Stop it, just stop it, or I'll scream!

Rating: 6/10 (14 June 1999)

Has the world gone utterly mad? "Titanic" is the best/greatest/most wonderfullest movie of all time? Nooooooooooo!
Come on, people, let's get a few things straight.
First the good news: (1) "Titanic" had lovely (and seemingly accurate) costuming, (2) beautiful sets, (3) first-rate special effects (okay, let's call the F/X spectacular), and (4) a gorgeous musical score. Overall, I was so touched at the end of the movie that my eyes were filled with tears (for some strange reason my wife finds my sentimentality amusing).
Now the bad news: (1) the scripting was awful (some of the dialogue that came out of the characters' mouths made me winch with pain), (2) the characterizations were weak and predictable (there was no doubt as to who were the good guys and who were the bad guys. All the good guys were totally good, all the bad guys were totally bad. If you ever want to see a person who has both good AND evil qualities all you need to do is look in the mirror: it's called human nature), (3) some scenes can only be described as vulgar Disneyesque (who can forget that romantic "I'll jump your bones you in the back of the car number?" Oh, and let's not forget the hand running down the window, now that was touching), (4) blame the script all you want, but the acting was weak, and finally, (5) one of the worst scenes in a motion picture: the infamous "I'll teach you how to spit" scene. That was in such bad taste. With the possible exception of really uncouth adolescents, who could watch that scene and not be repelled?
Okay, now that I've gotten that off my chest I feel so much better.
To conclude, no, "Titanic" was NOT the best movie of all time, nor was it the worst. It's a must-see movie, no doubt about it. It is a great movie if you like black-and-white characters with a color-by-numbers story line. Unfortunately if you demand complex characters, solid acting, and credible plots you will be sorely disappointed.