In this task, you must classify if a given review is positive/negative, indicating your answer as P or N.

a common complaint amongst film critics is " why are n't there more literate scripts available ?
" quiz show gives signs of hope that the art of writing is n't dead in hollywood and that we need not only look to independent films for thoughtful content .
paul attanasio 's script takes what could have been a tepid thriller ( the quiz show scandals of the late 50s ) and delivers a telling parable about the emptiness of the post war american dream and the golden bubble that surrounds and protects tv networks and their sponsors .
the film is riddled with telling symbols
( e . g .
a ' 58 chrysler , a radio announcement of sputnik ) but is never heavy handed . deft direction by robert redford and keen performances by ralph fiennes , john turturro and rob morrow
dovetail perfectly with the carefully honed script .
redford departs from the usually overlight , " cable tv quality " sets and camera work so common in recent 20th century period pieces .
quiz show
perfectly captures the colors and textures of the eisenhower years .
although i was only 4 years old when the " twenty one " scandal broke , enough of the 50s icons survived throughout my childhood for me to recognize the authenticity of redford 's almost tangible palette .
from plastic covered furniture to carefully coifed contestants , the images ring true from that era of rampant consumerism , of a generation that had gone through 15 years of depression and world war without " disposable income , " before the manifestation of its american dream .
the film deftly weaves several themes together , from assimilation and exclusion of jews from " the good life , " to the lengths that a scion of a literary family will go to to match his father 's fame .
though the 50s audience that is " rocked " by this scandal may initially seem naive to us , they should appear all too familiar , with our current national passion for the rise and fall of icons like michael jackson or tonya harding .
charles van doren and herbie stemple were the overnight mega celebrities of their day .
the tv audience is almost a fourth main character , always at the center of the decisions being made on their behalf .
at the film 's end , the credits roll past slow motion footage of that same 50s tv audience , mindlessly laughing at some piece of fluff .
like the distorted mirror that captured a blurred swastika at the end of cabaret , this " mirror " may reflect an image we 're not all that comfortable with .
P

synopsis : back - up quarterback moxxon becomes starting quarterback midway through his senior year of high school , even though he 'd rather read " slaughterhouse five " than the playbook .
evil football coach kilmer throws away moxxon 's book , though , while the evil team physician injects painkillers into the players .
in the meantime , moxxon 's kid brother forms a cult , and a bubblegum - blond cheerleader smears whip cream on herself to seduce the new star quarterback .
comments :
since i usually review horror and science fiction films , i feel a little out of my league discussing this teen football movie .
( pun intended .
thank you ! )
varsity blues was produced by mtv , and it really shows .
several extended scenes allow for a continual soundtrack of mediocre pop songs meant to appeal to the adolescent male audience this crap was intended for .
the teenagers all have reasons for their melodramatic angst .
the adults all have problems , of course , and ,
as one - dimensional characters , they are all fanatically obssessed with how their local high school football team performs .
yes , this movie represents high school life in mtv - land .
this is a land where your health teacher is also a part - time stripper , your ice cream store attendant girlfriend wears an egyptian ankh around her neck , your kid brother forms a " cute " cult , your football coach is an uncaring , obssessive madman , and your friends ' lives consist of nothing but getting laid and driving around in cop cars naked .
all you , as the main character , want to do , however , is read " slaughterhouse five " and attend brown university in the fall .
well , at least this is a little more realistic than mtv 's " the real world .
" varsity blues stars james van der beek , this week 's teen tv star making the leap to the big screen .
he plays the hick moxxon adequately , though some of his emotional dialogue will make people chuckle .
( " you dawn't own mah life !
" who would want to ? )
jon voight ,
the stock evil guy in countless other movies , is , surprise , the stock evil guy here .
but is he really evil , or is he a product of society ? after all , everybody , young and old , in this movie has no life whatsoever and do nothing but obssess over high school football .
maybe the pressures of the 90 screaming fans at the football field drove evil coach kilmer evil .
the film 's screenplay never answers this burning question .
at times , iliff 's story does show glimmers of touching or humorous scenes , but , before the audience gets their hopes up that there might be something redeeming in this movie ,
they get trashed with another lengthy party sequence or overwrought football game .
the movie 's pacing is slow , and the plot turns are mindnumbingly obvious from start to finish .
i suppose i 'm being a little hard on varsity blues .
maybe i 'm just a little miffed that i had to pay 3 bucks to see it , even though it was dollar night at the cinema .
something about a request from the studio made the theater charge more money .
i found the film oftentimes ludicrous and boring .
three guys in front of us smuggled beer into the the theater .
i wished i had thought of that .
alcohol , lots of it , may have helped the viewing experience .
N

all right , all right , we get the point : despite all similarities to the best - selling story , speechless is *
not * based on the romance between 1992 presidential campaign rivals james carville and mary matalin .
in fact , the script was in development well before 1992 .
still , the comparisons are inevitable , until one realizes a critical difference .
no , it 's not that the speechless twosome are speech writers , not campaign managers
; it 's that carville and matalin 's story is actually interesting .
speechless is a limp , poorly structured would - be romantic comedy .
speechless is set during a new mexico senatorial campaign , where kevin vallick ( michael keaton ) and julia mann ( geena davis ) meet and get romantic one night when neither one can sleep .
what neither one realizes is that they are on opposite sides of the campaign : kevin is a sit - com writer brought in to punch up the republican candidate 's speeches , while julia is the chief speech writer for the democratic candidate .
at first each one believes that the other has an ulterior motive for the relationship , but eventually they let down their guard and become closer .
but there are plent of obstacles in the way , including julia 's stud - reporter fiance ( christopher reeve ) and a series of stunts which continue to prove that all 's fair in love and politics .
the standard formula for a movie like speechless would have the two principles starting out as antagonists and realizing only at the end that they 're crazy about each other .
screenwriter robert king completely subverts expectations by throwing kevin and julia into each other 's arms in the first fifteen minutes , then developing the antagonism .
it 's a noble attempt to shake things up , but unfortunately it just does n't work .
part of the fun of watching sparring in a romantic comedy comes from recognizing the chemistry even before the characters do , but in speechless they already know they 're attracted to each other ,
and we 're left with waiting for the campaign to end so
they 'll admit that they love each other already .
there is such a herky - jerky feel to the constant bickering and making up that even king 's sharp dialogue ca n't prevent speechless from becoming repetitive after about half an hour .
inconsistency is also the defining characteristic of the performances of geena davis and michael keaton , and with those performances most of their scenes together .
the problems begin with their initial courtship , which does virtually nothing to establish julia 's character and
merely establishes that kevin is a wise - ass .
davis is radiantly beautiful , and keaton is generally entertaining , but these characters are so plastic that nothing that happens to them seems to matter one bit .
in a couple of scenes , like a quiet moment sitting at a fountain , they actually achieve some measure of connection .
for the most part , however , they 're just actors spouting lines .
you keep waiting for a little spark , and it never happens .
perhaps most disappointing is that king and director ron underwood completely waste their premise by removing all the punch from speechless 's politics .
the setting seems perfect for a high- energy battle of the sexes with partisanship thrown into the mix , but that 's never the tone that underwood is going for .
he wants a warm , fuzzy romance compatible with marc shaiman 's flute - and - wind musical score , and the campaign which should have defined the conflict between kevin and julia fades into the background .
it might as well have been a story about rival grocers , and every single character is about as uninspired as he or she could possibly be .
i was about the only reviewer in the civilized world who seemed to enjoy robert king 's previous screenplay , the dana carvey flop clean slate , so i had some hopes for speechless .
but while there is wit in the words , this is a script which was probably much better on paper .
on screen , it 's still paper thin .
N