Film Comment You Have to be Kidding

I received the Jan/Feb 2011 issue of Film Comment in the mail this week and discovered that they have decided to put a picture of Reese Witherspoon from James L. Brooks' film How Do You Know on the cover. No, this is not a joke, but Film Comment has now decided that they are willing to completely compromise their integrity as long as they sell a few more issue. They actually put Reese Witherspoon on the cover; this, I have to say, is unforgivable. I can make an exception for Inception because at least there is something to talk about and Christopher Nolan has made interesting films the past, but James L. Brooks? Reese Witherspoon? How Do You Know? A completely uninspired romantic comedy with almost no artistic or cinematic merit! This is almost reason enough to cancel my subscription and include a letter of utter shock and disappointment. Do they really think the audience they appeal to gives a shit whether or not Reese Witherspoon is on the cover? How many more issues are they going to sell with this? Not many, I suspect because as soon as someone picks up this issue and looks inside, they will most likel lose interest anyway. Film Comment is supposedly the premier film magazine in the United States, which purports to offer insightful and in depth commentary on both contemporary and classic cinema and yet still, they feel the need to appeal to the masses. Why? I really cannot fathom this choice. Either they think this will sell a lot more issues or, which may be even worse I'm not sure, they legitimately believe How Do You Know is an important piece of cinema worthy of not only the cover of an issue, but also a full spread and interview with the director. Either way, this is a fucking disgrace!