Overrated films part 3.

Now to tackle the biggest overrated film of all time, "Titianic". Yes the sensationalized film depicting a love story with one of the most horrific tragedies of all time in the background is quite possibly the most overrated film ever.

I remember coming out of the theatre after I saw it and thinking it was okay. I didn't hate it, but I wasn't really moved by it. I'll get into why later.

Shortly after I saw it the buzz for the film took off at a supersonic pace. News agencies were reporting that people, mostly teenage girls, were watching this film multiple times in the theatres. Some were going into the double digits. Oscar hype came abound and critics were all hailing it as a glorious masterpiece of cinema. Television channels like The History Channel and Discovery were showing all sort of programming dedicated to the real event. I remember watching the television thinking "did they see a different movie than I?"

After "Titanic" tied "Ben-Hur" for the most Oscars the inevitable backlash arose. It suddenly became cool to hate the Leo Dicaprio vehicle. Websites were created only to dedicate themselves to hating the movie. Critics who hadn't voiced their opinion on the film yet seemed obligated to finally point out it's flaws and question the idea of it's greatness. I do believe that most people hate(d) this movie maybe just to feel cool; however they do have a point. The public started to stop and think if it really deserved the title of Best Picture above superior films such as "LA Confidential" and "Goodwill Hunting."

Again I never hated the movie. It wasn't that bad, but there are many problems with it. The dialogue was my main problem as is in most bad movies. I never thought that people in that era ever spoke that way, nor do I believe that when sitting atop a sinking ship with people dying all around her Rose would ever break out the line, "Jack. This is where we first met." The dialogue was that banal and it got even worse in other parts. Listen to Bill Paxton's lines at the end of the film and you'll see. The script was so bad that no one really could pull a decent performance out of it. That's saying a lot considering it had a normally reliable cast.

The 'king of the world' sequence makes me cringe just thinking about it. It really has to be one of the cheesiest scenes ever filmed. Do you know anyone who would act that way? No? That's what I thought.

Just the idea of the hubris behind the tragedy that became such an after thought to the love story really cheapened the who experience for me, plus a lot of the deaths were so sensationalized it made me sad. Really it made me kind of depressed that this was supposed to be some kind of tribute to the lives lost on that horrible night. Maybe it was because we were so disconnected with the tragedy that most audiences didn't view it that way. Ask yourself if they did the same kind of story only set in 9-11 would you accept it as a tribute? Would you not be offended?

And yes the end bothered me. I won't give it away although for those of you who have seen it you probably know what I'm talking about.

There were some good aspects to the film though. The cinemetography was excellent and the costumes and set design were top notch. The special effects were amazing and above all Kate Winslet got naked. God bless her for doing so for she looked great. Hell I'd sit through it again for that scene alone.

One of the great things about the hype of "Titanic" and the after birth of it's backlash is that critics and the public went into "Pearl Harbor" with a more skeptical mind. Maybe they just didn't want to be fooled again into thinking another bad film was great.

The song you all know and love:



"Oh, and one last comment; screw 'Titanic!'" - Kevin Williamson

Titanic in 30 seconds, re-enacted by bunnies.