— The assumption that making money is inherently evil. Ethan Hawke is seen as a hero – in the eyes of the movie – but he’s actually kind of a loser. It’s a very young immature and self-righteous point of view.<\/p>\n
— It’s too easy a choice to make the Ben Stiller character such a schmo. This goes along with the characterizaiton of making money = evil. He has to be this total tool merely because he wears a suit. How comforting it must be to live in such a simple world! <\/p>\n
Things that I like about the movie<\/b>:<\/p>\n
— I love Jeaneane Garofalo’s bangs. I She grounds the film. So does Ethan Hawke. The two of them are completely real.<\/p>\n
— Steve Zahn is a genius. <\/p>\n
But the final thing that annoys me, and this is the big one<\/b>:<\/p>\n
— Ryder’s parents are part of the “establishment” (although isn’t “establishment” more of a 1950s term? It already seems dated.) But whatever, they’re establishment. Fine. They want her to grow up and get a job. But in the world of Reality Bites – the fact that they want her to grow up means that they must be evil soulless people. And so – naturally – it follows that they are given Southern accents. Winona Ryder doesn’t have a Southern accent in the film – why do her parents sound like extras from Gone With the Wind<\/i>? It’s an obnoxious and elitist, a lazy shorthand and it also makes no sense. Why are they Southern? There is no attempt made to make Ryder seem like a transplanted Southern girl. The accent is only there for the liberal East Coast people with prejudices against the South. Like: “Oh yes, we recognize an asshole when we see one, and it talks like THAT.” Really sloppy. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
— The assumption that making money is inherently evil. Ethan Hawke is seen as a hero – in the eyes of the movie – but he’s actually kind of a loser. It’s a very young immature and self-righteous point of … Continue reading