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Think of the heavyset high school girl sitting in the audience, the girl who gets mocked by her classmates and left out of social activities. Think of the teenager who has become a reclusive individual because he doesn't feel anybody will ever love him. Shrek says, "Don't let your narrow-minded peers get you down. They only judge people on the outside. You can be loved just the way you are, if seen through eyes of love." But the ending Metaxas desires would affirm that the ogress was right to despise the way she was made, and that taking measures to alter her physical appearance was the right way to go. I found Shrek's conclusion to be inspiring … finally a movie that does not portray that heroes' getting the equivalent of plastic surgery in order to be beautiful. If the movie persuades even one young person not to hurt themselves in a desperate quest to look like a teenager on a WB prime time series, then I'm grateful for it.

What do you think? Send me your own thoughts on the Shrek's debatable methods and conclusion. Does Shrek have a genuinely happy ending, or is it merely encouraging kids to make excuses for the way they behave? Is it legitimate storytelling, or is it merely a cynical lashing-out at the world's most powerful packager of fairy tales? The polls are still open, and by box office indications and plans for a sequel, it's clear Shrek is going to be around for a while.

"Swordfish blows things up really well," reports Movieguide's critic, who then goes on to say that the movie "takes the sensational route in its portrayal of action, sex and nudity." "Gabriel is an amoral character," agrees Preview, "willing to lie, cheat, steal, and kill whomever to accomplish his goal. For him, the end justifies the means." Thus they caution viewers about "shootings, wrecks and explosions. Along with the mayhem, the film is filled with obscenities and numerous strong profanities."

Travolta, who has starred in a few too many bad movies than is good for his career, starts things off saying, "You know what the problem with Hollywood is? It makes [insert synonym for excrement here]." Many critics took advantage of the movie's opening line in their critiques. The Vancouver Courier's Peter T. Chattaway (who also writes for B.C. Christian News) asks, "Were truer words ever spoken than the opening lines in Swordfish?" He elaborates: "Swordfish is not quite as daring as it thinks it is. There are so many holes in this story, a fair chunk of it must have been left on the editing room floor, and the bits that are left don't make much sense on their own terms." Focus on the Family agrees: "Gabriel's right in suggesting that Hollywood has problems, and he's right in saying that there's a definite lack of realism in Tinseltown. Exhibit A: Swordfish. Supposedly intelligent characters compelled to commit illogical, testosterone-laden crimes? Big bangs, sprays of bullets (that only hit certain 'expendable' characters) and loose women ready to satisfy every desire? Obviously realism is the last thing on the filmmakers' minds."

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June (Web-only) 2001, Vol. 45