Friday the 13th - Do I Have To?

I wrote in the Dark Knight review that weekend grosses don't mean anything as far as how good a movie really is. Take Friday the 13th: the critics flushed it down the toilet, but it grossed over $43,000,000 last weekend, proving once again that audiences couldn't care less what critics think. $43 million? Those are "it's a hit" numbers by any stretch, especially for a run-of-the-mill slasher flick.

In one weekend Friday the 13th has outgrossed The Reader and Milk combined, both of which have been in theaters for months are up for Best Picture. That has to be absolutely demoralizing for artsy film producers, doesn't it? Yet they should learn their lesson: if times truly are tough, don't give people heavy handed films that leave them feeling like hell. Who wants to see that when they can get bad news for free on CNN? Give audiences mindless entertainment and they'll be happy to hand you their money.

You know Friday the 13th has to be awful. You just know it. But then, people are seeing it, and you get that itch to see it for yourself to find out just how awful it is. You start talking to yourself: "Well, it's a slasher flick set on a lake. So maybe there's a few bikini babes. That wouldn't be so bad. And hey, maybe the special effects are cool. The budget sure didn't go on actors, so it had to go somewhere, right?"

So...it's February. There's nothing else to see. Won't be for at least another two months.

Do I have to?

Photo: Rotten Tomatoes