Is it possible to love and hate a movie at the same time??

Rating: Null/10 (19 January 2003)

Warning! Spoilers, right ahead.
In "Titanic," we have a movie that is spectacular, breath-taking, beautiful, stupid and offensive, all at the same time! So, you may ask, how is this possible? Truth be known, I enjoyed this movie immensely when I saw it in the theaters. The production is so awe-inspiring that, upon first viewing, one sets aside the stupidity and unlikelihood of the central love story.

One must admire the workmanship of this film. The set Titanic seemed so real. The costumes were gorgeous. The musical score was sympathetic and lovely. Special attention was given to detail- right down to the hymn sung by the congregation aboard during morning worship. Everything about the movie seemed so authentic- except for the love between the stars.

The opening scenes, which take place in present day time, set up the story beautifully. Gloria Stuart puts her heart and soul into a very convincing 102-year-old Rose. She tells the story of her relationship with Jack Dawson, who she met aboard the Titanic. During this opening sequence, and her interspersed narration throughout the film, she convinces us of a deep, abiding love between her and Jack. But, unfortunately, we are not so convinced during the 1912 shots.
Now, on to what was terribly wrong with this movie. First of all, the plot is brimming with offensive stereotypes about social classes. According to this movie, if you are rich, you are automatically callous, snotty, and, well, pretty much evil. Unless you're new money, then you're safe. But, if you're poor, you are kind-hearted, talented, and oh-so-beautiful on the inside. And, of course, you know how to party. I'm not even rich, and I found this very offensive. What a judgemental statement.

And, at last, we arrive at the love story. Beautiful rich girl Rose is unhappy because she realizes being rich means she'll become like her evil, gossipy mother. Besides, she's engaged to marry another rich person who, of course, is also evil. So, she almost throws herself off the bow of the ship when she is saved by kind hearted poor boy Jack. Miraculously, in a whole 24 hours, the two "fall in love," causing Rose to run away from her rich evil mother and fiance, have sex, and then get parted forever when Jack freezes to death because the evil rich people took all the life boats. Gag.
Because Leo DiCaprio was cast as Jack, we can automatically assume this was at least partially aimed at an adolescent audience. So, what message did the plot send to teenagers? If you're engaged to someone, it's totally okay to cheat on your fiance with someone you've known a whole 24 hours. Even better, it's just fine and dandy to SLEEP WITH someone you just met!

I am having difficulty rating this movie because I loved and hated it at the same time.