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“Babies are just plain smarter than we are, at least if being smart means being able to learn something new…. They think, draw conclusions, make predictions, look for explanations and even do experiments. In fact, scientists are successful precisely because they emulate what children do naturally.”

-Alison Gopnik

Lady in the Water received a 21% on rotten tomatoes. This would put it a little higher than Mariah Carey’s Glitter. The equivalent of being a fish filet w/cheese at McDonald’s. I saw the film last night. So the question is was this film a 21%? Well a look at the user reviews for the film tells a completely different story.

I can’t say it was the BEST movie I’ve ever seen. I laughed, I clapped, I cringed, and I even cried. Why then can someone call it “A flaky ego trip disguised as a fairy tale” or “a disjointed and mind-numbing story.”

Two reasons: one obvious and one not.

The obvious reason is he picks apart the role of the critic. This is an obvious and direct attack against those that want to tell filmmakers, artists, and storytellers the 5 w’s about their own crafts. The sad bit is critics are never doers or even thinkers. They are just sayers. They professionally say what they think. The point can be argued that they come from a solid standpoint. Well I am critical of that point.

The second one shows a split in society. Plebians vs. Patricians, the elite vs. the common man. This film was meant to be a child’s story (not that you should take your children because it is PG-13). I have spoken many times on the subject of simplicity. Arguably, the greatest humanitarian and thinker in the history of the world, knew the importance of simplicity when he commanded his followers to “be like children”. In this convoluted world that throws away common sense for complexity, even a child is robbed of their innocence. I saw a movie preview before the show that included a child being a servant of the devil and bringing back the ten plagues. I thought to myself, what is with the demonization of children? When have children ever started a war, spread disease, or wiped out entire races of people? Though the distinction of childlike and childish should be made. A good illustration of childish would be a movie critic who tears apart a film because he wants revenge for it attacking him. A good illustration of childlike would be my nephew in the car the other day. Oh you weren’t there? Ill tell you what happened. My nephew out of nowhere said. “Dad, why are they bombing peoples’ houses? His dad said, “I don’t know, that’s a good question”. My nephew responded, “They are hurting innocent people.” Though we could argue about the need for aggressive action in a fallen world, my nephew’s thought process was correct. What good does taking another’s life do? Who am I to decide who’s life is worth saving and who’s is worth taking? These are questions that have no real answer. A child keeps asking, a critic believes he knows the answer. That is the difference. This film asks some questions, tests some boundaries and it does a fun and beautiful job of it. Be a child again, prove the elitists wrong and go see this movie. I promise that you won’t be disappointed.

On a side note, funny as it sounds, this film seems to about subjects that the media would enjoy. It obviously attacks the current war and leadership of this nation and also calls for drastic changes in domestic and international policy in America. But I guess you can’t look past someone calling you a bad name. What a bunch of babies!

This comes out today. I’m going to see it, you all should be too (well except for you Jimmy your not old enough and I’m not paying you to watch movies). Money talks in Hollywood and so you gotta support quality and integrous entertainment, plus it’s been a long and hard week for a lot of people, so take some time to relax and enjoy a good Shyamalan story. Also, try and watch it at your local independent theater and if you don’t have one, anything but a regal cinemas is okay.