Jon Lovitz is a name most young folks don’t know or remember. He is an alumni of Saturday Night Live way back from 1985 to 1990. If you don’t know him from there then maybe you remember him as this guy. If you’re a fan of The Simpsons, then you might remember him as Artie Ziff. For the film people born in around the late 80’s or early 90’s, you should know him as Jay Prescott Sherman, The Critic.
“Sir, some kids are trapped under a side of beef!” “Just call me the jaws of life.”
The Critic is an animated series that ran from 1994 to 1995, moving from several networks until cancellation. It focused on the life of an overweight film critic and his adventures in New York. It guest starred many famous names in addition to parodying others. If you were lucky enough to have seen it, the writing is top notch 90’s comedy similar to the early Simpson’s era. It should be familiar considering show creators Al Jean and Mike Reiss also worked on The Simpsons as well.
The show contains some dated references but the main ideas behind it still hold well today. For example: remakes are bad – most remakes are bad or just can’t compete against the originals. Off the top of my head are Total Recall, Clash of the Titans and Robocop. Jay, or The Critic, always responsibly warns us that “it stinks!”. That passion is what we should take from the show and emulate from it.
It’s no secret that many movies nowadays over-rely on CGI. CGI is great when used correctly and adds to the story but random explosions are just dumb. Yes, I’m referring to Michael Bay and am of the opinion that every time he gets to direct a movie, the value of good thought-provoking films goes down. Yes, it’s fine to watch a film that’s all visual stimulation once in while but we should always seek to better ourselves. Arguably, that should be the role of anyone who accepts the title of critic. They do this through expressing their opinions as thoroughly and viscerally as possible. Sometimes they do that through back and forth communication. The The Critic animated series embodied communication with its viewers that boldly told you certain films were lacking.
“Well, I can sink a 50 million dollar musical using only the word “crap”.”
The show offers a sobering thought: critics, such as Roger Ebert, no longer have the same importance as before. We’re saturated by critics from all roads of life commenting on commercial goods or services. It’s no longer about the quality of the critic but the consensus a large number of them agree upon. Oftentimes that is a positive thing, but large numbers can often be dismissive of traits that tend to get lost. Take Return of the Jedi, for example, and remember that the ewoks were basically teddy bears that overtook the militarily advanced Empire with rocks and sticks.
The responsibility of a critic is to explain their opinion within their realm of bias. Bias might seem an odd word here but it’s intentional. People are different and will seek things that agree with them. Thus, those very same people will often seek out critics that agree within their specialized point-of view. At the same time a certain group is in agreement, another group will disagree and seek our their own validation. Just check out Fox News vs MSNBC.
The significance of the critic is that it’s not their job to care about anyone’s point of view but their own. Their mission is to give their opinion to you. Sadly, it makes perfect sense that the job of critic is less glamorized then the term critic, considering the years beyond 1990 leading into supremacy of the internet. It was only a matter of time. Now you can subscribe to your favorite critics on YouTube. From there you can check out the critics of that critic. Or better yet, watch clips from the show during downtime.
“What makes you stand out from the other kids?” “Uh, I ate my dissected frog” “That’s my boy.”
Beyond the many film references, The Critic was just very fun to watch. In fact, it inspired certain prophecies to come true like the NBC network hitting 5th in ratings seventeen years later. Or that people care more about funny clips featuring cats playing ping-pong then listening to pretentious intellectuals, or intellectuals (I don’t have the clip, just check out episode 206 “Frankie and Ellie Get Lost”, I’m not Family Guy).
Speaking of which, there are similarities between Family Guy and The Critic. It’s the cutaway gags. I’m talking about this. I told you I’m not Family Guy. Jon Lovitz even went on to say that he heard from Al Jean that Seth MacFarlane, show creator, took whole scenes from The Critic. Consider the cutaway gag as one of the defining techniques that MacFarlane‘s show overuses. There’s no bad blood though, Lovitz is a classy gent unless he’s talking about the U.S president (Warning: Nasty).
The great thing about this show is that Jay is truly a critic. Take that term in opposition to what a troll is. For whatever psychological trauma a troll may have, their goal is always to instill a negative mood. A critic, in terms of purpose, should facilitate discussion. Throughout the life of the show, Jay is not criticized for his film opinions but rather that he is fat, ugly or costing executives money. Everyone else hates him for trivial things unrelated to the ratings he gives films. Even the actors from those films are the same, they hate being criticized but disregard whether the film really deserves a good rating.
That’s life though. Everyone hates being criticized but the ones who listen and decide to improve are ahead of the class. People don’t even have to improve. A sound argument backed by empirical evidence also works just fine. “F*** off” does not fit that category, though.
Unlike MacFarlane‘s Family Guy, The Critic never came back to TV, or did it?
“Excuse me sir, the show’s over.” “I’m stuck in the chair.”
No, it didn’t.
Now if you haven’t figured it out, this whole article was a ploy to get you interested in one of the best animated shows from the 90’s. If I failed, here is an unnecessary tribute. Even if the show can’t return in full glory, I think it’s worth it for you to watch and expand your world of funny. Besides, it’s just two seasons and a few webisodes. If there’s anything I want you to take from this article, it’s this line that sums up the most obvious thing you and I should have known long ago: “If the movie stinks, just don’t go.”
Even more important than that is to remember what it is to be a critic, an opinionated person. Don’t be afraid to critique something you disagree with especially if it’s popular. It’ll be even cooler if you do it in a respectful and topic-centered manner.
Lovitz also did an Ask Me Anything segment a few years back. Want to check it out? Once you’re done, talk about it below, in the comments section. Share a memory. Complain to Fox network. It’s all good.
(top image source: The Critic – Gracie Films)
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