Making Creator Headlines · Page 5
Ebenezer Discovers the Holiday Tradition of Reviewing Christmas Early
· New York time
Ebenezer, the Johnny Depp-led film, has premiered, and early reactions from members of the film press have been largely positive. Reviewers have praised the film as holiday entertainment and described it as a comeback vehicle for its star. The early response places a familiar seasonal story in a familiar industry ritual. A premiere generates first impressions, and those impressions become part of the conversation around a film before many viewers have had a chance to see it. For a holiday release, that conversation also begins while plenty of people are still deciding what counts as an acceptable date for festive decorations. Praise for a star and praise for a film are related but not identical. An audience may arrive curious about a performer, the adaptation or simply the promise of a seasonal outing. Each viewer then gets to decide whether the finished experience deserves space in an already crowded calendar of Christmas stories. For now, the first reactions suggest enthusiasm among the press members who have seen it. The larger holiday test comes when more viewers have their say and the film competes for a place in seasonal routines. Its toughest rival may be the movie a household has already agreed to watch again, regardless of what any critic thinks.
Read this story in the full newspaper →Satire. Not factual reporting. Read the original reporting from the linked publishers.