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The critic John Simon, who reviewed literature, theater and film for six decades, has died at the age of 94. You're not supposed to speak ill of the dead, but I'm going to make an exception for Simon because he spoke ill of one of my heroes, Roger Ebert, when he died. (1/10)
Simon was a pretentious boob, a man who thought that if he hated everything the average moviegoer loved, he could prove himself superior to the masses. (2/10)
When Ebert died in 2013, Simon mocked Ebert's life's work as "the critic as a common man, no different from the masses of moviegoers except for writing out his opinions and opining on television." http://uncensoredsimon.blogspot.com/2013/04/roger-ebert-film-criticism.html (3/10)
What Simon couldn't grasp is that Ebert could simultaneously relate to the masses of moviegoers and champion cinema as art. Ebert could, on the same day, favorably review the fart jokes in "Blazing Saddles" and champion a Fellini film. (4/10)
Ebert and Simon both raved about "The Sorrow and the Pity," but Ebert could also see the brilliance in "Raiders of the Lost Ark," a film Simon called "garbage." (5/10)
Simon's criticism was perhaps best known for the way he insulted actors and actresses for their physical appearance. He liked to think he had a sharp pen; what he really had was a cruel nature. (6/10)
At the same time, Simon liked to scoff at TV talking heads who were too good-looking. I believe Simon's jealousy of Ebert and Gene Siskel stemmed from his inability to apply his standard put-down of TV film critics to them. (7/10)
Simon liked to say TV talking heads only got where they were based on their looks. Well, whatever else you can say about Siskel & Ebert, they didn't get on TV because of their looks. (8/10)
Although Simon remained employed as a critic for many decades, few seemed to like him. This tweet popped up in my timeline today, and it matches the kinds of stories that are frequently told about Simon (9/10) https://twitter.com/OrrChris/status/1199000300599881730
Today, Simon is best known for a 1983 Nightline appearance in which he debated Siskel & Ebert about Star Wars. Watch that debate, and see the difference between film critics who loved film, and a film critic who loved the sound of his own voice (10/10)
