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Not only does Jack Kroll dislike The Adventures of Ford Fairlane, Kroll also dislikes Andrew Dice Clay himself and the "male sexual infantilism" that Dice represents. Because she was especially critical of the camera work in Death Song, Pauline Kael does not recommend the film. David Ansen, unlike almost everyone else in America, did not like Ghost . |
Then, of course, you would complete the paragraph by citing evidence, especially partial quotes from the review, to support your topic sentence -- is this beginning to sound familiar? Make sure you include at least three partial quotes, integrated with your own sentences. Highlight the quoted words on the original review when you turn in each critique.
Part Three: A paragraph stating your opinion of the critic's opinion! Aha! Do you agree, or disagree? Why? Do you learn anything about the film itself from the review? Is the review witty? Even if you disagree, are there specific points that are well made. You may write informally (as in the use of "I"), but you still need to support your opinions, as always.
Kroll, Jack. "Ick-Shtik: The Diceman Cometh." Newsweek 16 July 1990, 61.
Not only does Jack Kroll dislike The Adventures
of Ford Fairlane, Kroll apparently also dislikes Andrew Dice
Clay himself and the "male
sexual infantilism" Clay represents.
When Kroll says that "the
fear and awe of women have driven men into extremes of eloquence
and indecency,"
Kroll clearly places Clay at the "lowest cultural levels" of indecency, not eloquence. Recognition that the
Diceman is a "parody
of the insecure male" does not
excuse the film for its "pretzel
of a plot" or its stereotypical
characters. Kroll blames Clay for the film's weaknesses since
"this picture
is a Dice-roll pure and simple."
Clay's "gags about
genitals ... autoeroticism ... and obscene references" are likened to verbal vomit. Ooh yech, really "icky."
While it may appear on the surface that this reviewer
takes the politically correct feminist view of Clay's verbal
violence, deep down inside between the lines Kroll is having
too much fun strutting his own literary stuff. There's something
perverse about coupling T. S. Eliot to the Diceman. Pop psychology,
cute ethnic slang, alliterative wordplay, and witty allusions
to "The Wasteland" aside, Kroll's review is less about
the film and more about the prevalence of misogyny. Kroll is
perhaps too kind to Clay in this regard. Clay's popularity reminds
me of the racist jokes early Nazis told, while even the Jews
in the audiences of Munich and Berlin laughed. At first. Yes,
my gender influences how I see Andrew Dice Clay, but my sex does
not keep me from seeing the film in spite of the comedian. Ford
Fairlane can flop on its own without any additional damage
from the Diceman.