‘The Fabelmans’

Has the movie-going public gone crazy? It’s a question I’ve been asking myself, and a question that – in some way or another – has been making the rounds in public discourse for years. If you aren’t familiar with the Scorsese vs. Marvel fiasco that continues to plague the poor man many years later, I envy you. Maybe I’m online too much. Maybe there’s a stack of Criterion Blu-Rays I can put my head under. Or a movie theater that blocks all Wi-Fi signals for a ten-block radius.

What am I rambling on about? Good question.

Okay, so admittedly, The Fabelmans wouldn’t normally be a movie I’d consider writing about. It’s not that I dislike Steven Spielberg – I really love some of his movies. But the man has made his cinematic mark, and there are many smaller movies, repertory fare, and foreign flicks that far too often fall by the wayside and deserve some attention.

So what’s the big idea? Well, even considering the power of Big Steve, his latest movie flopped. The critics dug it, evidenced by the positive reviews and last night’s Golden Globes wins. The Fabelmans won Best Motion Picture in the Drama category, and Spielberg also snagged Best Director. But the audience just hasn’t shown up. Could these wins change that? If the dwindling viewership of award shows over the years is any indication, I wouldn’t count on it.

The lack of audience interest up until now begs the sad question, has Spielberg’s star waned in the public eye? Do newer and younger generations simply not have the connection to Spielberg’s movies that previous generations had? Has the movie industry changed so much that the name that was once synonymous with “box office hit” doesn’t have the pull it once had? That seems to be the recent trend, if we consider that his remake of West Side Story didn’t do so hot, either.

I’m not sure I’m ready to accept that the man who invented the blockbuster as we know it is now seen as an “artsy” director that can’t make his money back at the box office. Sure, The Fabelmans might be his most personal, most intimate, and smallest (comparatively) movie yet. But you’d think we’d still give him a chance. Hasn’t he earned it by now?

Is it because of the way our culture now views cinema? Director James Gray (who also had his recent Armageddon Time, another semi-autobiographical coming-of-age film, underperform at the box office) makes the argument in an interview that we are losing the culture of going to the movies. He argues, “When you make movies that only make a ton of money, and they’re only one kind of movie, you begin to get a large segment of the population out of the habit of going to the movies. And then you begin to limit the importance of movies culturally.” Studios have less incentive to take risks on smaller, more personal films. The broad cultural interest of going to the movies, of having many options to choose from, is lost. It’s not Marvel vs. Everything Else. It’s just about diversity. And continuing the experience and cultural importance of going to the cinema.

Look, Spielberg probably doesn’t need the money. But it just feels like a trend in an unfortunate direction. But then again, a movie like Everything Everywhere All at Once was a commercial success that seemed to come out of nowhere. And last night, it took home two big wins (with Ke Huy Quan, winner for Best Actor in a Supporting Role, thanking Spielberg for giving him is first role in Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom.) But can a few box office anomalies incentivize the studios and sustain the audience’s interest in seeing independent, non-blockbuster fare in theaters? One can only hope!

Wait, wasn’t there something I was supposed to do? Oh yeah, review The Fabelmans! Well, I enjoyed it. An engaging coming-of-age story about a young man falling in love with movies and moviemaking with some solid performances all round. Sometimes a bit too sentimental? Hey, would it be a Spielberg movie if it wasn’t?! Anyway, if this box office situation wasn’t surreal enough, just wait for the David Lynch cameo. The movie is worth it just for that!

The Fabelmans is playing at Metropolitan Paseo Nuevo 4 Cinemas and is also available on demand.