There is a vast gulf between critic and fan reviews of Nate Bargatze\u2019s debut film, \u201cThe Breadwinner.\u201d <\/p>\n
Critics described it as bland, while audiences found it enjoyable. The complaints boil down to one central issue \u2014 Bargatze\u2019s commitment to clean<\/a>, broadly accessible humor strips the film of creative comedy, conflict and a much-needed bite. <\/p>\n The Hollywood Reporter<\/a> called the film \u201cinoffensive to the point of total boredom,\u201d while The Epoch Times<\/a> wrote, \u201cWhile taking no risks is smart from a marketing perspective, it\u2019s creatively bereft … and thunderously dull.\u201d <\/p>\n And AV Club<\/a> panned, \u201cBargatze\u2019s commitment to \u2018clean\u2019 comedy, which is to say, material that is inoffensive to white upper-class suburbanites, means defanging whatever bite Breadwinner might otherwise have.\u201d <\/p>\n Audiences, however, seem to value exactly what critics slammed \u2014 a lighthearted, family-friendly comedy that doesn\u2019t attempt to shock, preach or reinvent the wheel. <\/p>\n \u201cTook the whole family and had a blast,\u201d one viewer wrote<\/a>, adding that they appreciated \u201cknowing it was a movie we could watch together without being worried about content being inappropriate.\u201d <\/p>\n Another wrote<\/a>, \u201cIt\u2019s everything you expect it to be: refreshingly family-friendly comedy.\u201d <\/p>\n The divide between critics and audiences over the film is stark on Rotten Tomatoes<\/a>, where critics give the film a 19% approval rating, while audiences gave it an 86% approval rating. <\/p>\n Touted as the revival of the family comedy, \u201cThe Breadwinner,\u201d stars the mega-popular comedian Bargatze as a successful car salesman thrust into life as a stay-at-home dad after his wife, played by Mandy Moore, leaves on a monthlong business trip that could transform her career.<\/p>\n Caring for their three young daughters with little experience running a household, he quickly learns that family life is more demanding than he expected.<\/p>\n The premise is simple \u2014 if a bit dated and slightly tired \u2014 and both fans and critics agree the plot is not groundbreaking. The difference? Fans could overlook the film\u2019s weak spots and still have an enjoyable experience. Critics could not. <\/p>\n \u201cWe all laughed a lot,\u201d one fan wrote<\/a>. \u201cSure there weren\u2019t mind blowing plot twists, but it was a lot of fun.\u201d <\/p>\n Another fan said<\/a>, \u201cNot ground breaking but charming, definitely family friendly and a couple laugh out loud moments … it\u2019s the type of movie you don\u2019t see in theaters anymore. Definitely will watch again, with the whole family.\u201d <\/p>\n Maybe Bargatze is a one-trick pony \u2014 take him outside a stand-up routine and his humor doesn\u2019t fully translate. Or, more likely, critics are simply not fond if his brand of comedy \u2014 a clean, relatable style that has still earned him a massive fanbase<\/a>. <\/p>\n Fans of Bargatze, however, don\u2019t seem to care. Familiar with his clean style, they were able to enjoy his film despite its shortcomings. <\/p>\n The mismatch between reviewers and moviegoers is nothing new. Audiences regularly disagree with critics\u2019 harsher takes, but does it matter? Not really. <\/p>\n There is a shift away from trusting what experts think, and moviegoers care more about what the majority is saying. <\/p>\n Midway through the year, \u201cThe Super Mario Galaxy Movie\u201d stands as the highest-earning<\/a> film so far \u2014 after receiving a barrage of poor critical reviews (\u201crock-stupid<\/a>,\u201d \u201cflat empty nothingness<\/a>,\u201d \u201ctorturous to sit through<\/a>\u201d). <\/p>\n Last year\u2019s top earner, \u201cA Minecraft Movie,\u201d surpassed $930 million worldwide despite getting similarly unfavorable reviews (\u201chot-pink mess of a movie<\/a>,\u201d \u201cphenomenally lazy movie<\/a>,\u201d \u201cclunky mess<\/a>\u201d).<\/p>\n At nearly $1 billion<\/a> worldwide, \u201cMario\u201d shows poor reviews don\u2019t slow ticket sales. While higher-rated films, like the thriller \u201cSend Help<\/a>\u201d and the romantic comedy \u201cThe Drama<\/a>,\u201d earned only a fraction of the \u201cMario\u201d box office total. <\/p>\n What do the studios think?<\/p>\n Even for film studios \u2014 money talks. Positive nuggets from critics\u2019 reviews can boost a film\u2019s marketing campaign, particularly for smaller films, but typically won\u2019t make or break a film\u2019s earning potential, especially if audiences are complimentary. <\/p>\n But like in any other business, films are a product that need to make money. When films gross high earnings at the box office, studios respond with interest in future projects. <\/p>\n \u201cGrown Ups,\u201d for example, received a 10%<\/a> critics score on Rotten Tomatoes but went on to gross more than $271 million worldwide \u2014 making it one of the highest-grossing<\/a> comedies of all time. The film earned a sequel, and another installment in the franchise is currently in development. <\/p>\n Of course, the ideal for studios is positive reviews and high profit. But big action blockbusters and lowbrow comedies consistently receive bad reviews \u2014 and audiences still turn out. <\/p>\n Critics don\u2019t always have a feel for what kind of content audiences crave or enjoy \u2014 and moviegoers are aware of that gap. While reviews can provide an indication of a film\u2019s artistic quality, they cannot predict how a film will resonate with with viewers. <\/p>\n So Bargatze fans, let the cutting reviews roll off your back, you\u2019ll probably enjoy \u201cThe Breadwinner.\u201d <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"There is a vast gulf between critic and fan reviews of Nate Bargatze\u2019s debut film, \u201cThe Breadwinner.\u201d Critics…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":476848,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[27],"tags":[146,85,46,397,9588],"class_list":["post-476847","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-movies","tag-entertainment","tag-il","tag-israel","tag-movies","tag-news-feed-national"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/476847","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=476847"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/476847\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/476848"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=476847"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=476847"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=476847"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}