Stephen King “hates” Denzel Washington’s famous movie

Stephen King may be known for his horror stories involving monsters and murder, but… It often deals with more grown-up and mature themes From alcoholism and domestic violence. Of the former, King can speak from experience, having struggled with drug addiction throughout the 1980s. Regarding the former, fortunately he has not experienced it firsthand but is drawn to stories of children who have been victims of their alleged caregivers. This was certainly true of his summer epic “It,” which depicted the children’s domestic disturbances as a parallel to the supernatural monster stalking them.

As such, King is sensitive to stories that mishandle themes of abuse. There’s a certain kind of Hollywood melodrama that explores the psychological trauma suffered by victims of abuse, but wraps up their stories with a neat little bow, declaring that the abuse can simply be “overcome” with a few trips to a psychiatrist or some sort. Of banal reconciliation

This is certainly the reason behind the king’s hatred Denzel Washington’s directorial debut was the 2002 film Antwone Fisher. This film, based on the autobiography of Antoine Fisher, was a survival story of a young man raised by an abusive foster family, who was sexually molested by his adult niece in his foster family. He spent a few years living on the street, working his way up as a criminal. Antoine feels guilty after witnessing the murder of a friend in a botched robbery. He grew up angry and could only find solace in the US Navy. There he was treated by Navy physician Dr. Davenport (Washington) who gently helped him through his anger and shock.

“Antwone Fisher” has been very well reviewed, with an approval rating of 78% on Rotten Tomatoes (based on 148 reviews). It was also a modest success, grossing $23 million from a $12 million budget.

It was also a film that Stephen King called “emotional tripe.” An article he wrote in 2007 for EW.

The 2007 article in question was the first King wrote for EW, and he more or less crafted a wide-ranging editorial about the current state of entertainment. He declared that he was a fan of Jonathan Mostow’s film “Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines.” Slightly less impressed with Danny Boyle’s “28 Days Later.” However, it is worth noting that he hated the movie “Antwone Fisher” as well as the famous death penalty drama “The Life of David Gale.” About these films, King wrote the following:

“I hated Antoine Fisher, as in ‘The Life of David Gale.’ Don’t tell me the former is better than the latter, and don’t throw a bunch of sentimental bullshit at me and call it social commentary. It’s particularly annoying in that regard. $9 Hallmark card It arrives at “Roses are red, violets are blue, life is hard, but you’ll get through it. I knew that already, thanks, now go away.”

Despite generally positive reviews for “Antwone Fisher,” at least some critics were on King’s side. Review by Neve Pearce for the BBC He was, in fact, harsher than King, saying: “There is not a single moment that is shocking, surprising, or even slightly perverse, in this predictable, cliché-filled, bland, self-consciously entitled time.” He said that the story was better suited to a TV movie of the week, and that the character of Fisher, as played by Derek Luke, was terribly one-dimensional. In fact, most of the negative reviews of “Antwone Fisher” had similar complaints, calling the drama cheesy or disingenuous, and recognizing Fisher as a bland hero.

But King found a lot of companionship in his hatred of Alan Parker’s book The Life of David Gale. This film only has a 19% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes and inspired Roger Ebert to write Zero star review. Few will jump to this film’s defense.