by Missy Thompson

STAFF WRITER

I am told all the time that I have the best job in the world. I get to watch movies — for free — before they are released. But what many don’t realize is sometimes screening a few terrible movies in a row makes my job harder.

Cynicism takes over and I become overly critical instead of trying to watch movies as an average movie-goer does.I’ve heard a lot of people say the problem with critics is they look at movies from more of a technical aspect — acting, directing and writing — instead of the overall entertainment value. I try my hardest when reviewing movies to mix the two together.

Being a critic means I need to give my opinion of the movie, but also giving background on some of the actors or the director can help a reader decide if the film is worth their time or money to see. If I see a movie that’s absolutely awful, it’s my job to let readers know why I think it’s terrible. Saying it’s good or bad isn’t enough in most cases. For movies like “Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull” it’s difficult to review because so many will disagree with the critics. Those 50-50 movies are the hardest to write about.

Other hard movies to review are those that I know audiences will love, but I find downright awful. The most recent example of this is “You Don’t Mess with the Zohan.” While I didn’t like most of the movie, parts of it were funny. These movies that have big-name actors and are publicized all over the place, make it difficult to critique. Another example are kids movies like “Nim’s Island.” For many adults, it has to be a really good kids movie in order for them to enjoy watching it. I found “Nim’s Island” dull and the only substance it showed was that Jodie Foster was in need of some money.

I make sure I don’t read anyone else’s review of a movie before screening it or writing my review. This could sway my opinion too much. It’s difficult enough when sitting with people like Jeff Vice or Sean P. Means who have been critics for years at the Deseret News and Salt Lake Tribune, respectively. There is so much movie knowledge stuffed into their brains that they can’t contain it all and start spouting stuff off about the movie we’re about to see. Usually I have to tune them out so I’m not influenced by their preconceived opinions of the film.

There are quite a few perks to being a film critic. I get to meet directors, actors, producers and writers of big-budget Hollywood films, as well as small artsy independent and locally made movies. The one thing I’ve noticed while interviewing these people is they are all passionate about what they do.

When “The Game Plan” came out last year, I interviewed Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, who starred in the movie, and the director, Andy Fickman. I found them to be very down-to-earth. Fickman and I talked about the television movie he made in 2005 called “Reefer Madness: The Movie Musical.” This is one of my favorite spoof movies and we joked about how Johnson should star in the next musical Fickman directs. He went from pro wrestler to action star to a family-friendly comedy, so he should try his hand at a musical too.

While at Sundance in January I was using the restroom when Rachael Taylor (Maggie Madsen in “Transformers”) and Eliza Dushku also came in to use the facility. You normally see celebrities at Sundance, but when you bump into them in the restroom it’s pretty funny. You don’t know if you could, or should, say anything to them. I didn’t want to say to Ms. Dushku as we were washing our hands next to each other, “Hey you played a girl named Missy in ‘Bring it On,’ that’s my name too.” Not only does that sound dumb, but it’s admitting that I’ve seen “Bring it On.”

People ask if I get free food from the theaters. Rarely do I eat during a screening, but that’s because otherwise I’d be downing a huge tub of buttery soaked popcorn two or three times a week. There’s an unsaid rule in the press section about not eating food too. However, there is one particular press member who breaks this rule during almost every screening, but no one has the guts to remind him of it.

There are many aspects to film criticism that aren’t seen by readers. Sometimes I agonize over a movie when I’m unsure of what grade it should receive. I usually have to let the movie sink in and think about it overnight before reviewing it — unless it’s absolutely terrible.

Whether or not you agree or disagree with how I review movies, understand that it’s not as easy as it may seem. Being a film critic is a lot of people’s dream jobs, but I’m so glad it’s my real job.

missy@tooeletranscript.com