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The Two Bens
The decision by ABC/Disney honchos to hire E! Entertainment critic Ben Lyons and Turner Classic Movies host Ben Mankiewicz as the new Ebert & Roeper on a revamped At the Movies is one of those basic no-brainer moves that 50-something executives do when they don't know what the hell else to do. A syndicated movie-review show starring two older guys (Roeper and Chicago Tribune critic Michael Phillips) isn't attracting the under-35 demo? Solution: Replace them with two young bucks with TV experience, engaging personalities and the royal genes of an entertainment-establishment family.
Ben Mankiewicz (l.), Ben Lyons (r.)
Lyons is the congenial, golf-playing, to-the-manor-born son of notorious easy-lay film critic Jeffrey Lyons, and the grandson of N.Y. Post columnist Leonard Lyons; Mankiewicz is the grandson of Citizen Kane screenwriter Herman Mankiewicz and the great-nephew of the legendary Joseph Mankiewicz, director-writer of All About Eve and A Letter to Three Wives.
If I watch the show, Mankiewicz is the guy I'll have an easier time with. He seems low-key, thoughtful, sardonic. I would prefer if, actually, if the show featured Mankiewicz and his Young Turks partner Cenk Uygur. I love that guy -- blowhardy, smart, take-it-or-leave-it.
I don't like Lyons because you can tell right off the bat that he's too much of a glider and a gladhander. Plus he went to school with Ivanka Trump. Plus he once called Nikki Blonsky his good buddy. Plus there's something inauthentic about a supposed film maven who plays golf. Golf has its own spiritual kwan and undercurrent, of course, but 90% of the people who play it do so because they want to schmooze their way into power. Golf courses and clubhouses are havens for conservative-minded ex-fraternity guys who love wearing those awful pink and salmon-colored Tommy Hilfiger polo shirts and trading insider info with their pallies over mixed drinks after the game. You can't serve golf and movies any more than you can serve God and Rome. They represent entirely different theologies.
I also wonder if the era of sitting passively in front of a TV screen and listening to a couple of guys trade opinions about movies has the same vitality that it had when Roger Ebert and Gene Siskel started Sneak Previews on PBS in 1977. It was a whole different world 31 years ago. Audiences these days like to talk back and argue and engage interactively. I'm not sure that a show that basically says "we're the cool-ass GenY film critics with the famous dads and granddads, and you guys get to listen" is going to connect all that well.
Posted by Jeffrey Wells on July 22, 2008 at 11:25 AM
comment #1
Aladdin Sane says ...
I like Mankiewicz from his TCM hosting duties...don't know anything about Lyons, but he looks like a bland personality.
Posted by Aladdin Sane at July 22, 2008 12:51 PM
comment #2
TheJeff says ...
You got that, golfers? You're on notice.
Jeff's on notice board:
1. blings
2. homies
3. mexicans
4. fatties
5. golfers
6. red states
7. rubes
8. jocks
9. Hillary
10. print journalists
Posted by TheJeff at July 22, 2008 12:51 PM
comment #3
Geoff says ...
And if any of the above are bald, you might as well revisit Yeats' THE SECOND COMING.
Posted by Geoff at July 22, 2008 12:56 PM
comment #4
silver says ...
This is actually great news!
I've still been watching At The Movies the past couple years more out of habit and from fond memories and loyalty from the Gene & Roger era. Now with Ebert completely cutting ties, I can easily stop cold turkey and not ever watch one minute of The Two Bens.
So I've just gained an extra 30 minutes of time every week! Thanks ABC/Disney!
Posted by silver at July 22, 2008 1:01 PM
comment #5
Richardson says ...
That guy is the most annoying host on TCM, and that's saying something.
And, yes, including Rose McGowan.
Posted by Richardson at July 22, 2008 1:03 PM
comment #6
nelson37 says ...
If you think Jeffrey Lyons is an easy lay, he's nothing compared to his "Reel Talk" co-host Alison Bailes. She gave "Hanconk", "The Love Guru", and "Superman Returns" rave reviews. But she's kind of hot so who cares?
Posted by nelson37 at July 22, 2008 1:06 PM
comment #7
kingofnails says ...
Rose McGowan hosts a show on TCM?!? Really??? Where the heck have I been lately?
Posted by kingofnails at July 22, 2008 1:11 PM
comment #8
Rich S. says ...
The Jeff:
You forgot:
11. Peter Jackson
12. Eddie Murphy
13. Steven Spielberg
and above all
14. People with bad shoes or feet
Posted by Rich S. at July 22, 2008 1:17 PM
comment #9
Reedyb says ...
It would have been good if they had gone with Chris Gore or someone who has worked at it for years.
Heck, Jeff Wells and David Poland for the new Siskel & Ebert. That would be like the old Norman Mailer/Gore Vidal talk show appearances where they got into fisticuffs every few times they saw each other!
Posted by Reedyb at July 22, 2008 1:20 PM
comment #10
Jay T. says ...
"Golf has its own spiritual kwan and undercurrent, of course, but 90% of the people who play it do so because they want to schmooze their way into power"
Jesus H. Christ Jeff... sometimes you can come off like such a fucking moron. You clearly have NO idea what you're talking about. I'd say maybe 10 - 15% of golfers are the way you describe, but the majority are either just casual golfers who enjoy the game or are completely obsessed with it.
Posted by Jay T. at July 22, 2008 1:24 PM
comment #11
R. Hunt says ...
I believe "Sneak Previews" started a lot earlier than 1986. The first film I remember seeing S & E review on it was "Close Encounters"...
Posted by R. Hunt at July 22, 2008 1:26 PM
comment #12
snackyx says ...
Sneak Previews actually started on PBS in the mid-70's, but it was early 80's when Sisket and Ebert jumped ship to go syndicated.
Posted by snackyx at July 22, 2008 1:31 PM
comment #13
Rich S. says ...
Sneak Previews actually started on the Chicago PBS station WTTW as "Coming Soon to a Theater Near You." That was a very long time ago. The earliest movie I can remember them reviewing was Alien, but R. Hunt has me beat by a couple of years with CE3K.
Posted by Rich S. at July 22, 2008 1:34 PM
comment #14
BurmaShave says ...
Ben Lyons called I AM LEGEND "One of the greatest motion pictures of all time".
A little confused about the Blonsky thing. Are you complaining about him being so tight with someone he's reviewing, or just being buddies with such an overweight woman. No joke, with you I'd tend to think it's the latter.
Posted by BurmaShave at July 22, 2008 1:40 PM
comment #15
MarkVH says ...
Honestly, I think Jeff's being more satirical and doing his "Lew Black of Oscar bloggers" act with that golf comment - I can't think he actually believes it or cares enough to think that. Otherwise I'd be more offended as I a) am at least as knowledgeable about film as anyone I know and b) LOVE golf and play it as often as I can.
Pretty funny, actually.
Posted by MarkVH at July 22, 2008 1:53 PM
comment #16
MarkVH says ...
Meant "Lewis Black," of course.
Posted by MarkVH at July 22, 2008 1:57 PM
comment #17
gansibele says ...
"You can't serve golf and movies any more than you can serve God and Rome."
Dude, camouflage your bait a little better.
Posted by gansibele at July 22, 2008 1:58 PM
comment #18
Richardson says ...
"Rose McGowan hosts a show on TCM?!? Really???"
She's the co-host of "The Essentials"; she either replaced Carrie Fisher or there was one person in between them.
I watched 'Postman Always Rings Twice' last week, she wasn't bad as a host.
Posted by Richardson at July 22, 2008 2:10 PM
comment #19
bmcintire says ...
According to his bio on the E Online website, Lyons is also a DJ at such celeb hangouts as The Dime and The Roosevelt Hotel.
According to his picture on the E Online website, he's a huge fan of foundation and lip gloss.
No thank you on both counts.
These two further blur the line between nepotism and finding a useful puropse for your foreskin post-circumcision.
Posted by bmcintire at July 22, 2008 2:15 PM
comment #20
corey3rd says ...
Siskel and Ebert worked because they were rivals. They worked at rival papers. They liked bugging each other on the show. They were competitive even when they hyped the show. Even if you didn't care about the movies, you wanted to see them tussle.
I couldn't watch Roeper cause he was Ebert's lapdog. Even when they disagreed, you know he'd be saying, "You know I didn't mean that" during the commercial break.
These two goobers? Who cares? They don't have anything at stake. They aren't real rivals. Neither will care about that pulitzer.
Ben M reminds me too much of that Guy Fiere putz on the Food Network. Maybe he'll start wearing 3-D glasses backwards during his reviews?
This reminds me of the casting of the Dukes of Hazzard movie. Why bother?
Posted by corey3rd at July 22, 2008 2:28 PM
comment #21
JaySmire says ...
Awesome!!! I can't wait to not watch it. I thought the 35 and over crowd were the only ones who did still watch the show. I'm that crowd and now it is time to put the baby to bed--forever.
Posted by JaySmire at July 22, 2008 2:37 PM
comment #22
Arizona Joe says ...
That's an interesting comment about golf and the movies being mutually exclusive. In the main, I would agree with that. Films are an aesthetic endeavor, while golf is a physical, subtly aggressive behavior, albeit genteel.
Golf is not so much about schmoozing as it is about power, dominance and expressing alpha male behavior in a courtly, gentlemanly way. It is about imposing one's will over another with long drives and deft putts, and oft times about collecting money.
That's why a kick-ass golfer can retain his job at a financial or consulting firm, even if he is a drop case when it comes to picking stocks or moving products.
That is also why, in no small way, that women who don't play golf don't move up the ladder. They are perceived as less than competitive and somehow weak. When in reality, these women may be the smartest, most competent, and hardest working people at the firm.
Golf is a wonderful game, a difficult game, and a metaphor for man's use of tools. But it is not a metaphor for life. Like all sports, golf is a gross oversimplification of life.
Posted by Arizona Joe at July 22, 2008 3:28 PM
comment #23
Celebrity Werewolf Hunter says ...
Mankiewicz is at least interesting, older and more seasoned.
Lyons is effectively the Ryan Seacrest of film reviewers, he is exceedingly bland with that offensive mainstream asskissing personality. He seems to like almost everything he's ever written or spoken about. He has less edge than a tennis ball. I will say on the plus side I know several people who have worked with him and at the very least he is purported to be a standup guy, which is more than I can say for a lot of pseudo celebspawn.
Posted by Celebrity Werewolf Hunter at July 22, 2008 3:31 PM
comment #24
Marcello says ...
Maybe I'm crazy, but I may actually give this show a shot. Mankiewicz has a Jon Stewart appeal (I'm Jewish, so I can say that!). The other guy I gather is a complete moron -- but maybe that'll give this an irreverent appeal.
Sneak Previews worked with Siskel because they used to fight about the movies -- that's been gone since Gene died (if not before), due to Ebert's elder statesman status and Roepert's general idiocy. But two movie fans (I hesitate to say critics) who are really willing to mix it up could put some fresh air back into the formula.
Of course, probably it'll be unwatchable.
Posted by Marcello at July 22, 2008 3:39 PM
comment #25
Mgmax says ...
I'd rather have Cartoon Alley back.
Posted by Mgmax at July 22, 2008 6:35 PM
comment #26
corey3rd says ...
the only movie Tiger Woods cares about is Caddyshack.
I'd like to point out to the Bens that I've trademarked their obvious code phrase: Two Douchebags Down!
Posted by corey3rd at July 22, 2008 7:11 PM
comment #27
D.Z. says ...
I can't wait for metrosexual critics who have as much review experience as an AICN plant.
Posted by D.Z. at July 22, 2008 7:27 PM
comment #28
Sarcastig says ...
The thing is, the "sitting in front of a TV watching two guys talk about movies" isn't quite over, but it seems to have morphed into "listening to two guys argue about movies on your iPod". We tend to want everything at our fingertips these days, and this fits into the pattern. My personal favorite is filmspotting, but there are at least a dozen podcasts with exactly that format that are quite entertaining as well.
Although admittedly? I'd probably watch a Wells/Poland TV show. Seriously, how could that NOT be entertaining?
Posted by Sarcastig at July 22, 2008 11:59 PM
comment #29
EDouglas says ...
I personally like Ben's father's show Reel Talk because Jeffrey is paired with Allison Bails, who besides being easy to look at has stronger indie sensibilities and is a lot harder to sway towards blatant mainstream pap... I'm only a little worried when Jeffrey convinces her that The Love Guru has more merit/laughs than Get Smart... I was scratching my head on that one. Ben, while I'm sure he's a nice enough guy, reminds me of all those MTV guys when they were way too young to know what they're talking about or to have the experience to back it up... he's gone far in very little time mainly due to the rep of his Dad and he's just too much of a quotewhore/E News Daily! type to be taken seriously as a critic in my book.
Posted by EDouglas at July 23, 2008 4:02 AM
comment #30
nelson37 says ...
I also like Reel Talk and I agree that it's mainly because of Alison. But it's mostly because she's easy to look at. She loved "Sex and the City" and it doesn't get more blatant mainstream pap than that.
Posted by nelson37 at July 23, 2008 1:17 PM
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