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My Favorite Roger: Nick Allen

Roger's review of "Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed."

Why did I pick this review?

The first “Scooby-Doo” inspired Roger to audaciously declare “I am not the person to review this movie” (as quoted from “Your Movie Sucks” collection) and end with the even ballsier, impossible-to-say-in-2015 line, “the Internet was invented so that you can find someone else’s review of ‘Scooby Doo.’ Start surfing.” It’s the film’s sequel, “Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed” that brings a fascinating atonement to his previous, delicious vitriol, while honoring his non-BS standard. He openly concedes to a bad day the first time around, which could turn a writer into a comment section's fresh meat, but not for someone of Ebert's stalwart presence. And then while he recognizes more of this sequel’s audience-pleasing spectacle, (“a silly machine to whirl goofy antics before the eyes of easily distracted audiences”), he readily accepts that he is not the right person for this report. A moment of weakness to nearly any other writer became a display of Ebert's strengths, whose honest voice as a movie reporter was richer than just determining how good, or bad, a film was. 

Nick Allen

Nick Allen is the former Senior Editor at RogerEbert.com and a member of the Chicago Film Critics Association.

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