“Slumdog Millionaire”
Cheesy and predictable. Terribly exploitive. Pretty colors. Cute kids. Below average quality for a Danny Boyle film. On par with “Darjeeling Limited” for making me feel uncomfortable about the Western misreading and misrepresentation of Indian culture. NOT deserving of 10 Academy awards. The end.
Cheesy and predictable. Terribly exploitive. Pretty colors. Cute kids. Below average quality for a Danny Boyle film. On par with “Darjeeling Limited” for making me feel uncomfortable about the Western misreading and misrepresentation of Indian culture. NOT deserving of 10 Academy awards. The end.
(Good, quick read: What India Hates About Slumdog Millionaire)
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8 comments:
Here's a weird thing. My (Indian) roommate LOVED both Darjeeling Limited and Slumdog Millionaire and said they were pretty accurate. I don't know who to believe! But also, India being a large and populous nation, I'm figuring there's about as much diversity of opinion there as there would be from Americans who were asked to comment on how they felt about any number of films' accuracy in depicting American culture.
I found Slumdog enjoyable, although definitely predictable. I completely agree that it doesn't deserve all the hype. For the loosely related record, I hated The Life of Pi.
To the haters:
Is Slumdog any more predictable than Frost/Nixon or Milk?
Also, which best picture nominee exploits a hot-button topic and uses stereotypical representations of gay men?
If you said Frost/Nixon, you are correct! j/k.
I liked Milk, and man, Sean Penn can act! But Best Picture nom? Have you seen The Times of Harvey Milk? Gus just remade it, way cheesier! :(
Um, "Milk" is predictable because it's nonfiction, Klaus. Yet, still it made me weep, and inspired in me an overwhelming desire to keep fighting against injustice in this world. "Slumdog" just made me go, "Aw, that was cute."
And I'm not a hater, I'm just a "it's not as good as the hype"-er.
GREAT MOMENTS IN SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE
(no spoilers here; spoilers would be impossible; you already know everything that’s going to happen in this movie; it’s the movie equivalent of hearing the Star Spangled Banner at a sporting event; enjoyable, but so familiar that you could just as easily sneak out for a hot dog)
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Police inspector: “Thank you for sharing that flashback with me. Despite my rough, cynical exterior, I find myself daring to believe your story. Isn’t that the darnedest thing? Please continue with another flashback.”
Jamal: “Okay. But first I have to tell you something. Bombay had changed overnight into Mumbai. That’s my clever way of saying that India has gone through a lot of changes recently. Do you follow me? I know you’re an Indian police inspector, living in the same exact place that I’m talking about, but I just want to make sure you understand before I go any further. There is a place, in India, called Bombay. Only now it’s called Mumbai. In fact, that’s where you’re standing right now. And it’s a very strange, exciting place. Got that?”
Police inspector: “I… I think so, yes.”
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Game show host: “It is very unlikely that you will win this game. Because if you did, it would make you the star of the most pleasant, gratifying rags-to-riches movie ever. And that’s not what people come to the movies to see.”
Jamal: “I’m probably going to fail anyway, because all I care about is being a good person, and finding the girl I’ve been madly in love with since I was 5. There’s not much hope in a big-screen movie for a poor, star-crossed sap like me, is there? Oh well. Bring on the trivia question that will probably have nothing to do with any of the other plot points we’ve already hammered home.”
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WHAT I TAKE AWAY FROM THIS MOVIE IS THAT POOR PEOPLE HAVE GOOD HEARTS, LOVE CONQUERS ALL, AND INDIA SURE IS A WACKY PLACE!
And I've always thought of myself as a big Danny Boyle fan.
I should have just gone back and watched "City of God" again, with M.I.A. playing loud on my stereo.
Thanks for making me feel better about my refusal to see this move :)
Actually, this film inspired me to check out more Bollywood music and even though some of it is super cheesy, I kinda love it. But more so when Robert sings and dances himself. Why didn't we get _that_ on video last Sunday?
Next time, Kari, next time. Also, I agree that the music was great and I'd like to hear more of it. But I told my friend Dhaval I would be stealing his review if I mentioned that, because he told me that before I went to see it. He's not wrong!
Two things:
1. Good point, Brian. Slumdog IS City of God with MIA playing in the background.
2. Whatever debate about "representation" that might abound, you gotta admit it's nice to see a non-hollywood flick without movie stars or an all-white cast get some major love.
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