Posted by sean at threshold5n.jpmorgan.com on May 21, 2002 at 14:59:43:
In Reply to: Suspension of Disbelief posted by Duffless on May 21, 2002 at 13:41:02:
... only that, knowing Raimi, he knew what he was doing and what would happen when he put her in, and that's as good a jokey justification (something Sam seems pretty good at, based on commentaries) as I could come up with off the top of my head.
: Spiderman is a comic, and it isn't tied to a specific time in space,
Wait, are we talking about the comic here, or the movie? 'Cause, hell, the comic is currently featuring a guest spot -- not a cameo, mind you, a guest spot -- by Jay Leno. And routinely refers to the year (even though the years change despite people not aging).
: sure we know it was shot now, but they don't go out of the way to give you a date, and I beleive even at Peter's graduation they block out the year using scenery.....
I don't know about that, I don't remember. But I do remember the fact that every single city shot looks like the city now, and that everybody's clothes look like clothes they wear now, and that all of the cars (except the Classic) look like current cars and that everything in the entire movie looks like it takes place approximately now.
: so when you are watching the movie and you are all into it, then all of a sudden there is a Macy Gray concert in the middle of it, for me it broke the suspension of disbelief, I switched from being in a movie to watching a Sony commercial...I dont' think the scene fit with the rest of the movie, and as time goes on it will look more and more out of place.....
As time goes on, the effects will look more and more out-of-date, though, that was the main point I made in my post, which you kind of skipped over. I don't think Raimi was looking at "Spider-Man" as some film that would go down in cinematic history and be remembered and repeatedly re-watched as the years go on. That's not even to say that it won't, but it sure seemed like it was just Raimi having fun and making a really fun summer blockbuster, which is pretty much a disposable genre.
And, just for the record, I don't recall a single shot of Macy Gray. I know that they say her name, and I know that there are some really wide shots that show the stage and, assumably, her, but I can't remember a point where they interrupt the action and just show singing, nor even a close-up of anybody on stage. Like I said, I saw it once and wasn't looking for this stuff, but speaking as a person who doesn't know what Macy Gray looks like, but knows of her reputation, there was never a point when I was suddenly like "Who is that awful person and why are they singing?"
Did the wrestling scene make you want to scream "Step into a Slim Jim"?