Not that PE was the best of the year. It wasn't. But it certainly was better than others in some categories. How about costumes, actor, cinematography, music?
So I mentioned this at dinner with my brother-in-law and sister-in-law Saturday night at Maggiano's Little Italy in Schaumburg, Illinois.
My sister-in-law curtly says "Don, it was a flop," and continues with dinner. Frankly, I was a little taken aback but reminded her that it made more than $200 million worldwide since its release last summer, hardly a flop.
I'd be less than honest if the comment didn't bother me. However, we were being treated to dinner so I kept quiet.
The IMDB.com message board has ripped "Public Enemies" to shreds. Almost like a hobby for some folks. Yet the IMDb.com rating is 7.2 on a scale of 1-10 with over 60,000 votes. Fairly good, I'd say.
It's surprising the response this film has received. You either love it, or hate it. No in-between. Honestly, I was luke-warm the first time I saw it at the Chicago premiere. The second time was much, much better.
It wasn't a smashing hit, I think in part because it wasn't your typical film and at points lacked continuity. While its run time was 2:20+, long for a feature film, given another 15 minutes I think Michael Mann would have produced and directed a classic.
Probably people would have complained it was too long.
But as a retired journalist, a good read is a good read no matter its length. I doubt it's any different in the film industry.
Still, "Public Enemies" has more than doubled the investment it took to make it. I'll take that ROI (return on investment) any time, especially in this tough economy.
The film which took home the Oscar for Best Film -- The Hurt Locker -- has made a tad over $18 million worldwide as of March 5.* "Public Enemies" earnings is over $210 million. Both were released about the same time.
So to my sister-in-law -- her initials are SS -- take that!
And I would encourage anyone who wants to chime in on this to feel free. I promise to forward any comments -- pro or con -- to SS.
And I still think Johnny Depp should have been nominated for Best Actor.
*www.the-numbers.com/movies/2009/HURTL.php
