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Schlock Value: Hollywood At Its Worst
A hilarious collection of essays, riffs, and lists that celebrate the insanity of Hollywood--for anyone who loves the movies. Richard Roeper, like the rest of us, adores the movies. In this uproarious, off-beat book, he gives us a whole new set of critical lenses for assessing the movies and the people and the industry that make them. With his characteristic acerbic wit, he weaves short essays with lists that work together to explain where Hollywood succeeds -- and where it so often frustrates, disappoints, and fails us. But while Roeper devotes most of the book to mockery and ridicule, this book is, in the end, a love letter to film. Some of the essays and lists included in Schlock statistical breakdowns, including career batting averages of actors Reviews of Hollywood finances, including budgets, salaries, and ticket prices A proposed moratorium on pet projects, e.g., Kevin Costner's The Postman or John Travolta's Battlefield EarthThe age differences between Woody Allen and his various leading ladies Actors appearing around the world in television commercials, including a list of the biggest stars that do overseas commercials -- and the products they pushSchlock Value is the perfect book for anyone who loves grumbling and complaining about the movies -- but still can't help spending their weekends and evenings in front of the screen.
224 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 2005
3 people are currently reading
28 people want to read
About the author
Richard Roeper
12 books5 followersRichard Roeper is a columnist/film critic for the Chicago Sun-Times and, since September of 2000, has co-hosted the television series At the Movies with Ebert & Roeper with fellow film critic Roger Ebert.
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Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews
March 28, 2019
Movie critic Richard Roeper gives an insider critic view of the movie business and debunks a lot of myths and punctures a lot of hype. The movie business is mostly smoke and mirrors, and Roeper blows away at least some of the smoke. We get a critic's view of the Oscars and the Golden Globes.
Entertaining and informative.
Entertaining and informative.
September 30, 2014
Richard Roeper has been a solid movie critic for decades, but he's perhaps best known for being half of the duo of Ebert & Roeper (RIP, Roger). In this somewhat slight (218 breezy pages) 2003 book, he dishes about the seedy underbelly of the film industry and its critics. Here are the chapters:
1. Attack of the Hacks: how promising actors/directors, and even some veterans, end up in stinkers
2. Money Changes Everything: misleading analyses of the weekend grosses, massaged numbers, and other statistical sleight-of-handage
3. The Envelope Please: why the Golden Globes are the cinematic near-equivalent of the International Library of Poetry "awards"
4. Cliches, Foul-Ups and Blunders: or, there's no such thing as a perfect movie
5. Hype and Whoring: "critics" who aren't honest, or even critical
6. What the Hell Happened?, or when the Next! Big! Thing! isn't
7. Behind the Scenes: it's harder than it looks to be a critic, folks
8. Let's Go to the Movies: what it costs, in terms of money and time, to go see a film
9. Politics and the Movies: in which Ann Coulter is schooled about General Patton
10. The Unreleased Film Festival: the best movies you've never heard of
Epilogue: In America. Roeper uses the film, "...story of an Irish family that comes to New York to start a new life after the tragic death of the youngest boy...," as an example of the best that films can offer.
The book has aged well, in most places, although some of the "facts" are no longer true (Matthew McConaughey being washed up, for example). He also uses a few terms that would raise an eyebrow today (see the title of Chapter 5, for example, or the term "quote sluts"). But he gets most of the big stuff right--his section on Woody and His Women, for example, could have been lifted verbatim out of this year's headlines.
The only thing that Roeper gets wrong is his criticism of Tom Hanks' emotional Oscar-acceptance speech for the film Philadelphia. To quote Roeper: "What the hell was Hanks saying?" Hanks was saying that "all men are created equal," Roeper; it's that simple. Hanks used language evocative of the Declaration of Independence, and then refered to it all but explicitly ("written down by wise men, tolerant men, in the city of Philadelphia two hundred years ago").
This is a fun overview for movie buffs, film industry wonks, and fans of movie criticism.
1. Attack of the Hacks: how promising actors/directors, and even some veterans, end up in stinkers
2. Money Changes Everything: misleading analyses of the weekend grosses, massaged numbers, and other statistical sleight-of-handage
3. The Envelope Please: why the Golden Globes are the cinematic near-equivalent of the International Library of Poetry "awards"
4. Cliches, Foul-Ups and Blunders: or, there's no such thing as a perfect movie
5. Hype and Whoring: "critics" who aren't honest, or even critical
6. What the Hell Happened?, or when the Next! Big! Thing! isn't
7. Behind the Scenes: it's harder than it looks to be a critic, folks
8. Let's Go to the Movies: what it costs, in terms of money and time, to go see a film
9. Politics and the Movies: in which Ann Coulter is schooled about General Patton
10. The Unreleased Film Festival: the best movies you've never heard of
Epilogue: In America. Roeper uses the film, "...story of an Irish family that comes to New York to start a new life after the tragic death of the youngest boy...," as an example of the best that films can offer.
The book has aged well, in most places, although some of the "facts" are no longer true (Matthew McConaughey being washed up, for example). He also uses a few terms that would raise an eyebrow today (see the title of Chapter 5, for example, or the term "quote sluts"). But he gets most of the big stuff right--his section on Woody and His Women, for example, could have been lifted verbatim out of this year's headlines.
The only thing that Roeper gets wrong is his criticism of Tom Hanks' emotional Oscar-acceptance speech for the film Philadelphia. To quote Roeper: "What the hell was Hanks saying?" Hanks was saying that "all men are created equal," Roeper; it's that simple. Hanks used language evocative of the Declaration of Independence, and then refered to it all but explicitly ("written down by wise men, tolerant men, in the city of Philadelphia two hundred years ago").
This is a fun overview for movie buffs, film industry wonks, and fans of movie criticism.
January 7, 2012
Roeper writes well and this book is short and entertaining for movie fans. Sure, you already are aware that the odds of seeing Drew Barrymore in a good movie are dismal but do you know what percentage chance you have of seeing her in something worthwhile? According to Roeper, it's 19% (for poor Chris Kattan, that average drops to zero.) Everyone knows the Hollywood Foreign Press (the bestowers of the Golden Globes) are highly questionable on the "press" part, but Roeper has a chapter explaining their ignominious history, including when they were dropped from network TV in 1968 as a result of an FCC investigation. Other topics range from film flubs to the Oscars to the mystery of films that are shot but never released. All things you've read about before but you might find new information here and it's all wittily rendered. The chapter on the press including bloviating, near-delusional quotes from the stars of Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle is a scream.
One criticism, the book needs an index but this is a general complaint of mine with non-fiction books.
I wish I had given Roeper ("the guy who's not Siskel") more of a chance now on "At the Movies."
One criticism, the book needs an index but this is a general complaint of mine with non-fiction books.
I wish I had given Roeper ("the guy who's not Siskel") more of a chance now on "At the Movies."
September 5, 2021
If nothing else, Richard Roeper at least knows the movie business. Of course, co-hosting with Roger Ebert on television helps, but he has done his research.
Covering the years of his movie reviewing career up to 2003, Roeper describes the movie industry and the people in it, both major players and performers, as well as the business aspects. Despite the book title, this is a listing of good and bad movies by various performers and directors, how some of them have higher success rates than others, and why movies fail or succeed. He describes awards shows such as Golden Globes and Oscars, how they are and how they could be improved (since he has attended these).
Other topics he covers are financially successful movies, adjusted for inflation, as well as big flops. He also covers how movies are promoted when they come out nowadays as compared to the past, and how some movies proved to be controversial, especially when they came out at the wrong time (such as depicting terrorists blowing up buildings during the 9/11 attacks). Perhaps my favorite part was his laughing at the controversy over the torture of Christ in "The Passion Of The Christ" when so many other movies show gratuitous violence and bloodshed as action entertainment.
A better book on the movie industry than the title would suggest.
Covering the years of his movie reviewing career up to 2003, Roeper describes the movie industry and the people in it, both major players and performers, as well as the business aspects. Despite the book title, this is a listing of good and bad movies by various performers and directors, how some of them have higher success rates than others, and why movies fail or succeed. He describes awards shows such as Golden Globes and Oscars, how they are and how they could be improved (since he has attended these).
Other topics he covers are financially successful movies, adjusted for inflation, as well as big flops. He also covers how movies are promoted when they come out nowadays as compared to the past, and how some movies proved to be controversial, especially when they came out at the wrong time (such as depicting terrorists blowing up buildings during the 9/11 attacks). Perhaps my favorite part was his laughing at the controversy over the torture of Christ in "The Passion Of The Christ" when so many other movies show gratuitous violence and bloodshed as action entertainment.
A better book on the movie industry than the title would suggest.
November 10, 2025
it's interesting that he really never did a film review book when he replaced Siskel
he wrote 39 years for the Chicago Sun-Times from 1986-2025
he did start doing film reviews for Ebert's web in 2013 and in 2025 is doing it regularly now
since he turned 65 and retired
I really did not like his book on urban legends of Hollywood one bit at all, and maybe that's linked to his oddball obsession with conspiracy theory, like those flaky skeptics dismissing stuff endlessly.
and he had his 15 minutes of shame with buying some twitter followers that almost derailed his column
Siskel was a freak for loving Saturday Night Live and buying Travolta's wardrobe at a Hollywood auction, Roeper is obsessed with Ferris Bueller in the same quirky way.
Sure wish you could buy box sets of blu-rays of all the Speak Previews and Ebert and Roper and stuff
It's phenomenal how so few of the early shows are documented on the web before the show got popular about 1980, like they only mention the siskel-ebert show reviewing Star Wars
and the earliest shows were fascinating and I'm not sure if all exist, but I've seen one before it got all over north america on PBS.
What the hell is in movie popcorn to kill all these guys off?
oh well Roeper is still kicking, but I'm waiting for his 3000 page movie book, better than all his previous movie books!
June 20, 2025
A laugh out loud quick read from a film critic I happen to enjoy - YouTube is filled with gems from Siskel and Ebert, Ebert, and Roeper, Roper and Guest, etc. Roeper's book is filled with biting one-liners, deserved praise, and few Interlibrary loans for me to complete to find a few 'lost movies' that I have never seen.
August 12, 2022
Tinted (or tainted) by the nastiness of the early 2000's, and filled with plenty of filler, there's still some decent trivia here, and a section on lost movies that I really enjoyed. 3 1/2 stars, rounded up to 4.
January 19, 2013
I found this to be a quick and interesting read. I really like Richard Roeper's books and movie reviews - whether or not I completely agree with him. I read his book on urban legends and enjoyed it, expecting to do the same with this. I was not let down with his various backstage stories and his factoids on why certain movies never made it to the big screens. I'm a sucker for stories about bad movies or movies that are so bad they're good. Schlock, as he calls it, can be very entertaining at times and he gives some great examples of it. My only wish is that the book was a bit more current because there are a number of movie titles that I would love to see him discuss. Hopefully he will write another book such as this from 2004 on.
November 26, 2007
A tasty little bag of salty smacks to modern cinema culture (Those that make, show, and watch movies) by one of the co-hosts of the TV show "Ebert & Roeper". Funny and opinionated without being obnoxious. Note about the cover: it sucks. Which is a bit surprising as it was by Bob Larkin who did a bunch of nifty Marvel magazine covers during the '70s.
September 7, 2008
I read this back in 2005. I did not make much notes on it since it was a brief book. I remember it as a fun little book about "Hollywood at its worst," poking fun at bad movies and other details of the industry. An entertaining quick read.
January 1, 2010
Roeper is a good writer - and some of his subjects ("lost" movies, the idiocy of the average Oscar acceptance speech, etc.) are interesting - but the book is a disjointed series of essays with an uneven tone.
January 1, 2019
Funny stories and interesting observations, but lacking any organization—a good choice for bathroom reading. My favorite items were (1) Roeper's thoughts on the way critics are used by Hollywood, and (2) his Courtney Love story.
July 1, 2008
Cute - and you can finish it in about twenty minutes.
January 2, 2012
This was a decent, quick read. The best chapters exposed the truth-twisting proffered by movie promoters--quotes from made-up "critics", etc.
August 12, 2012
Entertaining book about the silliness of the movie industry. I would give it 4 stars, but the information is a bit dated. Enjoyable light bedtime reading.
May 7, 2014
really funny book, i enjoyed it.
Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews