Roger Ebert And Guest Critic Joel Siegel Announce Their Picks For ""Worst Films Of 1999"" on ""Roger Ebert & The Movies""
The special edition of ""Roger Ebert & The Movies"" airing in national syndication the weekend of January 8-9, 2000, will be the last chance of the century for film critic Roger Ebert to share his picks of the worst movies of the year. For the episode ""Worst Films of 1999,"" Ebert will be joined by guest critic Joel Siegel, continuing the 24-year tradition started by Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert on ""Siskel & Ebert."" Ebert notes the ground rules for selecting the films given the dubious distinction of ""Worst."" ""We don't pick on obscure little films, no matter how bad they are, but on big visible films, since they are likely to be seen by more people and therefore cause more suffering,"" he says. With that in mind, Ebert and Siegel will present awards to this year's films in a wide range of specially created categories, such as ""New But Not Improved,"" ""Mopey & Dopey"" and many more. In the category ""New But Not Improved,"" Ebert berates the children's-cartoon-turned-failed-feature ""Inspector Gadget,"" starring Matthew Broderick and Rupert Everett. Ebert comments, ""`Inspector Gadget' was a cartoon that simply looked preposterous as live action."" Siegel votes for the film version of the '60s television series ""My Favorite Martian,"" starring Christopher Lloyd and Jeff Daniels, asserting, ""The entire film is misidentified as a comedy."" ""Lake Placid,"" starring Bridget Fonda and Bill Pullman, and the Will Smith-starrer ""Wild Wild West"" win the award titled ""Parodies That Self-Destructed."" Siegel claims that he chose ""Wild Wild West"" because ""it isn't just a movie gone bad ñ it represents the very worst about Hollywood."" Ebert notes that, like the deadly crocodile at the center of its plot in ""Lake Placid,"" ""every time (the film) gets rolling, it stops dead and changes direction."" Commenting on the hot new film genre of today, teen-themed movies, Ebert and Siegel dub another category of horrible films ""What's The Matter With Kids Today?"" Ebert's candidate for this award is ""Jawbreaker."" Citing ""the depth of its cynicism"" and ""the stupidity of the plot,"" he concludes that ""`Jawbreaker' is a movie made by and for people with many other things on their minds."" Siegel reluctantly nominates the story of teen-age incest, ""Cruel Intentions"" - reluctantly, because, he admits, ""I don't want to talk about this movie. I don't want to even think about this movie."" Siegel expresses what is most disturbing to him about the film: ""It happens to be a movie well made, a good-looking film, and that makes it even worse."" The show culminates with Ebert and Siegel each making a selection for the Worst Movie of 1999. Which films receive this dubious distinction? To find out, tune in to ""Roger Ebert & The Movies: Worst of 1999."" Check local listings or www.ebert-movies.com for station and time.