If you remember this exchange from last summer on "Forks Over Knives," you won't be surprised to hear that Ignatiy Vishnevetsky of Mubi.com and "Ebert at the Movies" named "Forks Over Knives" the worst movie of 2011.
In his year-end look, Vishnevetsky rehashed much of he has said, his cruel yet funny references to a brochure and a PowerPoint presentation. One new nugget was when he noted that "the balance of this film has nothing to do with its subject matter."
That was the problem in the movie, and I make that note, realizing that I have seen this film. (As you may recall, I had some doubts last summer as to whether I had seen the movie, mostly because it made very little impression on me.)
So many movies have done such a better job of conveying the message. And the message of "Forks Over Knives" gets lost in its heavy-handed approach. Catch this exchange with Vishnevetsky and his "Ebert" co-host, Christy Lemire of The Associated Press:
Lemire: "Forks Over Knives" was so bad -- I went out and ate a cheeseburger afterward. That's how ineffective it was. I was so hungry for a cheeseburger the whole time. It was all I could think about."
Vishnevetsky: And yet it became a modest hit.
Lemire: Did it really? People went and saw "Forks Over Knives."
Vishnevetsky: Many, many people.
Lemire: I'm very confused about this.
The words on a blog don't convey the sarcasm and emotion of the last two sentences. These aren't people who hate the concept of the movie. They might be sympathetic to the cause. But they are professional movie reviewers who see the world in terms of film. You can groan at the idea of Lemire wanting a cheeseburger while watching "Forks Over Knives," but I could relate to that thought. And so could people watching the movie who hadn't already converted to the ideas in the film.
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