But... What Does Larry King Think?

The other day I found myself in Wal-Mart. Before you pile on the hypocrisy bandwagon and point out that I shouldn't have been in Wal-Mart, let me point out that I had a gift card, so the money was already spent and there's no redeeming such things for cash.

Anyway, while walking through the store I came across a rather large display in the electronics department. In this display I found several copies of the recently released "School For Scoundrels" on DVD. On this DVD I noticed a quote that seemed a bit odd, and as the seconds ticked by, managed to irritate the hell out of me.

See for yourself...

In case you somehow missed it, the quote reads: Bad Santa Meets Napoleon Dynamite!

Can anyone tell me how that's possible? I haven't seen the movie, so maybe I'm not qualified to pass judgment, but it seems to me that it would be completely impossible for this film to actually be what would happen if those two films made sweet love and produced an obscenity laden, kooky, Mormon-friendly comedy. If that happens to be the case, I'd love to see it. But guess what, it probably isn't the case.

I mean, Starship Troopers featured Rue McLanahan and Michael Ironside, but you wouldn't say it was "Mamma's Family meets Jo Jo Dancer, Your Life Is Waiting."

What I find most ridiculous (and borderline insulting) about this quote is that the marketing department actually thought that people would snatch up copies based on the fact that they enjoyed the other two films. Although, what may be most disturbing is the realization that it will actually work.

My initial thoughts were, "My God, that's the laziest review I've ever seen," until I noticed to whom it was attributed. Rolling Stone? Surely this couldn't be a Peter Travers review? I don't always agree with the guy, but I can't see him actually throwing some schlock like that out there.

Haha, Santa shot Napoleon in the crotch! Hilarity!

Guess what... he didn't.

The actual review, seen here, never features that quote... not even close. It mentions the other two films, but never in that way. Nice work guys, way to make someone look like a hack... someone that actually was kind enough to give you a three-star review.

As I searched for the box image for this entry, I found something interesting on Amazon.com. Amazon always likes to suggest other titles to the buyer, things that you might enjoy based on the shopping patterns of other customers. So, if I'm going to buy up a copy of School For Scoundrels, I should also just go ahead and order the following:

In case that's difficult to read (I realize that the resolution isn't the best), I'm also encouraged to buy The Departed, Flags of Our Fathers, Hollywoodland and The Prestige.

I have my doubts as to whether or not those films are really attracting a large percent of the same viewing audience.

Maybe I'm wrong. Maybe School For Scoundrels belongs in the same category as these highly acclaimed, top ten of the year type titles. Perhaps I should give it a chance. Oh, and by the way, if you haven't seen The Departed, be sure to check it out, it's like "Titanic Meets Mars Attacks!"