Movie critics will NOT tell me what I want to watch

I've decided I'm not going to read or watch movie reviews anymore. Twice this weekend I watched movies that had been panned by the so-called experts -- and I loved both of them. One was "Julie and Julia," which I only watched because I loved Julia Child, even though I can't stand Meryl Steep.

I think it was the best thing Meryl's ever done, because it was the first time I wasn't aware of MERYL STREEP being on the screen. It was delightful, fun, and sent me scrambling to the internet for the recipe for her boeuf bourguignon. I may even fix it someday, but for now, it was just fun reading it. Of course, if I happen to leave the recipe lying around on a counter, next the ingredients, and my husband happens to find them ...

The critics didn't like "Valentine's Day" either and I've decided they are all a bunch of dried up old sourpusses who haven't dated since the ice age.

This was a delightful movie.

Great? No.

Fun? Yes.

I laughed and cried and it's a rare movie that can make me do both. True, most of those big name stars get a bare snippet of air time, but who cares? It was fun seeing them. Queen Latifah probably had less time than anyone, other than the director Garry Marshall, who has a 2-second cameo, but she also gets some of the biggest laughs. Taylor Swift's performance got lambasted and I'm still trying to figure out why. Her character was a silly, clueless teenager. Okay, maybe Taylor didn't exactly have to act, but then, neither did John Wayne. It doesn't make the character any less fun.

I don't even like Taylor Swift, and I enjoyed her part in it.

I read the reviews for the movie before Terry and I went out on our own Valentines date. When you only get to the movies about once a year, you have to be careful about which one you choose. I didn't want to spend Valentines grieving over exploited worlds, so Avatar was out. I also didn't want to see anything blown up, shot or even arrested. I wanted -- silly me -- a silly romantic comedy for Valentines Day.

'Cheaper version'

The one criticism of "Valentines Day" that caught my attention as I scanned the reviews was it was called a "cheaper version of 'Love, Actually.'"

Cheaper? I doubt it. "Love Actually," one of my favorite movies of all time, may have had Hugh Grant, Colin Firth, Bill Nye, Kiera Knightly and Emma Thompson, but I doubt those amazingly talented worthies collected the checks that Julia Roberts, Queen Latifah, George Lopez, Jessica Alba, Jessica Biel, Jennifer Garner, Anne Hathaway and Ashton Kutcher did ...

But a version of it? Yes, it is. An American version condensed into one day, with story lines weaving in and out of each other. I pride myself on figuring out what's going to happen (which is why my kids won't watch mysteries, sitcoms or Wheel of Fortune with me anymore) but even I got surprised. It was nice.

The thing the critics united on was that it was romantic fluff.

And? Your point is?

If Hollywood had tried to sell me this story as something deep and meaningful, a kind of "Sophie's Choice" meets "The English Patient," and I saw this bit of fluff instead, I would have been upset. (Assuming that I would have even gone, since two of my least favorite movies are "Sophie's Choice" and "The English Patient.") But the fact is, the movie is exactly what it claims to be -- a bit of fun, romantic fluff and there's nothing wrong with that. Some of us like fluff!

Some of us like Taylor Swift, some of us like romance, and some of us even like movies we are told we won't like. I would like to point out that the reviews I read were all written by men, which may have had something to do with it, but my husband loved the movie as much as I did.

Out of touch

I think movie critics often lose touch with mainstream America as often as the movie makers do. My rule of thumb is that once a director starts making movies about making movies (Woody Allen, Spike Lee, and Robert Altman to name a few) then they are in danger of losing their perspective on real life with real people, and that's usually the perspective that made them such unique filmmakers. Okay, Altman is the exception to the rule.

Sometimes, those critics don't have the frame of reference to appreciate the humor of the movie. They've never worked in a cube farm, so the nuances of "Office Space" are lost on them. For the rest of us, the movie is hysterical. Mmmm, yeah, about Saturday ....

I especially love it when movie critics who have never picked up a comic book in their lives try to tell the fans why they shouldn't like the movie about their favorite superhero. So no, I'm not real surprised that the movie critics don't "get" a romantic comedy. They'd have to have 1) romance, and 2) a sense of humor. I'm boycotting the critics from now and relying on friends and Facebookers whose taste I trust -- and understand.

Of course, it all comes down to my favorite song and dance, which is "Different Strokes for Different Folks." Thank heavens for versatility, which lets the critics eat their "Wild Strawberries," and let's me indulge in "Chocolat."