In a world where we are each scrambling for attention, hating on content for the sake of it has become a societal reflex, one which cheats us of our own joy, and can poison our relationships with the things we supposedly hold dearest. Sometimes, we could all do to take a page from MovieBitches’ book, and dare to love a movie, warts and all.
A lot of things have changed about movie criticism since the advent of the internet (more on that in our upcoming Siskel and Ebert edition of Who Critiques the Critics). The most prominent is that everyone’s a critic – but in a world where everyone is vying for attention in the same space, a tedious monoculture has been cultivated by the platforms hosting online debate, and their owners.
While there are some great exceptions to the rule, one form of criticism has come to dominate on YouTube. That would be the vapid rage video, where someone swears up a storm about film, video-games or sport, as though it has personally accosted them through its ‘failures’. It’s quick, requires next to no thought or effort, and best of all, it appeases Google’s almighty Algorithm – because making people angry starts arguments, keeps them on the platform longer, and exposes them to more ads.
Amid this, YouTube and many other forums of ‘discourse’ have become an almost bottomless pit of embarrassing, monotonous fury. In this context, it is not hard to see why there is now a common line of thought, that nobody hates something as much as its fans.
It is very easy to fall into believing this, because so much of the most viral criticism now features alleged fans foaming at the mouth at ‘woke’ casting, trotting out clickbait titles equating a disappointing Wreck It Ralph sequel to a war crime, or creating embarrassing petitions to have the latest Star Wars remade with a script their uncle scrawled on a napkin. But we might want to re-evaluate this assumption, because at its heart, there’s a weird ideological edge to what is being normalised.
If nobody hates something like that thing’s fans, there are connected assumptions that the only true love is suffering; and the only way to show your dedication and admiration of something is to tear it to shreds, the second it isn’t made in your own image. It’s a vision of fandom, of society, that should utterly terrify us. But, it’s also an image of cultural engagement that MovieBitches has thankfully provided an antithesis to, for more than a decade.
Hosts Avaryl and Andrew are probably best known for their reviews of RuPaul’s Drag Race (even if you are a drag-fan and haven’t seen those shows directly, so many of their soundbites have been chewed up and incorporated into Lee Dawson’s infamous RuCap clip mash-ups, that you’ll know their faces). But their film reviews deserve just as much love; both as a slice of infectiously enjoyable watch-along entertainment, and as unpretentious and insightful film criticism.
I have often said on Indy Film Library that what matters most about a critic is what they are willing to stand behind. In an age where it might seem easier to cash in on negativity, MovieBitches provides an infinitely more interesting and enjoyable alternative.
Refreshingly, even when the duo is having a bad time, they’re having a good time. It is rare to hear them say that they wish they had their afternoon back, or that they resent artists – however successful they are – for wasting their time. There is none of the po-faced lecturing that I am sure has often crept into my own writing at various points – and they clearly value the chance to talk to each other as friends, using movies as social capital to fuel the conversation. That is already a wonderful antidote to the toxicity of so much mainstream movie-talk – which is often so aimlessly angry that (speaking from experience) it leads to blow-up arguments between supposed friends constantly.
In Avaryl and Andrew’s interactions and discussions of the film, in contrast, everything feels genuine. They can enjoy each other’s company, because they find something to be positive about in every film – especially when it is prominently camp.
Exactly where camp begins and ends is slightly amorphous. Admittedly, mean MovieBitches becomes a little scatter-shot with what is or is not an enjoyable viewing experience. Inevitably, the abrasively over-the-top Showgirls gets some love on this basis, but Howard the Duck is still gets panned as being much, much too long – even though it seems just as unapologetically, joyously ridiculous.
Either way, exaggerated, absurd or affected delivery of a movie is something we so often undervalue in a film, and critics – armchair or otherwise – would do well to have a little more of this kind of fun. After all, while we’ve been to pick holes in ‘unrealistic’ plots, to write off films where the budget does not allow for the polished, grey sheen of modern special effects, or to resent artists for straying from the bland narrative norms Hollywood deems acceptable – that kind of opinion sells. But in a few years’ time, when we look back at all that we have written off (to no real benefit of our defunct YouTube channel, or cobweb-draped Letterboxd profile) we might well look back with regret at the fun we missed out on, while policing the joy out of any art in our lives. It would be a disservice to MovieBitches to suggest that laughing at camp fun is all they do, though.
From a production standpoint, the show often dives into what went on behind the scenes of a movie – helping to either present a warning of what to expect for viewers thinking of heading to Hollywood to chase their own dream, or to provide independent filmmakers with insight into what might go wrong in their own production – and how to mitigate that. It is in service of viewers, of fans, that MovieBitches is more important.
As mentioned, the show helps to remind us to loosen up a little. Campy, exaggerated, absurd or affected delivery of a movie is something we so often undervalue in a film. We’ve been taught to pick holes in ‘unrealistic’ plots; to write off films where the budget does not allow for the polished, grey sheen of modern special effects; or to resent artists for straying from the bland narrative norms Hollywood deems acceptable – partially because viral criticism suggests that kind of opinion sells. But in a few years’ time, when we look back at all that we have written off (to no real benefit of our defunct YouTube channel, or cobweb-draped Letterboxd profile) we might well look back with regret at the fun we missed out on, while policing the joy out of any art in our lives.
But there is something else beyond this. Avaryl and Andrew aren’t just looking for silly beats in a film, to enjoy everything in a so-bad-it’s-good sense. There is also a drive to pick out movies worthy of re-evaluation, which might have been wrongly written off when they were first released. Often, they will talk about films which have long faded from memory, and their heartfelt defences of films like A Goofy Movie deserve a lot of praise. Most of us might remember that as a weird film marketed to us by Disney VHS, that wasn’t as polished or star-studded as the other studio productions from the time. In our haste to prove our own smarts, we avoided it. But in doing so, it turns out we missed out on a charming coming-of-age story, featuring touching moments of love and loss – and probably prioritised a bunch of other ‘acceptable’ dreck instead.
If we can learn to look past the reactive ways in which we have been trained to write off any content which doesn’t fit a certain view of what ‘entertainment’ is; we might be touched by surprising and engaging stories. On that front, MovieBitches reminds us that we are in a setting where we are already being asked to suspend our disbelief anyway. We might as well enjoy ourselves! It’s a reminder I am grateful for, heading into another long year of reviews; and long may they continue to spread the good word.