OVERRATED MOVIES

It's the fallback, the failsafe for sports radio producers and hosts. If it's a slow sports day or the current topic isn't eliciting much response they break out the "Best Sports Movies" topic. The lines will start ringing post-haste.

So since I don't have much to say (today or another day) I'm breaking out the first in an occasional series: Overrated Movies. And it doesn't have to be sports-related. I'll rattle off a few now, not necessarily in any order, that I think are overrated. Feel free to comment on your overrated movies. And one quick note on the definition of overrated: it doesn't mean the film is not good, it merely means it's given too many props. For instance:

→ CITIZEN KANE. I can't tell you how tired I am of hearing "The best American movie ever" whenever someone happens to being it up. Fabulous film, groundbreaking on more than one level--make no mistake about it. But is it really the best American film ever? At independentcritics.com, Jacob Hall says, "...there are movies I enjoy more than "Citizen Kane," but I realize that I would not be enjoying them without it." My thoughts exactly.

→ CRASH. The absolute worst usage of Don Cheadle in any film. Yes Matt Dillon was good. But it wasn't even as good as the film it emulates, MAGNOLIA. Best picture? No way. Jami Bernard from the NY Daily News said, "Crash wants to be taken seriously as a meditation on our anxiety-plagued times, but the coincidences are too pat, the tugs on the heartstrings too insistent." Exactly.

→ THE ENGLISH PATIENT. If you watch Seinfled and have seen the episode where Elaine is forced to sit through a viewing of this film you know where I am coming from. I found it dreadfully boring. Thankfully we watched it on video at home and also thankfully I had a crossword puzzle at hand. BTW, that Seinfeld episode is also the "Izzy Mandelbaum: It's Go Time" episode. Classic. Seinfeld, not The English Patient.