White goes after Baumbach

Margot at the Wedding "isn't a story of neurotics struggling to be loved" but an example of director-writer Noah Baumbach "struggling to validate middlebrow narcissism," writes N.Y. Press critic Armond White. White can be oddly hilarious when he goes after someone, and in this case he outdoes himself by comparing Baumbach to a rodent. [Note #1: Running this item shouldn't and doesn't indicate agreement with White about the analogy, but I chuckled at it.]


Margot at the Wedding director-writer Noah Baumbach (l.)

Baumbach "perverts lessons in humanity taught by Eugene O'Neill, Tennessee Williams and even Wes Anderson, the great visionaries of American family and class warfare," White goes on. "He domesticates bigotry. The kitchen confrontation between Jennifer Jason Leigh's Pauline and Jack Black's Malcolm is not an ethical, emotional trade-off; each cowardly egotist talks at cross purposes through Baumbach's smug dialog. He's always looking for malice and humiliation, as when a rat is discovered at the bottom of the family swimming pool.

"Nicole Kidman tries making Margot pitiable, but she remains a cold actress. Brave Leigh, the finest film actress of the '90s, gets disgraced. Baumbach not only turns Leigh's fearlessness into Isabelle Huppert-style masochism, he offends her person with a scene where Pauline shits her panties. And we see it. Baumbach can't guide us through troubled emotions like O'Neill, Williams and Anderson; he leads us into the shallow end of arrogance, conceit and ugliness. The rat at the bottom of the pool is Baumbach himself."

[Note #2: Baumbach actually shows us a small dead mouse, not a rat. If I'm wrong, it's one of the smallest dead rats I've ever seen, and I've seen a few. A real dead rat is the size of the one Marlon Brando holds by the tail in Last Tango in Paris.]

Posted by Jeffrey Wells on November 14, 2007 at 2:40 PM

comment #1

mutinyco Author Profile Page says ...

Goebbels couldn't have created a wittier photographic juxtaposition.

Posted by mutinyco Author Profile Page at November 14, 2007 3:36 PM

comment #2

p.Vice Author Profile Page says ...

It's nice to know there are still some critics out there who aren't afraid to get ruthless.

Posted by p.Vice Author Profile Page at November 14, 2007 3:36 PM

comment #3

4th grade army Author Profile Page says ...

Ouch! Baumbach does have that thing where his characters are very unlikable. I liked THE SQUID AND THE WHALE, but the characters were pretty despicable.

Posted by 4th grade army Author Profile Page at November 14, 2007 3:42 PM

comment #4

AJW Author Profile Page says ...

Best part of the post:
"Noah Baumback (l.)"

Nice touch.

Posted by AJW Author Profile Page at November 14, 2007 3:46 PM

comment #5

MilkMan Author Profile Page says ...

I know why Armond White didn't like Margot at the Wedding: It didn't have an understanding of socio-pop aesthetics the way that Always, Steven Spielberg's masterpiece of romantic consciousness, did.

Posted by MilkMan Author Profile Page at November 14, 2007 4:11 PM

comment #6

MilkMan Author Profile Page says ...

Armond White hates anyone who hates more than he does.

Posted by MilkMan Author Profile Page at November 14, 2007 4:12 PM

comment #7

Gaydos Author Profile Page says ...

mutinyco: Damn, straight out of the gate, you nailed it! Truth be told, Armond White didn't write this review, Borat did.

Posted by Gaydos Author Profile Page at November 14, 2007 4:15 PM

comment #8

bmcintire Author Profile Page says ...

". . . Eugene O'Neill, Tennessee Williams and even Wes Anderson, the great visionaries of American family and class warfare."

Wes Anderson? Okay, that was fucking hilarious!

Posted by bmcintire Author Profile Page at November 14, 2007 4:29 PM

comment #9

MiraJeffAICN Author Profile Page says ...

I'm not going to elaborate much, but I really liked Margot at the Wedding and its rather unlikable characters. There was something mildly fascinating about their plights. The performances were excellent and the writing was sharp and smart. Armond White sucks. Yeah, I said it.

Posted by MiraJeffAICN Author Profile Page at November 14, 2007 4:40 PM

comment #10

IClavdivs Author Profile Page says ...

White = zZZZZZZZZ

Posted by IClavdivs Author Profile Page at November 14, 2007 4:42 PM

comment #11

T. Holly Author Profile Page says ...

The trailer is like nails on chalkboard, I've seen "The Anniversary Party," Jack Black ruins everything and "The Squid and The Whale" really didn't deserve the NY Film Critics Award.

Posted by T. Holly Author Profile Page at November 14, 2007 5:09 PM

comment #12

thatmovieguy Author Profile Page says ...

If White thinks Kidman was trying to make Margot pitiable, he must have seen a different version of the movie than I did. She plays Margot as a strident, self-righteous, "listen to me -- I know best" type who treats most of the people around her as irritations she must endure. There's no attempt to beg for sympathy from the audience; she invites viewers to groan every time Margot opens her mouth to offer another piece of unwanted advice or one more unwelcome observation. "A cold actress"? Good -- that's exactly what the role calls for, and Kidman plays it perfectly.

Posted by thatmovieguy Author Profile Page at November 14, 2007 5:11 PM

comment #13

lazarus Author Profile Page says ...

Is that the rat from the end of The Departed?

I guess Dignam was just trying to eliminate any potential witnesses.

Posted by lazarus Author Profile Page at November 14, 2007 5:12 PM

comment #14

actionman Author Profile Page says ...

Shit in underwear? Huh? You see it?

Posted by actionman Author Profile Page at November 14, 2007 5:13 PM

comment #15

rocco Author Profile Page says ...

It will be hard for him to top 'Kicking and Screaming'.

Is that a pajama top?

No!.................yes.

Posted by rocco Author Profile Page at November 14, 2007 5:19 PM

comment #16

MilkMan Author Profile Page says ...

Armond White writes like he's wearing a butt plug.

Posted by MilkMan Author Profile Page at November 14, 2007 5:25 PM

comment #17

actionman Author Profile Page says ...

"Armond White writes like he's wearing a butt plug."

Brilliant, MilkMan. And very funny. And very true.

Posted by actionman Author Profile Page at November 14, 2007 5:43 PM

comment #18

Jeffrey Overstreet Author Profile Page says ...

I've just seen "Margot at the Wedding." And it makes "The Squid and the Whale" seem as cheery and heartwarming as "Dan in Real Life."

But yeah, the performances are first-rate. Leigh and Kidman are entirely convincing as sisters.

Posted by Jeffrey Overstreet Author Profile Page at November 14, 2007 5:48 PM

comment #19

wda Author Profile Page says ...

There's a weird randomness to Armond White's opinions--no rhyme or reason to the directors he gets behind and those he dislikes (Wes Anderson, yes! Noah Baumback, no!).

Posted by wda Author Profile Page at November 14, 2007 6:54 PM

comment #20

Craig Kennedy Author Profile Page says ...

T. Holly, don't be afraid to go Black. He was good and so were Nicole Kidman and Jennifer Jason Leigh. Too bad the movie they were in kind of sucked. It was funny and all, but if you want sibling rivalry and family disfunction with humor and real emotional weight, go see The Savages instead. At least the scene with human shit makes sense in the Jenkins film.

For the record, I liked The Squid and the Whale.

Posted by Craig Kennedy Author Profile Page at November 14, 2007 7:22 PM

comment #21

astrophore Author Profile Page says ...

So I read the intro and get all riled up and think about the best way to deflate Monsieur White, even though I've never seen the fucking movie, and can't defend it to anyone, and hey, I like Salinger stories and The New Yorker, and even parts of Interiors, which is so totally not defensible, and then Milkman comes along and writes about a butt plug and suddenly I've got nothing.

Milkman's my hero.

Posted by astrophore Author Profile Page at November 14, 2007 7:38 PM

comment #22

Zimmergirl Author Profile Page says ...

She doesn't really shit in her panties does she? :-|

Posted by Zimmergirl Author Profile Page at November 14, 2007 8:01 PM

comment #23

Craig Kennedy Author Profile Page says ...

She really does.

Posted by Craig Kennedy Author Profile Page at November 14, 2007 8:34 PM

comment #24

Craig Kennedy Author Profile Page says ...

That is to say, JJL's character does. I sleep well at night believing it was stunt poo.

Posted by Craig Kennedy Author Profile Page at November 14, 2007 8:35 PM

comment #25

nemo Author Profile Page says ...

OK, it's going to be months before this film reaches my part of the country, and I can't wait. More spoilers, please! With details! How does she end up pooping her pants? What happens? What do they show exactly? Does Anton Chigurh show up?

Posted by nemo Author Profile Page at November 14, 2007 9:02 PM

comment #26

JD Author Profile Page says ...

Okay, let me get this straight. The Coen Brothers can show Javier Bardem brutally murder 15-20 people and that's just good filmmaking. But when Baumbach dares to write a few characters who are mean, he's an evil little rat?

Posted by JD Author Profile Page at November 14, 2007 9:23 PM

comment #27

Craig Kennedy Author Profile Page says ...

Are you serious Nemo?

And factually JD, you only see Javier Bardem brutally kill 8 or 9 people. And no one shits themselves. You could say No Country is 100% shit free.

Posted by Craig Kennedy Author Profile Page at November 14, 2007 9:30 PM

comment #28

BurmaShave Author Profile Page says ...

JD, the Coens are Jews with guns, so Armond won't fuck with them.

Posted by BurmaShave Author Profile Page at November 15, 2007 9:37 AM

comment #29

Armin Tamzarian Author Profile Page says ...

MilkMan is like Armond White in the sense that even when I don't agree with them, they still make me laugh. Huzzah!

Posted by Armin Tamzarian Author Profile Page at November 15, 2007 10:12 AM

comment #30

jeffmcm Author Profile Page says ...

Armond would be a better critic if his reviews didn't read like he just feverishly tossed words together hoping that inertia would keep people from noticing how sloppy they really are. Still smart, but sloppy.

Posted by jeffmcm Author Profile Page at November 15, 2007 11:13 AM

comment #31

Gaydos Author Profile Page says ...

As someone who just caught up with "Margot," may I point out the not-so-obvious? It's pretty damn good and in a perhaps not pretty damn good year, it's got a lot going for it, including quite a powerful performance from Ms. Kidman.

Digression: Remember when Steve Martin said at the Oscars "Here's a little-known fact: in every one of Nicole Kidman's previous films, she's worn a prosthetic nose. 'The Hours' is the first film she's done with her real nose."

This is her second.

IMHO: she's pretty amazing.

Back to the point: of all the folks out there making movies who might deserve a punch to the ribs, why is anyone going after this guy for this film? I don't get it. Sheesh....

Posted by Gaydos Author Profile Page at November 15, 2007 11:42 PM

comment #32

MilkMan Author Profile Page says ...

Gaydos: As you know, A. White is a Pauline Kael disciple, and as such, is allergic to anyone who might be considered and intellectual threat. That's why he picks on someone like Baumbach, who's obviously well-read and literate and a student of film history.

Posted by MilkMan Author Profile Page at November 16, 2007 12:01 PM

comment #33

Gaydos Author Profile Page says ...

Milkman: thanks for illuminating. Kael may gone, but the wages of her reverse snobbery lives on.

Posted by Gaydos Author Profile Page at November 16, 2007 2:39 PM

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