Everyone's a critic.

• Author: Saltzman, Joe
• Position: Words & Images

THE PROLIFERATION of media film reviewers whose primary qualification is that they watch a lot of movies and interview a lot of movie stars is quickly proving that most of today's criticism in newspapers, magazines, radio, and TV is buffed-up personal opinion and little else. These so-called critics have apparently convinced almost every American that they too are experts on the film industry and its products. The old responses of "I liked that" or "I didn't like that much" have been replaced by discussions of box-office strategies, release dates, star and director track records, and critical reaction. Using the Internet, everyone has become a critic, and no one seems to care if anyone is qualified. Yell loud enough and you'll find an audience.

The media critics and their audiences seem to know everything about the movie industry and very little about the history and aesthetics of film. They are more concerned about industry gossip or box-office potential than the merits of any given film. The worst offenders are the local news movie reviewers who claim a personal relationship with every major star by using the star's first name whenever possible. They try to hide the fact that most of their interviews are either done by satellite or by inserting themselves into a pre-ordered video publicity release that local TV stations receive prior to the movie's release. The actor's answers to prewritten questions are on the video, and all the local film reviewer has to do is record the questions and the video editor takes care of the rest--instant fake rapport between interviewer and celebrity. Even when the local news entertainment reporter-reviewer actually meets the star in person, it is a quick and routine event that the journalist magnifies into a personal relationship. One local reviewer even gives the stars presents on camera to show the viewer how friendly he is with those he interviews. The embarrassed celebrities grin and bear it.

An impartial observer trying to find out what films are worthy of seeing finds an array of words that constantly contradict one another. Two reviewers from one weekly entertainment magazine saw "Moulin Rouge." One picked it as one of the best films of the year; the other as one of the worst. Neither argument was convincing. An astute viewer can read The New York Times or the Washington Post in the morning and then listen to TV reviewers repeat the same qualms and reservations on their evening newscasts posed by...