The "Siskel" to my "Ebert".

The "Siskel" to my "Ebert"

April 5, 2013 at 8:16pm

 

This was a tribute to my movie buddy Shannon, written shortly after Roger Ebert's passing last year:

 

 

Just a few days ago, my friend Shannon asked me, who i would consider myself, Siskel or Ebert?    Shannon asked me this of course, because we have been fellow movie lovers since we met back in 1998.   I, of course, sarcastic, pitch black/dark humored/shock value A-hole that i am, asked: "Are we talking about pre-brain tumor Siskel or post surgery Siskel?" My reasoning I said was, because before the tumor, Siskel,... in my eyes, was known for not liking many movies unless they were art house, serious films.  I know that wasn't necessarily true, but as a preteen, teen and early 20s, that's what it seemed to me easier to classify his tastes in film as.  Post-brain tumor, I saw Siskel say that "Babe, Pig in the City" was the best movie of 1998 at their Best of the Year program they did annually in Dec or Jan.   I knew Gene was probably not long for this world after that comment, his speech was slower, and, and he did actually die in Feb, 1999.  

I know as callous as that sounds, I loved Gene Siskel and still mourn the man to this day, and I also equally loved Roger Ebert as well and will tremendously miss him the rest of my days.   I have spent the last few years feeling so sorry for Roger Ebert and what he'd had to overcome, but equally feel so proud of what he did after his bout with cancer and never once letting it stop him from doing what he loved to do, talking about and reviewing movies.   Between the both of them they shaped many things about me and my love of film.

I remember watching them on Sneak Previews on public television as a young kid, then "At the Movies", then "Siskel & Ebert At the Movies" and then just "Siskel & Ebert".   I loved the bazillion times I watched them on Letterman together, each time they were on, alternating who would sit next to Dave.  EVERY time they were on, talking over one another, insulting one another, picking at each other, but knowing deep down these two loved one another and if the other wasn't there, their lives would be empty.

My friend Shannon and I go see movies regularly, sometimes once a week, sometimes 2 times a week, sometimes we won't go for a few weeks if we can't find anything we're remotely interested in. But regardless, there's no one I go see movies with more in a year.   My friend Shannon and I went and saw The Matrix in 1999 and came out of the theater, talked about it a few minutes and without any arm-twisting on either side, promptly walked back in, plopped down our money and watched it all over again.

There have been several times when we've went to one movie and gone back in for another.  There was a time last year, when i was really down about something, and we went and saw some movie I can't seem to recall, in the early afternoon.   We went home, talked on the phone later and hearing the deep depression i was still in, asked me if I wanted to go see Safe House with Denzel Washington, because I'd been talking earlier in the day about wanting to see it.   So that night we drove all the way across town to "our" theater and watched ANOTHER movie, because that's how we fuckin' roll.   =)   There are few people who are that nuts about movies like I am.   I didn't know Shannon in 1988, but I'm thinking in that summer I could have probably talked her into a few of my 11 theatrical viewings of Die Hard.   Her seemingly undying hatred now of everything Bruce Willis, notwithstanding.

I'm a little less picky than she is about movies that I want to see, I am pretty much up for anything.  Which would explain how she got me talked into seeing Hansel and Gretel Witch Hunters a few months ago.

So in answer to her question, I said without a doubt, I would consider myself Ebert.  In my mind, Ebert seemed like he could almost find something he liked in any movie no matter if he didn't like the movie, itself.  Which is what I do when I come out of a movie, which seems to frustrate Shannon.  She asks me after every movie, what did you think?   Jokingly asking, because she knows 98.99 % of the time I'm going to say "I liked it"  Eh, I like movies.   There have been a few that we've agreed on sucked, but overall It always feels i like everything and that she's picked the movie to death like a buzzard on a bloated prospector's corpse in the middle of the desert.

To me it felt Ebert went into a movie optimistic that the movie would be good, and then adjusted his opinions after the movie if it disappointed him overall.   Siskel seemed like he was pessimistic he was going to like the film and then if it surprised him, he's adjust his opinions afterwards.  These are all my unfounded opinions and I'm sure couldn't be farther from the truth, but in my mind growing up it's how I perceived it.  Roger Ebert and I didn't always agree on movies, (his scathing review and hatred for the movie Blue Velvet is one I would debate him) but i always felt more like him than Siskel.

I had one of those Ebert Video movie companion books from the late 80s, Early 90s, that I absolutely loved and treated almost like my "bible", it was my go to guide for I don't know HOW many years.     I'm sure it's a dog-eared, yellow paged, mess of a book now, but I do still have it packed up somewhere.

I loved you, Roger Ebert, and I will continue to miss you like I have Gene Siskel for almost 15 years now.   You both were two people I wanted to meet and talk about movies for hours, as I'm sure every goofball who's ever sat in a theater, has wanted to do.  I may not have as frequently visited Roger's webpage as much as I've wanted in the last few years, but knowing that he was out there still doing what he loved and getting paid for it, made me happy.   He was an inspiration to many people and will leave a void in more people than he'll probably ever know.

As for my "Siskel", you and I share something that I cherish dearly and wouldn't trade for anything in the world.  I regret the almost 10 years where my life was too busy for us to get together other than maybe 1 movie a year for some of them, for whatever reasons.   I will take the blame for that, and i will do everything in my power to not have that happen again.    I doubt very much that Siskel & Ebert called each other (yes, i realize "Siskel" probably does much of the calling in our relationship ;P ) and talked as much as we do(sometimes 2am in the morning), and/or have the warped conversations that we do, (but in my mind it's fun to pretend they do.)   I appreciate the fact you still want to be my friend, even when i frustrate you to no end. =)   I love you for not only being my "Siskel" but for being there in the times that i needed you to be and will need you to be, hopefully.

I am honored and blessed to have you as my friend and hope for the rest of our days, we'll be in our seats in the darkened theater, you chastising me if I start biting my nails, watching movies and loving every minute of it.

p.s. I think for our next movie, in honor of Ebert's passing, we sit in the "SISKEL AND EBERT" chairs.

p.p.s.  For those not in the know, the "Siskel and Ebert" chairs are those two chairs that separate the stadium seats from the front rows, that let's a handicapped person in a wheelchair sit next to their loved ones.  A loving phrase coined by my friends Jim and Jeff Duede.