When Critics Become the Stars
Discussing Matt Singer's novel Opposable Thumbs: How Siskel & Ebert Changed Movies Forever
Chances are, if you’re a reader or listener of It’s the Pictures, you know who Gene Siskel & Roger Ebert were. Although there are many MANY great critics, some of whom I proudly call colleagues and friends, there’s no argument over the duo who are the most popular critics in entertainment. What’s amazing is their longevity as their syndicated television show ended over twenty years ago, yet, when you ask someone to name a famous critic, they’ll probably name Siskel & Ebert. Author Matt Singer’s new novel, Opposable Thumbs: How Siskel & Ebert Changed Movies Forever, doesn’t position itself as the definite text of both men (Roger Ebert published his memoir, Life Itself, back in September of 2011. The book was adapted into a feature film of the same name in 2014). Rather Opposable Thumbs details Siskel & Ebert’s long television careers as their on-screen discussions led to the discovery of countless movies and influenced an entire generation of filmmakers and critics.
One chapter of the novel is dedicated to a list that Siskel & Ebert wanted guest hosts to follow and in that spirit I’ll be upfront with my review of the book— Opposable Thumbs’ greatest triumph is reminding everyone how entertaining and influential Siskel & Ebert were and continue to be. There’s no high-level drama here, only two men who once were bitter rivals, but grew to love each other over three decades of sitting near each other in the movie theater.
Singer’s novel builds the foundation for both men— explaining about their childhood and how they eventually wound up working at competing newspaper companies in Chicago. It’s a tedious beginning, but important to show how Siskel & Ebert were approaching their reviews and their relationship with one another. In those early days, it’s hard to imagine Siskel & Ebert being friends. They were so competitive with each other that they would fight over the smallest things like who would get through makeup first because they didn’t like waiting for the other one to finish. While their TV show was increasing in popularity, they would also take great care of their jobs as print journalists, always trying to win whatever battle they had that day. They began as a public access show on a local affiliate PBS station and ended up being syndicated all across the country. The novel details a lot of those crucial moments as the program grew and was brought to a larger audience.
Other than the growth of their program and their relationship over the years, I found some of the stories of their unusual escapades the most interesting. Many of these clips that Singer mentions are available on YouTube, and it’s fun to look up a video of Siskel & Ebert negatively reviewing a Chevy Chase right next to the actor. So much of this novel talks about their TV show appearances so having a web browser tab open to view some of these classic moments only enhances the text. Other instances when the two hosts would get particularly snappy at one another still make for some wildly fun entertainment. And not for nothing, but if you like classic movies, Siskel & Ebert reviewed a ton, and those opinions on classic movies still hold up today. I was interested in their thoughts on JFK, Malcolm X, or Space Jam, and those clips are all online. Two of the ones I found most interesting are included below:
A lot of things I take for granted while doing film criticism were founded because of Siskel & Ebert. Materials like press kits and access to footage were all things that came about due to their program. The format of the It’s the Pictures podcast as John Gilpatrick and I review movies and discuss their merits, is exactly what Siskel & Ebert were doing on TV for years before I was even born. Unlike some of my peers, I’m not certain I was influenced by any particular critic when I pursued film criticism, but I always imagined how incredible it would be to be published among Roger Ebert’s works on his website RogerEbert.com. I continue to have work published there and unquestionably I think of Ebert every time.
What made Siskel & Ebert work so well together is that although the world would always consider them a duo, they never once considered themselves in that fashion. Each of them held to their “critic code,” and their disagreements were often more entertaining than the clips they showcased. Singer’s novel does an excellent job of zeroing in on what exactly was so exciting about watching these two men review movies and their relationship that grew exponentially over three decades together. If there’s a movie fan in your life who doesn’t already own the book, I imagine they’ll find a lot to love here.
Opposable Thumbs: How Siskel & Ebert Changed Movies Forever on Bookshop.org or anywhere books are sold
If you are interested in conversations that Matt Singer had regarding the novel, he interviewed with RogerEbert.com and
Newsletter. For those in Rhode Island, Singer is going to be doing a Q&A at The United Theater in Westerly on November 25th.