Somewhere along the line, Rob Schneider deluded himself into thinking he was a movie star, when in reality what he really is, is a half decent comedic supporting role actor.
Along this path to madness, Rob Schneider also deluded himself into thinking that he carries enough weight in Hollywood to personally attack a film critic and not look like a moron at the same time. He’s wrong.
Confused? Well, here’s the story as told by the great folks at IMDB:
American comic Rob Schneider has furiously labeled movie critic Patrick Goldstein “unfunny” and “pompous” for his attack on his contribution to cinema. The former Saturday Night Live star has taken out a full-page advertisement in the Hollywood Reporter attacking Goldstein’s article on January 26, in which he blasted movie studios for making lackluster sequels like Deuce Bigalow: European Gigolo. His verbal assault mirrors Owen Wilson’s recent defense of Starsky & Hutch co-star Ben Stiller, who was criticized for his “tiresome” screen presence by New Yorker magazine’s David Denby. Schneider writes of Goldstein, “Most of the world (has) no idea of your existence. Maybe you didn’t win a Pulitzer Prize because they haven’t invented a category for ‘Best Third-Rate, Unfunny Pompous Reporter’. I can honestly say that if I sat with your colleagues at a luncheon, afterwards they’d say, ‘You know, that Rob Schneider is a pretty intelligent guy’ … whereas, if you sat with my colleagues, after lunch, you would just be beaten beyond recognition.”
I’m not a film critic, I’m also not a huge fan of film critics… but… they have a job to do. It’s their job to watch film and offer their commentary. I read Mr. Goldsteins article, and there was nothing wrong or personal about it. He thinks there is a problem with a lot of todays films, and he pointed out a couple of Schneider’s films while doing it. There is nothing wrong with that.
For Schneider to then take out an ad in a trade paper and make personal attacks on a critic is just plain asinine. It’s the oldest 2nd grader trick in the book. If you can’t present a good argument in an intelligent way to defend your point of view… then start calling the other person names. That’s all Schneider has done here… acted like a 5 year old.
Once again, let me say that I think Scheider is a pretty solid comedic supporting character. I actually like him. But all of his lead roles (in my opinion) have sucked ass, and this little episode has just convinced me he’s totally out to lunch to boot.
So here’s my unsolicited advice to Rob Schneider: Shut your mouth, do your job, let critics do their jobs, and then let the public decide what they think. Because when you shoot off your mouth like this, all you’re doing is turning some people (like me) off of you.