RIP Roger Ebert

Growing up in a small town, I had developed a lot of hobbies to keep myself entertained.  What became a big passion for me around the age of 10 or so were movies.  In the 1980s, there weren't blogs and entertainment outlets like there are now.  When Premiere magazine came out in 1986 or so, it was a huge deal for American film lovers (at least, I thought so), as well as Entertainment Weekly a few years later.  On TV, there was Entertainment Tonight, which I watched often, but they dealt mostly with celebrity culture and TV.  Siskel & Ebert At the Movies, however, was one half hour a week (for most of the year, that often repeated if you missed its original air-date) for those who loved and were serious about movies and talking about them as well.  The physical teaming was like an updated Laurel & Hardy and they often joked about one being the skinny Jew and the other being the overweight Catholic (Ebert quit drinking in 1979 and joined Alcoholics Anonymous).  While they would often get into disagreements (which were the highlights of the series), sometimes volatile, they remained good friends and never allowed their difference in opinions to stand in the way of their ultimate friendship.  The two discussed that week's opening movies (back when three or four was a lot for one weekend), and, later in the series, they would review films that were about to be released on home video and add special segments.  They would always have their top ten favorites around the end of the year and even had an Oscar special where they would have their separate podiums on a makeshift stage and announce their own winners.  Generally, episodes would usually end with a preview of next week's films, which was always the cause for mild excitement.  (What will they say next week?)  The two trademarked the infamous thumbs up/down symbol which has been ingrained in our culture.

They were both astute at their game, and I can't rightly remember if I agreed with one or the other more.  I can recall Ebert championing the Summer release Bull Durham and smartly observing that if it had been released in December, it may have gotten all the nominations which Working Girl--having opened at the end of the year--collected.  They were both critical of Hollywood's release patterns, as well as they should have been.  And, I also recollect giving Field of Dreams a chance after Ebert implored Siskel to reconsider its merits in an episode about major disagreements from years passed.  (Siskel tried to get him to properly give Blue Velvet another go.)

I was pretty hooked and they were the face of film criticism for me as an adolescent.  None of my friends shared my obsession with cinema, and the two fed a hunger that was very important to me.  Once I went to college, I didn't catch a lot of TV and, before I knew it, Gene Siskel had died prematurely at the age of 53 of a brain tumor.  Later, Ebert decided to keep At the Movies alive and had a revolving guest list of film critics before he settled on Richard Roeper.  With the internet changing the landscape of information disbursement, Ebert would redefine himself as a critic, as well as be more outspoken politically.  He began to have his own serious medical troubles and, as a result of glandular cancers, he lost the ability to speak, eat, and the bottom portion of his face was permanently altered and had to be reconstructed.  Pretty fearless, he always kept his head in the game (literally and figuratively), looked forward, and participated in cinema as much as he could.  The other remaining half of Siskel & Ebert is now gone--also taken at an inappropriately young age--leaving behind a wife of over twenty years and a legacy that will not be forgotten.  While part of me wants to roll up in a fetal position and stick my thumb in my mouth and cry, I'd rather instead just say, thumbs up, Ebert, for all that you've given and may you rest in peace.  Thank you.