Valuable Lessons of the 2011 Summer Movie Season: A Recap

Okay, so I have some good news and some bad news for Hollywood's behemoth studios. The good news is that admissions at the summer box office this summer were up from last year. More disheartening, however, is that this season marks the third least-attended summer session at movie theatres across North America since the multiplex boom started to take hold in 1997.

Between the highs and the lows, though, there were a lot of lessons that hopefully some studio bigwigs should take into account as they assemble future summer schedules. Note that my opinions on some of this summer’s films are interspersed within this recap.

Never Underestimate the Power of Women (also a good life lesson, in general):

Every year, the big studios carefully schedule around their prime programming, films with humongous budgets and the most lavish visual effects artistry that hundreds of millions of dollars can buy—and most importantly, appeal to young males. Then there are the executives who position ‘counterprogramming,’ also known as films that appeal mainly to women or older adults. This summer, the two most unprecedented surprises were both films under this ‘counterprogramming’ category, and both mainly appealed to older females. They were the hilarious Bridesmaids and the heartfelt adaptation of The Help. Both films utilized rich (and mainly female) ensembles to create fully-dimensional characters that both males and females could feel for and laugh at. Both Bridesmaids (***) and The Help (***1/2) relied on the concept of female camaraderie in their synopses, as well as their marketing campaigns. For the studios and the audience, it paid off in dividends.

Never Underestimate the Power of Nostalgia (but that doesn’t give you an excuse to make The Smurfs and other facsimiles):

In Woody Allen’s Midnight in Paris, the protagonist played by Owen Wilson is working on a novel about a man who works in a nostalgia shop. Of course, this man is some variation of the Wilson character, and since the actor is playing the Woody Allen surrogate, it shouldn’t surprise you to note that the film is a highly romanticized look back at a time that has come and gone. By reminding us of 1920s Paris in the spring, Woody gave us his most adored film in more than a decade. On a similar note, J.J. Abrams’ blockbuster Super 8 was an endearingly composed Spielberg symphony, recalling the childlike whimsy and dazzling escapism that has captured audiences for generations (and will continue to). Despite my reservations on its hokey ending, I saw Super 8 twice—few films can encapsulate the thrills and raw affection that Spielberg’s can, and Abrams’ tribute came stunningly close.

Stop Overestimating the Power of Superheroes:

We got no fewer than four high-profile superhero films this summer (Thor, Green Lantern, Captain America: The First Avenger, X-Men: First Class) and none of them were exactly, well, memorable. Their box office takes were moderate at best for the subgenre, their stories were relatively standard, and despite impressive ensembles and effects work, they didn’t have a lot of heart. Then again, it’s hard to feel any majestic powers of superiority when you’re being pushed out of theatres by another superhero movie every other week.

What’s Going On in Sundance?:

The Utah festival has helped build buzz for some of our generation’s most defining films. Films like Garden State, Napoleon Dynamite, The Blair Witch Project and Little Miss Sunshine have ridden their January buzz into big summer takes. This summer, not one Sundance premiere made much of a dent in the schedule. Of the three films that I saw—the sci-fi drama Another Earth, coming-of-age drama Terri and quirky comedy Submarine—none of them were good enough to recommend and are practically unheard of by mainstream moviegoers. Are studios beginning to lose faith in their independent divisions? Or are they saving the grand daddies for the fall season, with potential award gold on the table? Let’s hope that the latter is true.

Nothing Ruins a Grand Finale Like Too Much Exposition:

Yes, Steve Kloves, I’m talking to you. You wrote seven of the eight Harry Potter films, and saved the most disappointing adaptation for last. I know I’m in a minority who thought that Deathly Hallows: Part 2 was underwhelming, but considering how much of that book's final third was a tremendously thrilling action sequence featuring a echelon of beloved characters, why was there such little action and such constricted room to fit everyone in? The grandeur was there, but the excitement felt contained. Next time, Mr. Kloves, you may want to snip some of the leaden dialogue-heavy sections that turned one of the most anticipated finales in cinematic history into a mouthful rather than an eyeful.

Someone Needs to Take a Pulse on What People Find Funny:

Yes, Bridesmaids featured some of the funniest scenes of any film in recent memory. But if that laughter was medicine, it didn't make up for the excruciating pain caused by The Hangover: Part 2 and Horrible Bosses, my two least favourite films of the summer. One was essentially a carbon copy of the original, although with the inspired comedic bits strangely missing, and the second was a total waste of a terrific concept and a diverse, talented ensemble. What made these two films most alike, beyond the notion of having a trio of male leads to get themselves in particularly sticky situations, was that the shots of humour were foul and bleak. Both of these films lacked wit, heart and characters who resembled actual people, and were essentially works of mass vulgarity. When there’s such little truth to the humour, it’s hard to care about what’s onscreen and even harder to let out a laugh.

Let Terrence Malick Do His Thing:

The reclusive American artist and director of 2011’s best film, The Tree of Life, is one of the only filmmakers on the planet who is able to have their personal vision remain intact in the final cut. This may explain why his film was such a glorious, fascinating and transcendent piece of beauty and thematic complexity. Many found Malick’s cerebral, ‘sense memory’ approach to his tale of a small-town Texas family in the 1950s perplexing, while others (like myself) found it to be key to the telling of a triumphant coming-of-age tale that didn’t attempt to skirt with audacious themes and concepts. If only more filmmakers had the clout to take on such liberties with their work…