RIP Roger Ebert

America's most famous film critic, Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times, passed away today of cancer. He's battled the disease and related complications for over a decade. Just two days ago, he blogged about taking "a leave of presence," promising he'd be back. In retrospect it's a heartbreaking farewell.

I'm too young to have watched much of Siskel & Ebert's TV series, but Ebert was a major inspiration. Buying his bad review compilation I Hated, Hated, Hated This Movie around 2000 and reading it until the cover rotted off and the pages warped is a cherished childhood memory. How many vacations did I undertake with my family armed with his book? I remember one trip to Hershey Park, when I woke up at 5:00 a.m. and sat in the hotel bathroom reading reviews of Armageddon and I Spit On Your Grave. Along with Mike Sauter's The Worst Movies of All Time it was a formative work, which convinced me to take movies (and writing about movies) seriously.

Ebert's main virtue, of course, is accessibility. He's rarely the intellectual critic like Andrew Sarris or Jacques Rivette, wrapping his analysis in academic theory. He writes for the mass reader and lay movie buff, laying out his like or dislike in straightforward fashion, providing direct analysis. That certainly doesn't preclude intelligence or thoughtful reflection; Ebert's best reviews are as smart and insightful as any Cahiers du Cinema think piece. Both methods have their place, of course, but I'd rather read Ebert than Rivette any day. There's nothing disdainful or plebeian in extending cinematic appreciation to the layman. 

Ebert is loved and hated for his idiosyncratic writing style, combining anecdote, personal reflection, humor and often informal structure. His often dislikes movies for strange reasons. Notably, he gives Die Hard a two star reviews solely for Paul Gleason's bumbling FBI agent. His vitriolic reaction to David Lynch's Blue Velvet earned him much opprobrium from the hoi polloi. But I allow Ebert his eccentricities. You're reading a guy who's seen Leprechaun in the Hood five times, after all.

The main takeaway from Roger Ebert is that he loved movies, loved writing about movies and conveying this love to an audience. Anyone reading his Great Movies essays, his memoirs or any random review can't deny this man had his dream job. That's really all anyone can ask for. From the bottom of my heart, Roger, thank you for everything. Rest in peace with Gene.