Wednesday, February 13, 2013

Rex Reed - The Shallow Man Weighs In


I suppose that everyone on the planet is now aware that Rex Reed, film critic for the New York Times, has referred to Melissa McCarthy as “tractor-sized” and a “screeching, humongous creep”, as well as some other choice and unnecessary adjectives. Apparently he did not agree with the casting director’s choice of the role for Ms. McCarthy; but those who throw stones at others; as Mr. Reed does; should beware, lest the winds change and hurl some of the stones back in their own direction.
  
Melissa McCarthy, a fine actress best known for her appearance in the film “Bridesmaids”; which I have never seen; is a plus sized and very capable actress who took her new film “Identity Thief” to Number One at the Box Office this past weekend. It earned $36.6 million in the United States. No small feat; as there are several good films out right now.
Mr. Reed, an industry icon for decades, seems to be fraying at the edges these days. Let’s face it though; he has never been a real positive person to begin with. There was a time, when New Yorker's routinely ignored his reviews. Actually, that is not correct. The truth is that if Rex Reed panned it; they went to see it.

People such as Mr. Reed are long overdue for retirement. Giving a movie a bad review is a perfectly honorable way to make a living; but trashing someone for their physical appearance is something which I thought had passed us by a long time ago; back in the days of Twiggy.
   
In today’s more educated world, we recognize; and welcome; diversity as well as physical differences in appearance. I wonder how Carroll Baker and Sylvia Miles (pictured with Mr. Reed above) feel about his callous and insensitive remarks concerning Ms. McCarthy. Remember, pound for pound, Mr. Reed himself is no longer the skinny little film critic he was in the early 1970’s. If physical appearance were the only thing required of actors and actresses, the majority of films would be as shallow as Mr. Reed and the skinny little waifs which he seems to admire so much.

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