I can trace my love of movies to two things, my mom, who passed her love of film down to me with weekly excursions to the local cineplex, and also to Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert as they appeared on At the Movies.
I started watching the show when I was still a teenager, it must have been around the mid 1980s. I'll be the first to admit that At the Movies, even at that time, probably wasn't a show that catered to the teenage demographic. I mean, there were not that many students at my high school wearing Siskel and Ebert T-shirts.
But I was captivated. As a burgeoning film buff, I couldn't have a better example as to what loving movies was all about than these two.
When they both loved a film, I wanted to rush out and see it then and there. When they both hated it, I knew enough to stay away, but a part of me wanted to see it anyway to see if I hated it as much as they did.
But when they disagreed, you kind of got the feeling that one would launch the other off of the balcony. It would seem that there was a very good chance that a punch going to be thrown. Later, it was revealed that it all was an act, that the rancor was played up for the audiences at home. Well, you could have fooled me.
But no matter where they stood on the week's films, the show was always entertaining. These guys loved films and loved exposing great films to new audiences. I lived in a small town in Pennsylvania and foreign or indie films never really graced my local theaters. But Siskel and Ebert exposed me to these films and thankfully the local video stores were much better. I have seen many movies I would have never sought out otherwise.
In 1999, Gene Siskel passed away due to complications from surgery to remove a brain tumor. After a period of time of other critics getting a chance to sit across from Roger, Ebert was paired with Richard Roeper. It wasn't the same, but, then again, it never could be. But Ebert and Roeper created their own dynamic. It always seemed like it was more of a "master and student" kind of relationship than a meeting as equals. But they still had some spirited discussions and had a good chemistry.
Ebert was diagnosed with thyroid cancer in 2002 and was struck with complications in 2006. He would never return to the show. Roeper was paired with a number of guest co-hosts for an extended period of time, but in 2008 Ebert and Roeper ended their association with the company that syndicated the program and a new direction was in store.
I kind of lost touch with the show a little while before this. I think it was a mix of a constantly shifting schedule, my life taking on outher priorities and maybe a little due to Ebert's abscenses. I wasn't a religious viewer of the program anymore, but I tried to catch it whenever I could.
I caught some episodes of the new direction, the critically lambasted one with Ben Lyons and Ben Mankiewicz. Yeah. All the criticism that goes around with this version is pretty much right. I was never a fan of Lyons. I always found him a bit unctous when he was a celebrity interviewer on E!, and here he seemed less like a film critic than a frat boy spouting off on something he didn't know all that much about.
Mankiewicz came off a little better, at least a little more knowledgeable. However, he didn't really have that much charisma and chemistry with Lyons. I get the feeling the matching of these two was some executive's grand idea of matching a hip young guy to get the younger demographic with an older seasoned guy who could keep the show's loyal fans. It didn't work.
Neither man was a critic (although Lyons was the son of one. But genetics really doesn't count). Neither man worked for a newspaper. Neither man seemed to have the passion for films that Ebert and Roeper did, let alone Ebert and Siskel did. If you are looking to point fingers over the demise of this show, point to whoever came up with this edition of the program.
Last year, the double Bens were replaced by A.O. Scott of the New York Times and Michael Phillips of the Chicago Tribune. This is when I started becoming a regular viewer again. It was this version of the show that seemed to best recapture the Siskel and Ebert glory days.
These guys were experienced critics. Both had acted as fill-ins during the period of time when Ebert was out. Both seemed that they at the very least liked films very much.
And the pair had chemistry with one another. They could get argumentative, but could also be on the same page. But either way, what they said and how they said it was interesting. Their opinions might not have always matched with mine, but they were always presented in an intelligent and witty fashion.
It seems that when it was announced in March that the show would be cancelled, a lot of people seem to mourn the Siskel and Ebert version. I also mourn the present one as well. If Disney kept this on a little longer, it still might have not caught on. But at least it ends on a good note.
This weekend will be the airing of the last episode of At the Movies. The day is long in coming, but apparently could not be averted. My DVR will be down one recording each week, and the world of serious film criticism will be losing another of its best examples. Rest in peace, At the Movies. I'll miss you.
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