A few of them, actually. The fifth-rate right-wing pundit Debbie Schlussel, who would be Ann Coulter if Coulter didn't know how to rile up audiences enough to become famous, went on Michael Smerconish's radio show this morning to share all of the reasons why conservatives should not go see "Superman Returns."
I saw the movie, I liked it, and thought it was about 100% apolitical. I myself generally don't like it when movies get all political, and I found nothing objectionable in the film. Schlussel, however, is a bit different from me.
In the interview (based on this review she wrote), Schlussel listed the following objections to the "Superman" film:
- Perry White refers to "truth, justice, and... all that stuff," as opposed to "...and the American way."
- Lois Lane is a single mother, who is not only not married to the father of her child, but was sleeping with more than one man at the time of his conception! So in saying that a movie is inappropriate for kids, Schlussel referred to Lois as "a slut," more than once, on morning drivetime radio.
- In an even bigger howler, Schlussel also argued that it's bad to depict Lois Lane as a single mother, because "I'm sure no single mother has ever won the Pulitzer Prize." Then she criticized Lois for "going off to interview all of these people [as a journalist]" instead of caring for her child.
- Probably most ridiculously of all, Schlussel complained that Superman is fighting Lex Luthor, instead of al-Qaeda. Yes, she really did say that.
I'm sure after that, she made some reference to Bryan Singer (and possibly Superman himself) being gay, but I mercifully pulled up to Starbucks right then.
Once again, Schlussel is a wannabe Ann Coulter/Michelle Malkin, just throwing every "outrageous," "conservative" opinion out there to see what sticks, can cause controversy, and bring her fame. And since most of you have probably never heard of her, you can see how well she's done at it.
Smerconish, incidentally, appeared as panelist on "Hardball" yesterday, and was wearing a "Texas tuxedo"- a very nice jacket, shirt and tie, with jeans. I'm not sure, but my guess is that Michael took the train down to DC for the appearance without bringing a change of clothes, thinking he'd be sitting behind a desk, but then discovered upon arriving that he was in a chair instead.
Posted by Stephen Silver at June 30, 2006 10:52 AMNaw, schlussel is even more pathetic than the Coulter/Malkin style pundits. She's a big-time wanna-be--with a fragile ego. She's threatened legal action against [at least] one blog which criticized her.
Posted by: jaws at June 30, 2006 09:01 PMI think Debbie Schlussel misses Howard Stern.
Also ... Debbie Schlussel is the Bizarro Brandeis girl. As opposed to the real world 'deis girl, who is horrifyingly ugly, shrill and a kneejerk liberal follower, Schlussel is moderately attractive, shrill and a neo-con.
Posted by: LilB at July 1, 2006 02:43 PMLilB, wouldn't that be properly phrased as Schlussel "am," rather than "is" Bizarro Brandeis girl? Or am I just being too much of a commic-book geek now?
For the record, I'm going to see Superman Returns tomorrow. I expect it to be pretty good, but not remotely as good as Batman Begins (IMHO, untouchable as the best comic-book movie ever). And no, this is not principally because Batman's just a much more interesting character, though there's that, too.
Posted by: Dave J at July 1, 2006 07:02 PMLilB, wouldn't that be properly phrased as Schlussel "am," rather than "is" Bizarro Brandeis girl? Or am I just being too much of a commic-book geek now?
The opposite of "goodbye" isn't "hello." It's "badbye."
Posted by: LilB at July 1, 2006 08:42 PM