Review of the Reviews

A positive review of the movie, The Breakfast Club, discusses the truths of the movie and how inspiring it was (http://www.denverpost.com/movies/ci_6444463).  The tone of the review was encouraging.  The critic, Michael Booth, wrote that the movie effectively explained and elaborated on the experiences in high schools.  He commented on how right the director was in describing the typical stereotypes of high school students and how these stereotypes are present from generation to generation.  The critic referenced to the movie Ferris Bueller's Day Off since it was directed by John Hughes as well.  He mentions how Hughes actually used some of the same settings for both movies.  The structure of the review was set up with Booth summarizing the movie and then giving his overall comments about the movie.  

 

A negative review of the movie is also set up with the critics of the Variety Staff summarizing the movie and then giving opinions and an analysis of the movie itself (http://variety.com/1984/film/reviews/the-breakfast-club-1200426442/).  The tone of the review is obviously a negative one, with the critics putting down the movie and its director.  The critics were focusing mostly on the fact that a movie was written about the life of high school teenagers.  This seems rather unreasonable in the sense that many movies are about teenagers, which is good because then the audience members that are teens can easily relate to the movie.  The critics also used language such as "a rotten movie".  Overall, it is evident that the critics were not big fans of the movie, The Breakfast Club. 

When comparing both reviews, I feel that the positive review was stronger.  It provided more detail and support to back up the arguments.  The negative review kind of just gave the opinion of the movie but didn't explain why or didn't back up the argument whatsoever.  It should be a main priority for critics to support their arguments so that the readers know that it is a credible source, and so that the readers know that the critic isn't being biased.  The structure and organization of each review was similar, in that it included a general summary of the movie before critiquing it.  Also, both reviews were easy to determine the tone, whether it was praising the movie or criticizing it.

In the positive review, the Booth said, "These students have the chance to break the mold, but the ending is not naive - they may fall back into the same old rut."  I agree with this analysis of the movie because it is true that teenagers can be affected and pressured by peers.  Booth points out that even though the kids became friends that day, odds are they won't be on Monday due to the status returning to normal.  I can definitely relate to this.  In the negative review, the Variety Staff points out that "none of the group initially likes thuggish loudmouth Judd Nelson."  I agree with this because Nelson throughout the most of the movie is a bully and puts down the others.  However, by the end of the movie everyone sees him differently and understands his character more.  

I feel that the positive review would be more convincing.  Like I mentioned earlier, Booth's review provided support to his argument.  I felt that it was a more in depth review that was insightful and helpful in summarizing the key factors of the movie.  It also related the movie to Ferris Bueller's Day Off, which is helpful to a reader who maybe saw that movie and liked it a lot.  A film review needs to be persuasive and direct.  The critic needs to know what he/she is talking about and really play to the reader's emotions.  Booth's review focused on the relationship of the high school teenagers, and therefore teenagers reading the review could relate and be more likely to watch the movie.

If I was writing a review of a film, I would make sure to summarize the plot of the movie first.  A critic can't comment on a movie and have the reader understand if the critic doesn't explain the movie first.  I would also make sure to include an analysis of each important character.  I would make sure not to include any major details pertaining to the movie (such as big, surprising moments) so that the review wouldn't give anything away.  I would never want to write a review that spoiled the movie.  Lastly, my film review would describe the theme/message of the movie.  I feel that the theme is one of the most important features of a movie, and my review would be incomplete without commenting on what that theme is.