TCrash

Well, since it was free from the library, I watched Crash (which I claimed was something I didn't want to see).

Sometimes (to the amazement of one of my buddies) I'll watch a movie I know I'm going to probably hate. Which does not guarantee that I will. I've been pleasantly surprised a few times when something turns out to be something other than expected. Though I will concede those are few and far between. (I've seen basically every major movie released due to working in a movie theatre for over a decade, then taking every film class offered in college, and then working in a video store for a couple years, so I can tell with about 95% accuracy from watching the trailer if I'm gonna like something.)

I didn't hate it, but it was everything I expected and worse. I didn't expect it to be so contrived, for one. Contrived is fine, but you walk a thin line and your audience has to know that movie itself knows it's contrived (like, for instance, American Beauty).

The various takes on racism (and that's really all this movie tries to be about) want it both ways, meaning they want to make you like and dislike the racist (and everyone here is one to some degree) at the same time.

For instance, the black thug who comes out of a diner complaining that the waitress (also black) didn't wait on his buddy and him very well because they are black, spouts a few other stereotypical things, and then carjacks a car from a white couple. Thus he complains about stereotypes he has to live with and then fulfills them all.

For another instance, an Asian man is hit by the carjackers and nearly killed. When we catch up with him later in the hospital, we feel sympathetic for him, naturally. But we find out a few scenes later that he was in the midst of selling other Asian immigrants into slavery (or buying them) when he was struck by the carjackers.

I guess some folks would think that's clever, but it just struck me as flat-footed storytelling. Much like the after-school specials this movie's been compared to elsewhere (too lazy to link).

I wasted those two hours of my life on this movie, so it is my hope that you don't make the same mistake. 'cause I'm here to tell you: Yes, it doth suck.