different perspective

I just finished watching Clerks. Like many good films, I've spent years hearing about how great it is and how I simply must see it. And I just got around to it tonight, because a friend lent it to me (along with Mallrats, which I will probably watch this weekend). After spending so much time hearing accolades for these films, they always leave me a little confused as to what it is that makes them so wonderful. It was a good movie and I enjoyed it, but I don't necessarily think it's deserving of cult following.

When I was an undergrad and took film courses I found the older a film was, the more I generally didn't like it. I think film is just modern story-telling. I also think it's as much a reflection of current culture as it affects it. So a film that is 20 years old loses the bulk of its relevence, and therefore much of its entertainment and/or education value.

For example, several people told my friends and I that we needed to see The Graduate [You know, with Dustin Hoffman] when it was nearing time for us to graduate college. A month or so after graduation I rented it. That movie couldn't have been less relevant to my life. Unlike Mr. Hoffman's character, I could think of at least 5 things I wanted to do with my life, the issue was funding them or finding the right job. Unlike his character, I wasn't lounging around my parents' house while they begged for the opportunity to spend even more money by sending me to grad school. I can't even remember the name of the character - I just remember the soundtrack [by the wonderful duo Simon & Garfunkel] was too loud the entire time.

I won't even discuss my opinion on Citizen Kane, or at least what I saw since I kept falling asleep during the film.

There are some movies that I can watch repeatedly and they still seem great. Office Space, The Princess Bride [ok - this is probably more nostalgia than anything else], Iron Monkey. I just wish people wouldn't get me so geeked up to see something that isn't absolutely 100% fabulous.