In Defense of a Friday the 13th Movie

Liking a film for “what it is” is a difficult thing to explain. To say I liked “Friday the 13th Part 6: Jason Lives” may make some people want to throw something at their computer or call me names. I do not care. It will be a difficult matter to explain why “Friday the 13th Part 6” is a good film, but I will make the attempt.
At first mention, it would be far too easy to talk about all of the things to dislike in installment number 6 of the Friday the 13th series: deaths of random people at the hands of Jason, dumb teenagers running around, no motivation for the killings. Yeah, that is too easy. The teenagers and some of the ancillary characters in this film are likable, which is why some rewriting should have taken place allowing some of the kids and ancillaries to live. The film is definitely the funniest in the series as it uses humor several times to diffuse the reason for the film’s existence. The problem with this is that along the way, it introduces a few funny and likable characters, only to have them killed off minutes after we meet them. That is where the rewriting should have come in. It is not a great idea to introduce likable characters, then kill them shortly thereafter. This is one way the film falters. “Wait a minute! I thought you said you liked this one!” I did, but I do have a few problems with it. What I have detailed so far is my main issue with the film. As I stated before, the teenagers in the film are not goofy, lifeless automatons either. They are well-played by some good young actors including Thom Mathews, Jennifer Cooke, Renee Jones, and Ann Ryerson. It would have been nice to see more live than die in this film. The producers could have gotten the requisite amount of kills in, but allowed the more interesting and likeble characters to live.
In Part 6, Jason is played as a cartoon character. You could, I suppose, discuss the morality of this, however, it is a discussion that is, in the end, futile as films like this are meant to be taken for what they are: money-making endeavors by Paramount Pictures in the 1980’s. What is interesting about this particular film and what makes it better than most of the other films in the series is the humor director, Tom McLoughlin uses. Yes, life is to be cherished and watching representations of death onscreen, especially in films like this, is not always pleasant. At the same time, however, knowing that what I was watching was a money-making venture, but that the director attempted to make it better than just another factory-made product increases it’s entertainment value. The director is no simpleton and realized what he was getting into, so his effort to do a bit more than churn out a piece of junk was appreciated. I have listened to the director’s commentary track of this film. It is clear that McLoughlin took the duty of making this film seriously and that his motivation was to lighten the mood. What more could he have done, quite honestly, other than the rewrites I suggested earlier?
“Friday the 13th Part 6” is not a brilliant piece of filmmaking. It also is not an abysmal piece of filmmaking and would not be deserving of being brushed off as just another “Dead Teenager Movie,” as Siskel and Ebert used to refer to these types of films. If they would have read what I have written today back in 1986, they likely would have wanted to fight me. By the way, for the record, Siskel and Ebert are awesome! I have watched every incarnation of their show since 1983. I have not always agreed with their assessments, however, they articulate their views flawlessly. The new show, “Roger Ebert Presents At the Movies,” with Christy Lemire, Ignatiy Vishnetsky, and occasional reviews by Roger Ebert through the use of a narrator speaking for Ebert, is very good as well. Two reviews in one blog post—That’s Value!!
One more attribute in favor of "Friday the 13th Part 6"--Ron Palillo, Horshack from "Welcome Back, Kotter," is in this film. It's always pleasant to see Ron Palillo.

I Am Positive About This

Why are people sometimes so negative? This is not an easy question to answer, however, I hope to enlighten, or at the very least, entertain as I attempt to briefly explore why negativity seems to be a more welcome trait in our society than positivity.
I do not claim to have been an optimist for the entirety of my life. For, I would estimate, many of my 38 years, I have been quite pessimistic and perhaps, at times, unpleasant to be around. I use this as a preface for this little essay because I do not want to appear preachy. I do not enjoy negativity. I would much rather make people laugh with little jokes or in the course of pleasant conversation rather than carry on about how such and such is stupid or this thing or that thing is dumb. I believe I have been beaten down by people I have met throughout the course of my life who carry with them so much negativity that I want to react in the opposite way. If someone is a Bitter Benny, my response is to either not react at all, attempt to be Vulcan-like and point out where their logic is flawed, or point out something positive so as to diffuse their bitterness or their complaining. Which one of these I do depends on the situation. I believe life runs much more smoothly through positivity. I do not intend to try to do any convincing here or direct anyone to a book which comes to mind called, “The Power of Positive Thinking.” I have never read this book or any self-help book. I do not claim to be any better or any worse as a result. This is simply a rationale I have developed over the last five years. In those last five years, I have had the honor of meeting some exceptionally positive-minded people and some exceptionally negative-minded people. Witnessing the dynamics that grow within a positive and a negative environment is quite interesting. I am not making any sociological breakthroughs by stating that positive people who are like-minded in their positivity create a very pleasant environment. In the opposite way, negative people who are like-minded in their negativity foster a negative environment.
So why the heck would anyone want to gravitate towards the negative environment? It likely depends on each individual’s current state of mind, which is formed by a myriad of factors. Let’s just say that life is going fairly well. Life is never perfect, so let’s just say it is going fairly ok. If this is the case, why gravitate towards complaining, saying ugly things about people, putting people down, etc? Seriously---what is the emotional profit in that??? If it is only to make yourself feel better about yourself, then that is a shame. Again, I feel it necessary to point out that I have only recently adopted this opinion and there are several people I have in mind to whom I attribute this way of thinking. I have been very fortunate to know these people.
I do not expect all people to adopt my way of thinking, nor do I have the naive idea in my head that everyone should hand flowers to each other and should never ever get mad about anything. Of course, this is unrealistic, and by our flawed nature, will never happen. I still get mad, I let it out, but then it is usually over. Since we each have our own free will, I just wonder sometimes why more folks take the negative course than the positive one.
The "Comments" sections on news organizations websites, or even on IMDB sometimes, are full of negative comments about pretty much any news story. I know that the anonymity of the "Comments" section keeps you safe to spew whatever bile you have to say, but, the hate that flows forth within User Comments sections of websites is sad and discouraging.
One more thing I thought about while writing this---since I write a lot of movie reviews on this blog, will you see any negative reviews? I am sure you will. I will attempt to not attack anybody personally, however, as this is in no way helpful to the reader of any review on any website, newspaper, television program, etc.
I hope to be able to continue following the way of thinking I have described. It would definitely help me to spend five years studying with a Vulcan master, however, it is not only very difficult to find one near where I live, but also, I do not want to be devoid of any emotion, though, I can see the appeal of this. Anyway--I will try to continue being positive and to spread the word. So everyone f*** off!! Just kidding, of course.