Pajiba

Aw, that's so sad. I was so hoping this would be a quiet winner of a movie. Especially given the talent involved.

I do hold out hope for Steve. He may need to revisit some of his movie choices, but you're right when you say that he has the makings of a fine dramatic actor.

Plus, he will always have a special place in my heart for 40-yr Old Virgin.

anyone that can neutralize Dane Cook ought to be skipped over for Oscar consideration and put straight into the queue for the Nobel Peace Prize. How very true.

I don't think Steve Carrel is in as much career danger as you think. The 40-Year-Old Virgin is a film that, from its premise alone, should have been a stinker, but I instantly fell in love with it, mainly because of Big Steve (the writing didn't hurt none either).

As long as we don't get too many more Evan Almightys in the next few years, I think he'll become a lasting asset to entertainment.

I'm glad to see, if nothing else, that there's another human in this world that has no idea how to consistently spell Steve's last name.

One R two Ls? Two Rs one L?

Thank you for kicking back at the Braff backlash. Sure, he's definitely annoying now as he's got so much attitude.

But Garden State was great for a lot of us when it came out, and it's taken a hipster beating for no good reason.

And yeah, nothing better than Scrubs' first season, but it's be six years downhill from there. I think I stopped liking it when I realized that the hospital was looking clean. First season, it was dirty and real; since then, it generally looks too shiny and like a stage.

There's only one "oaktober"

There's only one jack-off

that's Dane Cook

I never really jumped on the hate train with Zach Braff, although I can see why people find him so annoying. And ruining the playoffs is just the latest on a long list of reasons to hate Dane Cook (although, in the interest of full disclosure, I should mention that in 11th grade I really, really liked him. I'm sorry! I was sixteen; I didn't know any better!).
But a Steve Carell backlash? My precious Produce Pete? I hope there never comes a day when I hear his name and scoff.

I want to see this movie gender-reversed with George Clooney playing the lead and being pursued by Janeane Garofalo while having a relationship with Sarah Silverman.

Interestingly enough, Dane had a scene stealing bit in the movie, Mystery Men as: The Waffler.

Dane-Cook taint boil

Oy, now there's soft, lumpy donut mash on my monitor. Thanks.

The Onion AV Club gave this a fairly positive review, but its struggling on Rotten Tomatoes. It's hard for me to think it's going to be anything other than what is described here.

Funny how Dane Cook turned out not to be the problem. Short-leash, small-dose Dane Cook, a la Waiting ..., need not torpedo a film all on his own.

I've never understood why people hate on poor Zach Braff so much. But I'm pretty much lukewarm on him all around, so I never really minded. But if claws come out against Mr. Steve Carrell, then I'm afraid that I may be done with the Pajiba nation. To put it simply, I love the guy.

Being one of the older members of Pajibaland, I somehow missed knowing who Dane Cook was until I started reading rants about him here. I looked him up on imdb and can't figure out what, in particular, was a deeper pit of excrement than the rest.

Without making me suffer too much, can anyone give me the history of the Dane hate?

I don't hate Braff or Dane. I'm not in love with either of them, but eh, they're making a living like everyone else. It would take quite a lot of cruddy movies (and I haven't seen any of his) to make me despise Zach, just because of Scrubs (though his character is really neurotic, at least he's funny). Dane - eh. I can take him or leave him.

As for Carrell, still liking him too, but not much interest in seeing any lame-ass rom com starring him. I don't think it's impossible to make a good romantic comedy, but Hollywood sure doesn't seem to be trying very hard. How often, really, do you meet a perfect woman who just happens to be dating your brother? Has that ever actually happened in real life? It's as if Hollywood thinks that real life isn't awkward or conflict-ridden enough (which means they must have no lives at all), so they have to shoehorn in some completely ridiculous and extremely unlikely "complication" because they can't think of anything else to do. It's just sad. It wouldn't matter who was in this movie, I still wouldn't want to see it. Ecch. Now I don't feel so bad about paying $1 to see Transformers a couple weeks ago. At least everyone who made that movie knows it's ridiculous and don't insult me by pretending otherwise and expecting me to go along.

I don't mind Zach Braff, although Scrubs really grates on me these days. And I also liked Garden State, but I don't know how it would hold up on second viewing. But I love Steve Carell, and I don't see that abating any time soon. He does a very good job of showing the humanity of the characters he plays, in a way that indicates that he's a good guy in real life too. With the increasing lack of value for good morals and ethics in Hollywood, it's nice to see that characters like his still pull in a box office draw. Except for Evan Almighty of course, but my gawd that was a bad movie. But it didn't diminish my view of SC at all.

Dustin - There's nothing written in stone that we have to be purely pessimistic creatures who whither in our own cynicism. Healthy skepticism is a good thing, but should be kept in check.

I have this terrible urge to locate Steve Carell, grab him by the shoulders, and scream, probably while shaking said shoulders. I don't know precisely what I would say, but I would try to convey exactly what you've described in this review. I love, love, love him, and I can barely stand the torture of watching him make bad choices. I keep thinking, does he have some secret debt to pay off...does he just need to be paid and is biding his time until he can literally afford to pick decent scripts?

Anyway, this was a great review. I was hoping Dane Cook wouldn't be too wretched, because I will definitely end up seeing this and, unfortunately, it will be the first time I get to experience his humor. I'm still not looking forward to it, but at least I don't have to watch any of his other crap.

Tonight I am totally going to get out my copy of "Mystery Men" and watch it to catch Mr. Cook's cameo.

Plus it's been a long time since I've seen "MM", and I need to laugh it up a little.

Mr. Pink and I were late to the Dane Cook bandwagon. About a year ago while out of town, we caught his Tourgasm show on HBO. Maybe because it was 2 a.m. and we were wiped out from driving, but he cracked us up. Now he grates on my nerves.

As for Zach Braff: I hate his mouth. It grosses me out.

Does anyone else think that Juliet Binoche a perfect combination of luminous, lovely, and normal? She's so refreshing, at least to this gal who is so sick of looking as plasticized barbiewomen in movies and TV.

Well I will happily be the one to say it. Steve Carell is an over-rated douchebag. And I'm not just saying that to disagree with the masses or whatever. I literally can not, no matter how hard I try, CAN NOT understand everyones deep and undying love for him.

Lets just start right off with The Office and say WTF?! WTF people? He is not funny. He is not clever. He is not endearing. And I can't even find it in myself to pity him. In fact, his performance is so mind-blowingly awful that I can not even watch that show anymore. Not that I'm missing anything since pretty much every episode of The Office is the same as the one before and the one before that and the one before that. His performance shames the brilliant, layered, character that Ricky Gervais played in the BBC Office. And YES YES YES, I know that Ricky Gervais is a creator/writer blah blah whatever of the US Office...but yeah, so what? All that shows is that he knows how to cast an actor that the retarded american population will eat right up. Oh how Steve Carell sucks. And he drags that show down further and futher with every episode.

As for his film career...lets see...we have the steaming pile of shit that was Evan Almighty. We have Little Miss Sunshine, he was by far the dullest star in that group, being outshined by literally everyone in that film including the 10 year old girl. There is The 40 Year Old Virgin...meh. And really, honestly, there is not much else.

I'm going with Andrea on this, to me Steve is a non-entity, if anything, 40-YOV was a success despite his presence.

How is it not a cliche to rant about how much better the UK Office is by now?

I was not ranting about the UK Office vs the US Office. I was ranting about Steve C's performance as opposed to Ricky Gervis's. Sheesh.

I'll tell you why I hate Zach Braff: He always plays the same character and that character is whiny, little cockgobbler who refuses to grow the fuck up. Scrubs? "Dorian" is a neurotic, insecure, selfish dickweed who still wants to act like he's 14, even though he's a doctor responsible for saving lives and all that crap. "Doogie Howser" was more mature and less self- absorbed than "Dr. Dorian." Last Kiss? Braff's character was an insecure, selfish dickweed who hadn't figured out that there was more to life than strange pussy. The Ex? Same Goddamn character, although he wasn't really looking for strange pussy, I guess. I still hated him and was cheering for Jason Bateman. Garden State? Same damn thing. "Oh, my life was hard. I'm a little mentally ill. Why doesn't my daddy love me more even though I kinda, sorta killed my mommy?" Fucking loser. I liked the damn soundtrack 100 times more than I liked the movie.

I had almost exactly the same reaction as Dustin did last night when I saw the season premiere of Scrubs. If it wasn't for the small tingle of pleasure I receive when ever the janitor or Perry bust Zach Braff's balls, I'd have quit watching Scrubs long ago. Seriously, by the end of the episode, after "Dorian's" whining inner monologue about how he was now going to be stuck in an imperfect relationship with his girlfriend because she's pregnant, I wanted to beat Zach Braff (or his character, rather) with a bicycle chain while screaming "You fucking, whining douche- nozzle! You knocked her up! You decided together to keep it! Man up, you goddamn candy ass! You're 30 years old, for Christ's sake. How come you haven't figured out that life isn't really brought to you by the Walt Disney Company?"

"And then it struck me: It's you people. Pajiba Nation. You've poisoned the well ... It's the backlash. The cumulative effect of all the comments you good folks have left over the years have taken their toll, sunk deep into my mind and rotted and festered and oozed revulsion for this man...

But now I'm terrified that Steve Carell is next in line. That a backlash of epic proportions is bubbling up somewhere just waiting for a misguided critic here or a blogger there to say, "Carell is an overrated douchebag," and then the floodgates will open and the insults will pour forth, and in six months' time, the cool kids will no longer like him -- he'll be tossed to the masses and forced into making a living off of bad family Christmas movies for the rest of his career." -

http://www.pajiba.com/dan-in-real-life.htm

Wait one god dammned second.

This is coming from the same guy who has been banging this very same drum for months?

Dude, you (and the rest of Pajiba Inc.) have been leading the "Carell is an overrated douchebag" charge for a while now. If the floodgates are about to open, you, my friend, unlocked them in the first place.

You've been setting up the "Decline of Steve Carell" for months. Let's take a look at all the Pajiba Steve Carrel-reltated news over the last few months:

"In sequel news, the hilarious Steve Carell begins his Will Ferrell-like descent into mediocrity by starring as the title character in Evan Almighty" - http://www.pajiba.com/morsels-of-pajiba.htm

"Finally, in the trailer watch, behold the sad but inevitable downward spiral of Steve Carell's career: Evan Almighty." - http://www.pajiba.com/pajiba-the-vampire-slayer.htm

"In our extended metaphor, Steve Carell is the puppy and that puppy's poor fate is a metaphor for Carell's career after the film, Dan in Real Life, is released this fall. Why? Because Dane motherfucking Cook is the guy with the shotgun." - http://www.pajiba.com/somebody-shoot-your-pajiba.htm

I didn't see Evan Almighty, because it looked so god damned awful I didn't bother. And I am sure this new movie aint grant and Dane Cook sucks as always (I never understood the appeal of Dane Cook. Ever.).

That said, you wrote the ending to this story before it even started. If you're worried about an impending Steve Carrel backlash that will ever sour you on the man's career "like Miracle Whip left under a heat lamp" do what Michael Jackson said and start with the man in the mirror.

As for "The Office" sucks rant above. I will admit, the quality of the episodes of the show tend to be inversely proportional to how much Michael is in it.

More Michael = Weaker Show/Less Michael = Better show. This is espcially true in espidoes where Michael happens to interact with the world outside of the Office.

That said, I think Michael is every bit as layered and "brilliant" as Ricky Gervais' character in the original. I didn't start watching the US version until Season 3 (have since caught all the past episodes on DVD), because I didn't think it could ever compare the brilliance of the UK version. Well, truth of the matter, is that it does not only compare with the British version, it's actually surpassed it by quite a bit. Yes, a lot of that has to do with the fact that the US version has had dozens of more episodes which allowed it to develop brilliant side characters like Angela, Toby, Kevin, Stanley, Creed, Daryl, and all the rest of them, but also because it's just better.

Steve Carrel has that inherent sweetness/sadness to him that Rickey Gervais (and not too many other people) really have. Because of this Carrel's Michael is just a little easier to watch and sympathize with than Gervais' David.

Carrel will have to decline a lot more before I begin to sour on him. The "40 Year Old Virgin" and the majority (say 60-70%) of his work on "The Office" have bought him a lot of leeway in my book. I will just try to avoid his crappy stuff (e.g., Evan Almighty) and hope I can stick with the good.

As for Zach Braff, I have no idea why people hate him so much. At all. I figured it was just a "It's cool to hate Zach Braf" thing unique to Pajiba, sorta of like the whole "Peter Jackson is a hack" and "I hate Citizen Kane too!" stuff that seems all the rage.

I liked "Garden State" well enough. I've never seen him in anything else and I think I've only ever seen about 75% of one episode of Scrubs. Maybe I just got lucky and avoided all of the horrible things he's done.

i think carrell and gervais should do a scott-brent dance-off...that would settle things once and for all

BSlim,

I never realized that was Dane Cook, I am going to have to watch MM again - although the sight if him makes me want to go "Pompeii on his ass"!

oy..."of" him

Amen Ajax19! Amen! The thing about Steve Carrell that separates him from both Zach Braff and Dane Cook is that he seems like a genuinely nice person--you wouldn't catch him whining and wallowing in self-pity (Braff) nor would you find him being an arrogant blow-hard who has questionable acting skills (Cook). Now being a nice person doesn't insulate you from bad career choices or overexposure. But I would hope that it would stem some of the future Steve Carrell vitriol on this site(yes, I know it's supposed to be 'scathing reviews for bitchy people, but COME ON, dial it down a little sometimes). Now, 'Dan in Real Life' doesn't seem like a particularly great movie and I agree with most of what Dustin says about the MOVIE. But, instead of leading off with your bias Dustin, it might be useful to leave some of that out and let people form their own opinions about the ACTORS. I hope you can take this as constructive criticism about Pajiba--as a whole I enjoy your site, really I do! :)

I would comment, but I'm too busy ducking under the table to avoid whatever missiles Alex The Odd is hurling at Andrea right now for describing Ricky Gervais' acting as "Brilliant and Layered"

BSlim,

I never realized that was Dane Cook, I am going to have to watch MM again - although the sight if him makes me want to go "Pompeii on his ass"!

Posted by: Finn at October 26, 2007 2:20 PM
***************************************************

I didn't realize it 'til very recently myself. As I did "I was seething UN..conTROllable anger....I was like a powder keg ready to explode..."

Posted by: Ajax19 at October 26, 2007 2:12 PM

hahahahahahahahahaha WOW, well played sir.

I hate Zach Braff for the fact that he is too emo for his own damn good. I listened to his show on Indie 103.1 and it was a huge collection of this sad bastard music. Hey guy lighten up.

Steve Carrell would have to do a lot to burn up the good faith that he has built with Little Miss Sunshine, 40 Year Old Virgin, and The Office.

Steve Carell and the "40 Y.O. Virgin" have built up so much good will that I will never give up my love for him.
Will Carell make crappy movies? Yes.
Will I see those crappy movies? No.
I also enjoyed "Little Miss Sunshine" and his performance in it so I won't begrudge his less than stellar choice of upcoming film roles. I just won't see them. And he is a far better actor than Dane Cook.

Last night's episode of Scrubs was quite disappointing and Zack Braff has become annoying but I attribute that to his character's lack of growth on the show and some of the skeevy things he has done in his personal life. However, I have no outright hate for him. Yet.

B-Slim,

I had no idea Dane Cook was "The Waffler." I love The Waffler and his "Griddle of Justice". So long as I continue to avoid any other Dane Cook stuff (I have only ever heard about 5 minutes of his stand-up and found it god awful), I think I will be ok.

Ajax19, I agree with pretty much everything you said about the U.S. version of The Office. I didn't start watching it until the 3rd season as well because I just couldn't believe it could be as funny or downright brilliant as the British version, but it is. I have never loved to hate a character more than David Brent, and I don't think that will change, but I can't compare Brent to Michael Scott because I don't think they're really all that comparable. Michael and David are both horrible, awkward bosses, but in different ways that play to the strengths of the actors themselves.

Also, I liked Scrubs last night. I thought it was funny. I don't care that Zach Braff's character is a douche...I never expected him to be anything else. I think a lot of the people who hate him used to relate to him, but were let down by his own douchiness. That sucks, but I only started watching Scrubs repeats last year, so I never had much invested.

Good to hear Carrel didn't get soaked in the douchewater. On a related note, was last night's The Office good, the strains of hour long episodes gone?

I generally enjoy Pajiba reviews, and although my level of agreement varies, I've never disagreed more with a review on this site than this one. I think Dustin missed the point. This wasn't supposed to be a comedy. It's about life, which sometimes happens to be funny. More than the romance, I think this was a film about the relationships between Dan and his daughters and Dan and himself. The romance was incidental. And it's true, this wasn't a great movie. It will never go down on a top 100 movie nor will many people remember it in the same sentence with 40-year old virgin. But that's not really the point, it was a very solid film, and I think all the actors did themselves and the script justice.

Paddy, I never took issue with praising Ricky Gervais's performance. It's just that comparing the US Office to the UK Office at this point is tired and old, and totally irrelevant. The shows are completely different at this point.

I love both versions, and I don't bother to compare them because I love them for different reasons.

I don't see how anyone could watch "Business School" (the episode that won a poster here season 3 of VM for her description of the most heartwrenching TV moment) and then say that Steve Carell's performance pales in comparison to Gervais's. Why can't they both just be good?

Produce Pete will always have a special place in my heart.

I for one can say I've never taken the Braff hatred to heart. I HATED the Last Kiss. But I still love Scrubs and regularly pull out my copy of Garden State on a rainy afternoon. I don't really give a shit what my other hipster friends think.

I was never one the cool kids anyway.

"The Office" is horrible this season, but I don't blame Carell. It's just badly written. Unfortunately for the show, it has to follow the hilarity of "30 Rock".

I was one of the "how can you top the U.K. office?" naysayers until very recently. I started watching the U.S. office on Netflix's (amazing) Watch Instantly feature. It is absolutely hilarious - I adore it. My husband and I watch an episode or two a night on the laptop while we hide from our sleeping infant daughter (need to "separate", so say the books).

Anyway, I love the U.S. office because it is very, very different from the U.K. office. I guess it's my own stereotypes of the difference between Brits/Americans at work, but the U.K. show is so, so much bleaker than the U.S. show - I'd actually argue that the respective outlooks of the nations mirror that of the shows. I love the U.S. Office because it's so frigging typical of...a U.S. office. The references (i.e. shithead Cornell graduate in a rep tie - is there anybody among us dwelling in the Northeast who doesn't know this guy?) are quintessentially American. It has its bright spots where you think something's redeemable...and then it's not. It's such a play on what Americans expect from entertainment (again, I'm using broooooad strokes here).

Anyway, this is a very long way of saying that Steve C. can be in as many shitty shows/movies as he wants, but he's absolutely perfect as Michael on the show. He's the perfect foil for everybody - much like Jerry Seinfeld on Seinfeld. When was Jerry himself ever all that funny?

Hello - Friday afternoon, anybody? Oh, and I, too, have a visceral reaction to Z.B.

Alex: Sorry, a bit of mis-communication there, I was referring to Alex The Odd whose bile-filled hatred of all things Ricky Gervais is well-documented on these pages.

I liked the movie. Sure, it was contrived and simple. But the sweetness and genuine tenderness of Dan and his family redeemed the predictable plot line for me. Plus, Sondre Lerche is my God.

Yes there's Yucchtober. and there is my Ms. I-Don't-Care-How-The-Reviews-Are-I-Won't-Watch-The-Bitch: Reese Witherspoon. Then there is the Should-I-Give-This-Skank-One-More-Chance? list. My nominees: Carrey. Sandler, Robin Williams, Jane Fonda, Berry, andBen Stiller.

Oh, brother, here we go with the "cool kids," what they like/dislike, and whether Pajibans are lapdogs controversy.

I don't find Carell to be a douchebag in any sense of the word. I was up late one night this week, and saw him on a late-night show - Leno, I think. Seems like a nice guy. Overrated? Yeah, he is. He's hardly the first, won't be the last. Also, someone mentioned nice people still being capable of overexposure. I'd say that's Carell in a nutshell (or, it certainly will be by the end of next year).

As for Zach Braff - I haven't watched Scrubs in a long time, but he was bloody hilarious in the 1st season. No hate for him here, but then I don't follow his career enough to know much about him outside of Scrubs and directing/starring in Garden State. Speaking of, is it possible to be middle of the road on the movie? Because I wanted to think it was awesome, but it wasn't. I saw it, thought it was alright, not sucky, and had no desire to watch it ever again. Kind of like 40YOV for me.

Paddy, I thought that might be what you meant, because I recognized that handle, but it seemed to fit with my comment so I went with it.

I had the same gut feeling about Carell when I saw the TV ads for this movie. It felt a lot like when Jim Carrey was in "The Truman Show". Carell is excellent, but not infallible as proven with "Evan Almighty" (what was he thinking???).

A few thoughts on the matters presented here:

1) While Bill Murray was getting his renaissance, he was also doing Charlie's Angels and the Garfield movies. So maybe we shouldn't be so quick to judge Carell on two non-Apatow-or-Gervais-or-Daily-Show ventures. Hell, even Jon Stewart tripped a few times. Death to Smoochy and Half-Baked, anyone?

2) In fact, I can see why he picked this film. It was something quite distant from his other work, and he wanted to be in something where he didn't feel pressured to perform constantly. He probably hoped it wouldn't succeed. Just a sleepy little film he could do to let him stretch a bit before going back into full-bore Michael Scott again. This was like a vacation for him, and frankly he deserved it.

3) Steve Carell is only a human being. No more, no less. He can't be a comedy god 24 hours a day. He will have down periods, he will make mistakes. Just like any of us. So if it is anyone's fault that he may be 'overhyped' (which I disagree with in #5), it isn't his fault. It is OURS. We treated him like he was more than a guy playing a role. We put him up on a pedestal, and now we are knocking him back off. Only it is really unfair, because he never wanted to be on it in the first place. He hasn't failed us, we failed ourselves. Because we turned into a bunch of screaming ninnies because he didn't fulfill our expectations, even though he couldn't possibly know about them.

4) The UK-vs-US Office thing seems to be simply a major case of "greener grass". Just because it was from another country, and shipped in during a period of low standards, the UK version gets too much credit. They are separate entities now, just like their respective countries of origin. And while the US version, like the US, owes some acknowledgment to its predecessor, it has become so autonomous from the UK version that continuing to pit them against each other is not only a waste of time by this point but is also quite disrespectful to the people on both. Besides, the UK also sent us American Idol and the Beckhams. So get off their knob.

5) How in the hell, in a world with the Unholy Trinity and nearly every wannabe, shoulda-been, or never-will has their body parts all over the net, is Steve Carell 'overhyped' (or a douchebag)? Compared to, say, Dane Cook, Carell's exposure is so sedate it is near damn comatose.

6) I find this season of The Office very funny. About the only real problem I had with the show (Ryan's dickwadiness) wasn't just removed, but twisted into a great subplot: that Ryan, who whined more than most about being Michael's pet project and stepped on everyone to get his promotion, now is in Jan's job and has to put up with their antics on the corporate level. There is a reason Jan lost her mind, and he is about to learn it the hard way.

7) Lastly, I honestly don't give a flying fuck what is popular here anymore. From the looks of the myriad Afternoon Comment Diversions and that last Pajiba Love (with the geek test), we shouldn't be so high-falutin' about our choices, because we can all be considered dweebs with bad taste to the rest of the world. Now that I reached that conclusion, my life is so much easier.

I am going to laugh at my recordings of the substandard US version of Office with Steve "Too Bad, So Sad" Carell and laugh my ass off. I won't regret one second of it, because I hate cool crowds. The only things I ever liked cool are my beverages and the sides of my pillow.

Any of you guys ever hang out with someone who's basically this hipster who gushes about a mildly above-average band, but once said band becomes popular, he acts like he hated it from Day One and yells at you if you bring up his past statements to the contrary?
Welcome to Pajiba, everybody! From the same people who think Ben fucking Folds isn't bland!

I am completely for voicing opinions, but it's irritating when people cross the line from voicing opinions to trying to convince others that theirs are wrong.

Last paragraph:
You are quite the prophet, Mr. Rowles.

Semi-segway: I'm dressing up as Steve Zissou for Halloween. Very exciting.

"..Hell, even Jon Stewart tripped a few times. Death to Smoochy and Half-Baked, anyone?...."

WHOA! WHOA! now, I KNOW you ain't ragging on Half Baked.

WHOA! WHOA! now, I KNOW you ain't ragging on Half Baked.

Calm down, BSlim. Just saying it wasn't what one would consider a wise career move on face value. "A stoner comedy with a group of barely-known comedians? Who would see that?"

Oh, and Fernando: The only type of person more annoying that the cool crowd is the guy who actively looks to slams the cool crowd.

If you've seen one Steve Carell movie you've seen them all, he more or less plays the same character in every goddamn movie he's in. Whatever deal with the devil this Muthafuker has made for fame, I can only hope it was worth it. I think the movie going public deserves Dane Cook, bad enough I had to watch him pimp for Fox for the Baseball playoffs. Now I had to sit through a piece of crap movie watching him and Carell go over the cliff together, nuff said.

Ahahahah, the irony, she is rich. A post about the impending Carell backlash splooging into some serious Pajiba-backlash. I don't comment much, but I agree whole-heartedly that our need to deify and then crucify celebrities speaks volumes about our fickle, ADD, often plain nasty online culture. Far more than it does about any given performer's choices or talent. I love the snark, but how long until the Apatow-Rogen backlash? We're no better than hamsters, eating our young with savage, smug glee.

Let's get it started:

Rogen is an overrated douchebag!

Just adding my valuable monetary thoughts here (which coincidentally add to 2 cents). I've thought about this Steve Carell backlash thing for ohhh..about two seconds, thinking that this amount of time is sufficient for a matter of such grave importance. And, my conclusion is this: backlash is caused when a person/fan becomes permanently glued to everything that actor/musician/artist does, even if said actor/musician/artist does some highly mediocre shit. Thus, in order to thwart backlash only watch/listen/see the things that interest you. Also, I think backlash is not necessarily caused by what the actor does. Check it: Backlash is sometimes linked to the fact that a small group of people maybe even a person witnessed the brilliance of said actor/musician/artist (a/m/a) before everyone else. This a/m/a was this person's own little gem, and you wanted everyone to see how cool this person was, so you told your friends about him or her. Then, your friends told other people which lead to the rising of this person's star. Obviously, you wanted just cool people like yourself to know about this a/m/a, but then, you found the local frat boy or town drunk (if there is still such a thing) liking your a/m/a which then sullied the image of this little gem of an a/m/a because heaven forbid that someone not in your mental echelon like the same things that you do. And because everyone likes this person now, you rethink your choice for liking this a/m/a. In the beginning, you wanted your fledgling a/m/a to succeed and do well in life, but now that they are popular and "successful", you're done with them because they do not only "belong" to you anymore. Maybe you should have just shut the fuck up to begin with and not told anyone about how cool you thought this a/m/a was. Then, popularity and success would have never happened.

Just my thoughts people. I like Carell. Have liked him since "The Daily Show." He seems like a genuine and nice person, and if he does a few mediocre movies to make a quick buck, so what! Like most things in this world, Hollywood has an expiration date on its actors, and Carell is trying to do what he can before his time is up (and what I mean by "trying to do what he can" is he's making money for doing mediocre movies as a payment to himself for all the good stuff he's done in the past. I can't fault a person for wanting to make money when they are marketable).

I hope the next new breed of "hipsters" will have the "I don't give a fuck" attitude because I am sick of hearing how every single band/musician/ actor/artist/writer has sold out or is on the decline when the majority of people start liking them. Fuck, these poor people can't win with today's "hipsters".

Gigi: I'm not sure the term hipster applies to everyone here the way you want it to. I can only speak for myself, but I'm the farthest thing from "hipster" as they are, loosely, defined today.

As for a Carrell, sorry but I just never found him compelling or all that funny. I'm not saying I wouldn't go fishing with the man he's just, not my cup of funny. A non-entity.

On the backlash issue, I would propose that these "backlashes" are the result of too much, too soon. Vermillion mentioned Murray up there, yes the man has done Garfield, Charlie's Angels and *gulp* Osmosis Jones but he had done Meatballs, Stripes, Razor's Edge, and the Motherfucking Star Wars Song BEFORE he became "cool." And there is the thing, homeboy earned his cool stripes with years and years of hard work and will remain so because he will never seem to be selling out. Carrell, and most of the newcomers try to go mainstream fast to make a quick buck and, I'm sorry, YOU CAN'T HAVE IT BOTH WAYS, it IS selling out. That which is "cool" by definition CANNOT be mainstream.

Gigi, you have the common ability to make people not want read all the bile you spew in the hopes of making a point about some shit. You aint fooling nobody with your long winded attempt at trying to convince the masses that you are against the cool kids. As a former cool kid I delighted in fuking with the uncool. Now as a broken down drunk I have seen the light. Sometimes agreeing with the masses will result in being in favor of the commercialization of a a/m/a. Commercialization is not all bad all the time. Man has a habit of building up only to destroy. There is no such thing as a hidden gem, a hidden gem is probably some shit that's not even worth finding.

Barbados Slim: I agree with you. I generally think people whom comment on Pajiba are not the status quo "hipster" nor have any commonality with the word. I used it as generalization, which I know is bad to do, to define a set of people who are as finicky about what they like as a two year old. And, trust, I'm not a hipster myself. I can appreciate that you don't like Carell. He's not everyone's cup-o-tea, and that's fine. For me, I like him. As to Murray earning his strips while all these upstarts haven't, I totally agree with you. Carell hasn't had to put in the blood, sweat, and tears that Murray has. But, I can generally overlook this by naively believing that Carell is at least a decent human being in real life (he at least isn't doing blow off a stipper's back as far as I know, but that could all change). As to your definition of cool, I understand your opinion, but isn't your definition the main reason why there is backlash when people make it big? As long as they keep on doing what they have been doing and they keep on doing it well, who's to say that they still aren't "cool"?

In any case, thanks for the cordial comment.

Pookie: As long winded as I am, I am at a loss for words. So let me do the concise version. 1. Not a cool kid. Never have. Never will be. My dad raised me on Star Trek, Doctor Who, and Godzilla movies which guarantees that I will never be cool. 2. I think we both have the same opinion about commercialization. In the bile that I spewed, I stated, "I can't fault a person for wanting to make money when they are marketable." I think this coincides with your opinion. 3. As to the hidden gem thing, hell, I was trying to find some metaphor or symbol and that was my lame ass attempt to find one. 4. Ad hominem arguments are unbecoming of you. 5. Half of my post was written in sarcasm and in jest. SO, it shouldn't really be taken as literally as I think you took it. If you didn't take it literally, that's great! 6. I suck at being concise and will add that to the list of things I need to change in life. 7. Thanks for the constructive criticism. Cheers and have a great day!

Gigi, you raise a good point. Is a person's or object's relative level of coolness inversely proportional to the amount of attention it receives? Is the problem simply one of numbers? If so, then why do folks have broken hearts about favorites that don't get that attention? We all have a considerable list of shows we wish weren't cancelled, of actors we wish were in more movies, and other aspects of pop culture that we wish more people supported. But when one of those things DOES end up with mainstream success and recognition, then it is somehow lesser in quality.

It isn't the actor or show that wants it both ways, BSlim, it is the fans. We want the exclusiveness, and yet we crave the companionship. Most performer(s) only want to entertain and get fairly compensated in return. Not everyone in the entertainment business is a attention-starved man-child or a desperate little girl in a grown woman's body. Some still do it because they have fun and love the job. It isn't their fault people get so damn crazy about their work, so why put the blame on them?

That is why I say we should forget the "us-vs-them" mentality and just love what we love. You like something, that is great. If you don't that is your perogative. Just don't go all fundamentalist and push your beliefs on someone else.

Um.....forgive my density here, but I'm confused. Out of some 60 comments, maybe 5 people felt that Carell is overrated, overhyped, don't like him, etc. Generally, there seems to be support for the man, at least in Pajibaland. So why is there all of this discussion about Carell backlash?

Also, maybe I'm just weird, but regarding those in the entertainment industry whom I really love - much of the time, I'm glad that they're not "mainstream." I mean, as long as they can put food on their table, I just want them to keep doing what they're doing so I can watch/participate/lick the screen/whatever.

Also, if I may add to the thoughtful commentary regarding backlash as an internet phenomenon, my perception was that backlash occurred when there was a growing sentiment of "This person/show/insert whatever is the best thing evah and you're stupid/retarded/idiotic/less than me if you're not into it, too!" To me, that's when people start retorting, "Na-huh!" to other's "Ya-huh!" But that's just me. So yes, while it's mainly the fan vs non-fans in a 'net grudgematch to the death, unfortunately, much of that negative energy is transferred to the person/show/insert whatever. Vermillion, you're quite right - it's not fair to that person/show/whatever.

Vermillion: I agree that abandoning the "us vs. them" mentality is key. I'm more in the "I don't give a fuck. I'll like whatever the hell I want" category. And, if people don't like the same things that I do, well that's their prerogative.

I wanted to comment of numbers 5 and 6 of your previous post. On number 5, thank you for saying that! I thank you on being able to step back and see that in comparison to the other people in Hollywood, Carell ain't that bad (especially not bad enough to engender the term douchebag) On number 6, hooray...you like this season of The Office as well ("Break me off a piece of that Fancy Feast!" I think Andy is becoming one of my favorite secondary characters). I still think season 2 was the best season as a whole so far; however, "Gay Witch Hunt" from season 3 might be one of my favorites. Also, the US Office v. UK Office is complete bunk. One is not better than the other because they are completely different in their story arcs and characters now. But, hey I won't stop people from beating this dead horse.

And since I am on the subject of The Office, Target is selling The Office paraphernalia in the $1 bins. Yeah, I totally geeked out and bought some fun stuff. Now I have Dwight on my pens!

"Pookie: As long winded as I am, I am at a loss for words. So let me do the concise version. 1. Not a cool kid. Never have. Never will be. My dad raised me on Star Trek, Doctor Who, and Godzilla movies which guarantees that I will never be cool."

Gigi: the fact that you WERE raised on Star Trek, Doctor Who and Godzilla movies automatically makes you cooler than 99.9% of the population (and major props to your dad)!

In closing:
"Oh no, there goes Tokyo, go, go, Godzilla!"

And for those who care about the actual movie...My parents, aunt and grandmother loved it. The crowd seemed rather into it. I would rate it around a 7 to 8 which is what the local paper gave it.

maybe some of us are a little to HARD CORE. these movies that hollywood pumps out, the forty yaer old virgin , KNOCKED UP any Sandler movie are just FUCKING SOFT.Metro sexual movies? feeling me BSLIM??

Vermillion,

I'm not really slamming the cool crowd (actually, I'm starting to think Pajiba readers have better taste than Pajiba writers). We're all awesome here (although I stand by my Ben Folds comment - YEESH, that man is boring).

Still, I'd prefer to see some consistency with the writers' opinions. If I recall correctly, Pajiba gushed about Little Miss Sunshine when it was first released. Months later, it was dismissed as "merely an above average indie flick". Also, they gave a pretty positive review of "The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King". Time passes, and this has turned into the "snide comments about Peter Jackson" site.

Most of the cool crowd I know stays pretty set in their opinions. Like Ben Folds? Great. We might disagree, but if you stay by that, I might respect the opinion, at least. But pull a 180 on your love for a movie/actor/director and act like you hated something all along, and I might have to call bullshit. And the ultimate b.s. is blaming your readers for it.

So then, Fernando, the writers aren't allowed to change their opinions over time? I was a big MC Hammer fan back in elementary school, but that doesn't I still whip out "2 Legit To Quit". And didn't a certain reviewer get suckered in by the sentimentality of "Pursuit of Happyness"? Does that mean he had to constantly preach its virtues for the rest of his days? People, by their very nature, change constantly and don't always have to like the same things they did before. Plus, I do believe there was a bit of dissension in the ranks about the Jackson and Rings hate in a previous article, so not even the writers are of one mind, thankfully.

If most of the cool crowd stays set in their own choices, and Pajiba writers don't, then doesn't that makes them as uncool as the rest of us? And isn't the idea of the cool crowd being static in their tastes inherently flawed? In order to remain above the masses, they HAVE to change their opinions.

And aren't you dong the same thing you fault them on? At some period in time, you must have liked coming to Pajiba, otherwise you wouldn't keep returning and commenting like you do. But now, because they did something that you did not approve of, you don't think they are that good anymore, otherwise why complain? So, you are allowed to change your opinion, but they aren't? Is that fair?

Point is, Pajiba writers are just human beings who run a website. We sometimes agree with them, we sometimes don't. We shouldn't get ourselves all riled up over snide comments about stuff we like or preaching about stuff we dislike.

One reason I love Pajiba is that we can have civil discussions on the message boards. God help me if I ever tried to express myself on a certain other movie website run by a certain fat guy.

I still like coming to Pajiba, Vermillion. Most of the time they're pretty spot on (their "Super Sweet 16" article is one of the most brilliantly funny and insightful things I've read on any review site). Still, with articles like this one, I wonder if the backlash they discuss comes less out of honesty than a desire to latch on to whatever's trendy to hate. I'd just as soon scream "elitism", but that's easily misinterpreted as trolling. And, as I stated before, I find something ridiculous about blaming your audience for a backlash YOU created.

The writers are allowed to change their opinions, but so long as it's coupled with honesty and not a "It's-Popular-Now-So-It-Must-Be-The-Opiate-Of-The-Masses" mentality. I have a friend who did that with The Decemberists - she proclaimed their genius months ago, but suddenly she's decided that they "weren't that great to begin with" just because they've garnered some attention. It bothers me that my favorite movie review site is falling into that trap.

If they want to be "the cool crowd", fine. But, for the love of God, let their changes in taste be honest. I'll take a genuine change of opinion over contrived posturing any day.

And can we stop calling them/us "the cool crowd"? Most Pajibans are probably out of high school. We're simply People With Better Taste, now.

And I think that is where we differ, because I DO believe their change in opinion is genuine.

But everything else, I totally agree with. Especially that last line. Better taste, indeed.

Wow, that was heavy.

Seriously though, bravo everyone.

People are making way too big of a deal out of having better taste. I for one still whip it to some old school Britney Spears, yet I still manage to look at myself in the mirror in the morning. You like what you like: love it, embrace it, get over it. Be happy if it reaches a large audience as you're more likely to get a lot if it. Steve Carell does some fantastic things that I love and I support those with my dollar. I ignore everything else so as to not soil my opinion. Previews are usually enough to tell me to steer clear of the Noah's Ark fare. I call it that because I can't even remember the name anymore. I will however, remember laughing my ass off at 40YOV and Little Miss Sunshine for a very long time.

Anything that's fresh and new eventually gets old and stale. That's the way life works. When Carell turns up on every billboard and playing in two big budget features at the local gigaplex at the same time, his appeal is going to fade.

I used to love "Scrubs". Now I couldn't even be bothered to TiVo the season opener, not because the character has changed but because it hasn't. "The Office" is getting to be the same way, though I don't think it's there yet. Carell is simply going to have to dial it back or like hundreds of stars before him, he'll need to lay low for a long time before he has a chance of resurrecting his charm.

And comparing the UK version to the US version just isn't valid any more. I love them both, but they are different shows with very different characters. You want to see Ricky Gervais's character fail because he is the supremely self-interested boss we've all had and hated. You don't want to see Michael Scott fail, though you know he will. He doesn't just want to be seen as a good person, he really wants to be a good person, and can't figure out why he's not.

My first intro to Braff was from Garden State. I liked that movie; sure he chews the scenery a bit, and yeah its a bastardized version of some really great movies, but I figured he's a new guy and it was a nice first outing. It's J.D. that killed him for me. I hate that guy. Once I saw scrubs and became acquainted with that egotistical douche-bag, my opinion of the actor playing him kinda dwindled. Plus after a few eps I realized all that scene chewing was Braff's idea of serious acting. *Sigh* they just don't make actors like they used to.

Heh, so glad to know that my hatred of the Vile Little Goblin Man has remained lodged in the forefront of your mind PaddyDog, soon my quest for world domination will be complete. Or, you know "start".

I have no particular opinion on Steve Carell or Zach Braff. And I have no clue where this ridiculous notion of "coolness" comes from.

I've never understood it; "taste", "coolness", "beauty" - they're all completely subjective concepts. There are myriad things about me that are sneered upon by people in my social circle. Elements of personality, physical attractiveness, points of view that cause people to mock me or consider me a freak. And yet one of the bonafide "Pajiban Cool Kids" appears to disagree. Who's right? Am I cooler on the internet than I am in real life? Does it even fucking matter? Can we all just shut up about it now?

I have no idea where that rant came from but now I'm pissed off.

Oh, and fuck Ricky Gervais.

Oy, I need a Tylenol.

Getting back to the actual movie - I haven't seen it, but I'm sure I'll eventually watch it at home. I like Steve Carell, always have. I still check out old clips of "Slimmin' Down with Steve" on YouTube. I don't care if the whole rest of the world hates him, because he makes me laugh, which sometimes is just what I need at the end of a long day.

Ricky Gervais... Ugh, talk about overrated.

Yes, back to the movie... I saw it yesterday. It was all I could do not to reach into the screen and smack his daughters. Here's a guy who spends the entire movie trying to bond with his daughters and they spend the entire movie pushing their father away because he has the nerve and audacity to say "no". (In fact, everyone in this flick is focused on this guy getting a life.) Then they get mad at him because he takes the hint and misses ONE teensy event in their lives because after 4 years, he decides to go get some. WTF?

Geeze people, why does liking or hating a show/movie/actor have to either be 'cool cause no one else does' or "jumping on the bandwagon'? Does no one have an independent opinion anymore? Can these opinions not be based on the individual suckitude of an actor/movie/show?
Look, I like The Office alright, and I even like Steve Carwhatever in it. He's an annoying sumtin as a character, not endearing, but it's part of the show. His movies suck, and I don't think he's in any way modest. Modest? No, a modest man doesn't think so incredibly highly of himself as to make this kind of dreck.
As for Zach Braff, I don't get the vitriol but I also don't get the Scrubs love, and haven't since the beginning of season 2. The schtick got old fast. I hate the show.
So look people, my point is it doesn't take a hate train to get sick and tired of these shows and these people. I don't know why you feel you have to wait to jump on the caboose before you can form an opinion, and then brag about how "I was the first to call it!" or defy the masses.
People who rebel against popular opinion for the sake of -rebellion-, so they can fancy themselves unique snowflakes, are really just as ridiculous as the people who jump on the bandwagons.
So in closing, hate the shows/actors/movies because they suck, and stop worrying about -everyone else-.

I find Steve Carrell infinitely unf--kable, which ruins the 'rom' part of the rom-com for me. Juliet Binoche? As if.

Michael Scott is a character possessing enough anti-sex to make any actor in that role seem as appealing as a papercut. I felt like Dustin did about the movie itself - it was made bearable by Carell's talent - but the bonus of viewing his brown-eyed self wearing New Englandy sweaters, strumming a guitar, and playing football? Mmmm.