I really liked The House. I never understood why the reviews were so scathing. I saw it again recently and it still made me laugh. I know A.O. Scott gave it a very positive review, and called it “a dark, startlingly bloody journey into the bitter, empty, broken heart of the American middle class.” But for the most part, critics HATED it. The Metacritic score it garnered was a 31. Its Rotten Tomatoes rating is 17%. Ouch.
At the time of its release, Warner Bros. refused to screen the film to critics. That's usually a terrible sign for a movie's quality. The critics that did review it bought a ticket, such as myself, although I ended up not writing a review or blurb until now because, well, the movie deserves all the backing it can receive on DVD/Blu-Ray.
Also, it pushed me even more to write something when Chance the Rapper recently tweeted about how surprisingly funny the film was and was left wondering why the critics were so hard on it.
You knew what movie it was. That's why you didn't respond @RottenTomatoes... that's why you didn't respond. https://t.co/LfGLmDRu0o— Chance The Rapper (@chancetherapper) September 29, 2017
If the film critics of today can't find why The House is a comedic delicacy then I don't wanna hear anymore reviews— Chance The Rapper (@chancetherapper) September 29, 2017
He's right. Comedy has been a dirty word for critics. And yes, The House is indeed, in the words of the rapper, "Funny as fuck."Comedy is obviously a very subjective genre, but the more "normal people" I talk to about comedies the more I start to realize the dividing gap happening in terms of critic vs audience perception of the genre.
Of course, it's not a recent phenomenon, comedies being unfairly reviewed by critics been happening for years. It all probably started in the 80s, is Reagan to blame, when what we consider classics today were DESTROYED by film critics: "Vacation," "Caddyshack," "Meatballs," "Spaceballs," "Ghostbusters," "The Naked Gun," "Trading Places," "Coming to America," "Ferris Bueller's Day Off," "Weekend at Bernie's,""Stripes," "Porky's." They all received mostly negative reviews, if Rotten Tomatoes existed back then, their RT scores wouldn't be no more than 40%.
Want more? The 1990's saw future comedy classics panned by critics as well: "Dumb and Dumber," "Happy Gilmore," "Ace Ventura," "Tommy Boy," "Half Baked," "Home Alone," "Kingpin," "Friday" "Billy Madison," The Waterboy." All have less than 50% RT scores. Yikes. Have critics no sense of humor?
While we're at it, the 2000s had its fair share of mixed reviews for comedy classics such as "Anchorman," "Step Brothers," "Old School," "Pineapple Express," "Zoolander," "Harold and Kumar," "Grandma's Boy," "Super Troopers," and "Jackass: The Movie."
Which leaves us with this decade. We've already had a bunch of very funny movies panned by critics. Future classics? Who knows. But for my money "MacGruber," "That's My Boy," "Hot Tub Time Machine" and, yes, "The House," will most likely become comedy classics in years to come.
ScreenCrush's Matt Singer wrote about the unfair treatment of "The House" vis-a-vis film critics, saying: "I’m with Chance. I want to read more film journalists who know a comedic delicacy when they see one, and who are willing to admit that they laugh when Amy Poehler pees outside. (I sure did!) Even if Warners didn’t show it to the press, The House deserved better. Don’t take the critics’ word for it. Take this critic’s word for it." The whole article can be found HERE. It's worth a read.
Of course, it's not a recent phenomenon, comedies being unfairly reviewed by critics been happening for years. It all probably started in the 80s, is Reagan to blame, when what we consider classics today were DESTROYED by film critics: "Vacation," "Caddyshack," "Meatballs," "Spaceballs," "Ghostbusters," "The Naked Gun," "Trading Places," "Coming to America," "Ferris Bueller's Day Off," "Weekend at Bernie's,""Stripes," "Porky's." They all received mostly negative reviews, if Rotten Tomatoes existed back then, their RT scores wouldn't be no more than 40%.
Want more? The 1990's saw future comedy classics panned by critics as well: "Dumb and Dumber," "Happy Gilmore," "Ace Ventura," "Tommy Boy," "Half Baked," "Home Alone," "Kingpin," "Friday" "Billy Madison," The Waterboy." All have less than 50% RT scores. Yikes. Have critics no sense of humor?
While we're at it, the 2000s had its fair share of mixed reviews for comedy classics such as "Anchorman," "Step Brothers," "Old School," "Pineapple Express," "Zoolander," "Harold and Kumar," "Grandma's Boy," "Super Troopers," and "Jackass: The Movie."
Which leaves us with this decade. We've already had a bunch of very funny movies panned by critics. Future classics? Who knows. But for my money "MacGruber," "That's My Boy," "Hot Tub Time Machine" and, yes, "The House," will most likely become comedy classics in years to come.