"Why Do People HATE this movie?" (It's Not That Bad)

  North (1994). Not a great film, but the kind of movie you might enjoy if you came across it on a rainy afternoon and there was nothing else to watch. As kid-oriented films go, it was
certainly better than other "family" films such as Unaccompanied Minors or Hotel for Dogs, and unlike those examples of kid-movie drivel,
it didn't attempt to pander to its audience. It actually made an attempt to be clever and quirky, in a twisted Roald Dahl kind of way, and its failure may have been more that it went overboard in its politically incorrect caricatures, rather than that it didn't try hard enough to entertain, which is more often the case with
family movies. Its biggest claim to fame is that it was the film which critic Roger Ebert memorably panned by writing, "I hated--hated--HATED this movie." His fellow high-profile critic, Gene Siskel, claimed that watching the film made him feel "unclean." After that, every other critic quickly jumped onto their bandwagon, as if admitting to liking anything about this movie would make them look foolish. It's not a film for the easily offended, but for kids who can appreciate satire and have a sense of humor. More people should have tried watching it instead of being afraid of it based on the words of a couple of hysterical, overprotective critics who underestimated the intelligence of its intended audience. But then what do I know? I grew up on MAD magazine
(although I didn't read any Roald Dahl as a kid and only sampled parts of his books as an adult, and I find his humor quite sick).

Yeah, I don't think North is that bad either. (It has some connection, naturally, to what I was discussing on the "Worst Big Budget Hollywood Film" thread.) It's not a good movie, but I think Siskel and Ebert overreacted, and that's why the picture is virtually anathema to--well!--the world at large. Pace Siskel, some of the gags are mildly amusing, I didn't feel "unclean" in watching it, and, while the ethnic stereotyping isn't a good thing by any means, it is equal-opportunity, ribbing on Texans, Frenchmen, Hawaiians, Esquimaux, and all-American Midwesterners alike, so it's more in good fun than anything else. (How easily do we take offense nowadays!) With that said, I do understand why Siskel and Ebert thought what they did about the movie and respect their opinions. Even so, I don't think it's all that bad.

P.S. I loved Roald Dahl's work when I was little and still love it, both the children's and adult stories. Great fun, nasty black humor, lots of twists. "Lamb to the Slaughter" and "The Landlady" are duly celebrated.