Rolling Stone's (October 29, 2009) Rob Sheffield decides, in a page-long review, that Glee is the "Gayest. Show. Ever."...in a bad way.
It starts out promisingly: "Love it or hate it, you've got to give Glee credit: You have never seen this kind of show before." Wait...who hates it?
"The best joke on Glee is the way it creates a gay teenage world in which no other world exists or is imaginable. It's not just feel-good gay, it's punish-the-outside-world gay, openly hostile to the idea that some viewers out there might not be show-tune queens." I don't get this at all. This is like saying The Ghost Whisperer punishes viewers who might not like supernatural melodrama.
He says Glee "tests my pain threshold in a way I didn't think was possible for a network hit about high school. Although the ads wishfully claim that this is some kind of guilty pleasure, it's really just the opposite—you have to have a cast-iron stomach to flog yourself through an entire hour of it."
Seriously messed up review, and as much as I like Glee, it's not like I watch it religiously. I just have not heard of any review so far off the mark.
Wow, that's quite vicious for a review.
However is hard to deny the show is indeed too self-indulgent (too the point I question if any straight people watch it) and has clearly walked towards divorcing itself from reality more and more-- from it's mic-less music numbers to its übercontrived plots. Is that a reason to call a show brutal? Flip the channel!
Posted by: Tomi Luka | October 15, 2009 at 12:28 AM
Guys like these make me think of reviewing jobs as the saddest point in the professional spectrum.
Posted by: Felix | October 15, 2009 at 09:30 AM
I believe that Dan Savage is on record (last week's "Savage Love") as not being a fan of Glee. Every episode I have watched I've seen on imdb.com (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1327801/videogallery ). So, Matt, there's no reason you can't see them all.
Posted by: ciarán | October 15, 2009 at 02:04 PM
I'm sooo not a fan of Savage.
Posted by: Matthew Rettenmund | October 15, 2009 at 02:26 PM
his 'reviews' tend to lean toward the 'trying to be clever, arch and biting' rather than dealing with the subject critically.
i've given up on reading reviews. i just watch for myself and figure it out on my own...
Posted by: craig | October 15, 2009 at 02:49 PM
I hate Dan savage too for oh so many reasons but i have to agree i really don't like glee. I think the songs are great but the show is tough to sit through. Love your blog by the way
Posted by: Dave | October 15, 2009 at 02:56 PM
Love Glee. I'm not gonna apologize for it or feel guilty about it just because some homophobic critic has issues.
Posted by: flip | October 17, 2009 at 01:33 PM
Rob Sheffield is a fucking idiot.
Posted by: Abbey | October 31, 2009 at 07:02 PM