Paul Blart: Mallcop – Is the Bar Really that Low?
If you're new here, you may want to subscribe to my RSS feed. Thanks for visiting!
I am a firm believer that you can learn a lot about the nuances of society as a whole just by following the trends in pop culture.
This is nothing new, and I am used to it to the point that I am almost numb to it. But every once and again my inherent contempt and subsequent pity for America’s youth is enthusiastically rejuvenated when I least expect it.
A specific example of this is the fact that the new Kevin James movie, “Paul Blart: Mallcop”, opened at number one at the box office and remained so for two weeks. Furthermore, this enormous pile of raccoon feces has grossed almost $100 million in domestic box office receipts.
This, while scoring a whopping 27% on Rotten Tomatoes. How does a movie that three out of four moviegoers think is a failure manage to gross 100 million fucking dollars? Is the bar really that low? Have our standards really dropped that far below the intellectual poverty line?
I realize that this is a PG rated movie and therefore the numbers are somewhat skewed. I also realize that a large portion of the viewing demographic are teenage boys who thoroughly enjoy a fart joke or 10. But this only proves my point. When we were growing up, we had legitimately original and truly hilarious movies that were destined to become classics: Happy Gilmore, Dumb & Dumber, Ace Ventura: Pet Detective, etc.
There’s also another element to this that’s guaranteed to irritate me non-stop for the next 60 months or so: There are going to be more films just like this, and probably sequels to this one since it was so popular. What’s next? Paul Blart: Loss Prevention Specialist at Costco?
At least once every week or two, I see a trailer for an upcoming movie and I say to myself, “I hope no one goes to see this movie.” Because as long as they do, they’ll keep making movies that are only going to be worse and worse than the ones before it. And just when you think the Hollywood producers have sunk to their lowest of low points, they’ll make a movie about ping pong. It’s like any other form of mainstream entertainment I guess, they’ll continue to put forth the least amount of quality into the material without compromising it’s potential to sell. It’s almost as if they’re daring people not to watch it.
How did this happen? How does mediocrity flourish in a society with so many choices? We have more choices and more forms of entertainment available to us than ever before and it’s easier than ever to access them. I don’t understand how the shit rises to the top while the quality product often remains obscure.
Maybe I am just getting old. But I’ll tell you one thing: If Paul Blart is this generation’s Ace Ventura, I fear for the youth of this country.
Reader Comments