How “Experts” Can Lead You Astray

Rock of Ages, the Tom Cruise fronted movie co-starring a lot of the ‘80s rock hits that we all know and (mostly) love, was panned by critics far and wide, but lauded by fans. Unlike recent critically acclaimed Broadway Musical smashes that made their way to the big screen like Hairspray and Chicago, Rock of Ages missed the mark with critics and took in a dismal $15.1 million on opening weekend. As of July 3, 2012, the movie had made $47 million worldwide (it cost $75 million to produce) and was deemed a commercial flop. So, why the sour note with the audience?

Actually, there was no sour note. The movie got amazing reviews from fans, as evidenced on movie ticket websites such as Fandango and Movies.com. It was the critics who posed a problem, and if you keep digging, things get a bit more interesting.

Critiques provided by “movie experts” show they didn’t completely dislike the movie, but when asked for a rating of the movie on a scale of 1 to 5, many gave the movie 3 or lower.

One critique published on the Huffington Post, written by Jim Moret, who is Chief Correspondent for Inside Edition (a syndicated TV entertainment news show), an author and attorney, ended with “I love Rock ‘n’ Roll. I just didn't love Rock of Ages”.

When you get down to brass tacks, the bulk of Moret’s review of the movie wasn’t terrible. In fact, Moret gave praise to Tom Cruise, Alec Baldwin and comedian turned perpetual on-screen rock musician Russell Brand.

Moret’s review began to sour when he claimed he couldn’t shake the feeling that he was watching a “big-budget episode of Glee.” One could possibly assume he forgot he was at a musical movie? Or maybe something else was at play, like Moret’s distaste for several songs in the movie. The bias toward these songs could perhaps be the key to why he couldn’t emotionally connect with the movie.

Which leads to this question: Should Moret provide this critique without stressing that he is not a movie expert, or critic?

Since he is in fact a reporter who is expressing his opinion, shouldn’t it be considered misleading that the piece Moret wrote looks more like one from a critic rather than an Op Ed piece written by a journalist? After all, journalists are required to report facts, not their opinions. In this case, Moret who is not a professional movie critic provided an opinion in which many read and could have interpreted as fact coming from an expert.

In other words, could Moret be leading his readers astray based on his own personal bias?

So, let’s take a look at what a bonafide “expert,” movie critic, Roger Ebert had to say. The worst mention Ebert gave Rock of Ages was that the story wasn’t original. He described it as the typical boy meets girl, boy and girl break up because of a silly misunderstanding and then make up movie plot. He even likened the subplot to a Frankie and Annette movie (kudos to you if you understand that reference), where an evil politician is trying to run the gang off the beach or out of town and they have to do something to save the day.

All in all, Ebert’s review of the movie seemed to be pretty dazzling. He praised the actors (Cruise, Baldwin and Brand among others) and actresses (Julianne Hough and Catherine Zeta Jones) for their singing chops. He also commended the cast for looking like they were having fun, and notes the movie is based off a musical, therefore should be campy like a musical. But he only gave it 3 out of 5 stars.

Jamie Wetherbe of the Los Angeles Times wrote an entire article based solely upon what the critics thought about the musical movie. And although many of the critics Wetherbe mentions in the article do not outright give the movie a “thumbs down”, but they do show bias toward musical movies in general, movies not being like the theater production or because they have an issue with one of the actors like Cruise.

At the end of the day, a seemingly well-liked movie by movie fans was heavily criticized by numerous other “experts.”  This has to make you wonder, what makes some of these people experts and could they be unwittingly leading you astray based upon their own personal bias?

It’s important to remember that as you proceed through your life and your career, you’re likely going to be given advice and guidance by many different people – some possibly considered experts. But just because someone is touted as an expert doesn’t mean they are going to give you sound advice for your particular situation. Every person is different, everyone has different experiences and tastes, and because of this, every situation requires a different action for the optimal result.

Sure you can read reviews and take advice from “experts,” but take their assertions with a grain of salt. It’s doubtful that a 20-something female saw the Rock of Ages movie through the same set of eyes as Jim Moret or Roger Ebert.

Take a look at one of the covers from the film here- http://youtu.be/Di5oZp6d8xk

Pete Kontakos is a contributor that discusses Effective Leadership Skills and Training.