A Good Movie and a Bad Take

Good morning Consumers. This is Please Consume, the film newsletter that double butters your popcorn.

This is what we’ve got for today 👇️

• Tom talks about the first blockbuster and dives into the film criticism of yesteryear.

• It’s that time of the week! We have 2 new trailers for you.

• All the news and notes from the last few days.

Let’s get rolling…

With the upcoming release of A Haunting in Venice, we wanted to take this opportunity to talk about our favorite pulpy book to screen adaptations. We’re discussing ‘paperback’ novels.

Also referred to as airplane novels or beach reads, these are the books you read to pass the time, books your mom discusses in book club or the novel's your dad won’t stop talking about for, like, 6 months after finishing it.

So let’s dive into this surprisingly deep well.

Jaws (1975)

Written by Tom Fortner

Did you know that Jaws was going to be a movie before the book it’s based on was even published?

Yeah, the rights to the book were picked up by Universal in May 1973 and the book wasn’t released until February 1974.

The publicity around the deal and the ensuing production helped the sales of the book considerably, which in turn helped the movie become the first-ever blockbuster.

So now you know!

A Good Movie and a Bad Take

Being the first blockbuster, a completely new moment for film history, it’s understandable that quite a few critics weren’t entirely onboard with the hype.

One critic from the time, James Monaco, called Jaws a “[machine] of entertainment, precisely calculated to achieve [its] effect.”

I hate this criticism.

But what does this mean? Well, essentially Monaco is calling Jaws a cheap thrill, maybe even akin to a roller coaster. I know this is really reminiscent of Scorsese’s take on Marvel movies, but I think it’s different.

I’m sorry if any of you are related to Monaco. I’m also sorry if this seems like a weird way to start, but this criticism ties in directly with my next section.

Not a Thriller, But a Story

What I find most amazing about Jaws is the fact that it’s such a character driven story.

I mean, how great a dad is Brody? The scene where his son mimics him just brings a smile to my face; it’s so loving! And it reflects Brody’s impact on his kids. He’s a good guy, a good dad, a good husband.

Our other two main protagonists, played by Robert Shaw and Richard Dreyfuss, get their chance in the sympathetic spotlight as well, the scars and Indianapolis scene to name one. (Be still my heart!).

And this isn’t just limited to the three stars. Every single minor character in this film makes an impact. What could be throwaway scenes become emotional cores to the film.

Think of the scene between Brody and the grieving mother. It’s heartbreaking!

Also, the genre of film that Jaws is is constantly fluctuating.

It’s not just a straight thriller. Sure, it has that classic Man v. Nature motif, but it also contains the story of one man standing up against the greed of a small town. And it becomes a chase movie near the end, as well as a masculine buddy film.

And then on top of all of that it has suspense and thrills.

The authenticity of the characters, the performance of the actors, and the nuance of the genre throughout the film, makes Jaws more of a story rather than a thriller.

The Clip

In order to highlight just how well this movie pulls off so many different tones, today’s clip is the mimicking scene mentioned earlier.

Imagine having this much love in a thriller today. I can’t either.

Today’s Scene

Let’s take a look at this week’s new trailers…

Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom

The Bikeriders

Here are a few things that we found interesting over the last few days…