Re: R.I.P. Ivan Reitman
Posted: Mon Feb 14, 2022 3:58 pm
I haven't thought much of Gleiberman's writing for quite some time -- his article last week about how the Academy used to nominate fun movies was ludicrous (his list was either movies whose inclusion horrified critics, or else movies that would easily still be nominated today) -- but this is a pretty dead-on capturing of Ivan Reitman.
For me, Reitman's greatest "contribution to cinema" was producing Animal House, a movie I unabashedly loved in my 26th summer. (I don't blame him for all the bad movies that followed as a result.) Being a Bill Murray fan (and still young), I went to Reitman's early directorial efforts, but found them pretty shabby. (I remember a friend and I agreeing, after Meatballs, that we'd never seen an actor try so hard to animate a stiff.) I know Ghostbusters is viewed as A Classic today (on the "politicians, whores and ugly buildings" standard), but I remember its being more big and loud than consistently funny -- a style that has unfortunately taken over Hollywood comedy. The rest of his directing career was more of the same -- Dave, by virtue of its Oscar screenplay nomination, would probably be seen as his artistic peak, but it's a pretty wan thing.
For me, Reitman's greatest "contribution to cinema" was producing Animal House, a movie I unabashedly loved in my 26th summer. (I don't blame him for all the bad movies that followed as a result.) Being a Bill Murray fan (and still young), I went to Reitman's early directorial efforts, but found them pretty shabby. (I remember a friend and I agreeing, after Meatballs, that we'd never seen an actor try so hard to animate a stiff.) I know Ghostbusters is viewed as A Classic today (on the "politicians, whores and ugly buildings" standard), but I remember its being more big and loud than consistently funny -- a style that has unfortunately taken over Hollywood comedy. The rest of his directing career was more of the same -- Dave, by virtue of its Oscar screenplay nomination, would probably be seen as his artistic peak, but it's a pretty wan thing.