We hold these truths to be self-evident. Not all movies are created equal,and they
are not endowed by their creators with the inalienable right to barage our senses and sensibilities
with utter trash (what Spanish speaking people call "pura mierda").
Nevertheless, that's exactly what the makers of the current very over-rated rage,
INDEPENDENCE DAY, have done. New York City Mayor Koch, in his review of this sad excuse for a
sci-fi film, noted that you will be more sorry that you wasted your time than that you
wasted your hard earned $8 plus. But this film has you more than merely wasting your time.
It has you go into paraxisms of embarrassment, if you have any sensitivity whatsoever.
Not only has the story been better told before. Not only have the special effects been seen
before, and better done. Most other sci-fi films that this reviewer has seen, including those
utter now campy sci-horror films ofthe 1950s, have at least a hint of a good script. I am
willing to bet that even some of Ed Wood's works have better dialogue than that of
INDEPENDENCE DAY.
To me, the most laughable AND the most embarrassing aspect of the film are the portrayals
of Harvey Firestein of an overly swishy homosexual, and of Judd Hirsch as a horribly
stereotyped New York Jewish father. Both of these roles are completely superfluous to the
film's story.
One has to wonder, not only why they were written into the script but more, why these two
actors were willing to sully their reputations and craft. It's also amazing to me that an actor
of such fine quality as Jeff Goldblum would be willing to involve himself in this
utter mess. Perhaps if I were an actor in Hollywood, and my agent told me that all I had to do
was to be a parody of what my background is, and that I would make an incredible amount
of money in a flim guaranteed to gross hundreds of millions before it is through, then yeah,
maybe I too would be a whore and do it for the money.
The story, as is well known, concerns itself with the invasion of earth by a race of aliens
bent on killing off mankind and taking over our planet,and the subsequent uprising of the human
race to fight off the attack on July 4th, American Independence Day. I will not ruin
the story for those who insist on seeing this claptrap, even though they may have heard how bad it
is, by telling the details of the denoument. I will merely say that the defeat of the invaders is
in the hands of an Afro-American pilot, a New York Jewish intellectual, a drunken has-been, and a
sickenly clean cut JFK clone of a president. What a winning combination!
There is even, believe it or not, a bit of RELIGION thrown in, when Judd Hirsch, who plays
Jeff Goldblum's over-talkative, pushy Jewish father, gives his son a pair of old TEFILLIN, and tells
him to pray. Oy Vey! I'll bet that even the ALMIGHTY Himself was embarrassed!
But hey, go see it, if you want to be rooked. After all, its summer, and the days are long, and you have to fill up your leisure time somehow, right? OK. Go for it. Make your day!
I know not what course others may take. But as for me, give me liberty or give me the death of
INDEPENDENCE DAY.
New York
7-23-96
