situation today where, she reminds us, we are living in America, the world's "political nightmare". Aren't we fortunate to have Ms. Darghis as an addition to the Times's roster of critics, all of whom will root out and expose for the rest of us any deviations from the P.C. agenda.

"...Like Gary Ross's "Seabiscuit," the legend of the little Depression-era horse that could, "Cinderella Man" is a shamefully ingratiating old-fashioned weepie. To his credit, Mr. Howard does not wave the flag as vigorously as Mr. Ross, though the new film's tagline ("When America was on its knees, he brought us to our feet") prepares you for the worst. In any event, given that Mr. Howard and his writers would be hard-pressed to bend this underdog narrative to our current political nightmare, it's a good thing they don't venture down that path..."
See the rest here.