Look on the bright side of cynical movies

When I said in my last column we should experience pain to show we really love something or someone, I didn’t mean we should all go and feel miserable.

What I learned from watching “Shoah” is that sadness can offer a new perspective on life. What I learned from watching “50/50” and “Moneyball” is that being cynical can do the same thing. 

First, I realize the irony of writing about cynicism under my pun column name ‘Cine’cism. The goal of my column has always been to provide a new perspective on film, and that’s what I feel cynicism can do for a person. But it’s typically an emotion that’s frowned upon by some older generations.

Each of the two recent films I mentioned puts a cynical spin on a typical genre movie. “Moneyball” removes the sentimentality of the game of baseball and still finds a way to make a rousing sports movie. “50/50” skillfully saps out the melodrama of a movie about cancer and becomes a clever, funny and heartwarming dark comedy. 

These types of movies should become a growing trend in American film. They paint characters with a broadened, modern scope of how life works. Brad Pitt’s Billy Beane or Seth Rogen’s Kyle are likeable and smart, not bitter and pessimistic. They understand that just hoping for the best isn’t going to replace Johnny Damon and bring the Oakland A’s a winning season, nor will it make a best friend’s cancer any less painful or keep him from dying.

They’re cynical, practical and observant because it’s the smartest thing to do.
And in terms of filmmaking, a darker, self-aware script can liven it by radicalizing a genre. Aaron Sorkin’s dialogue in “Moneyball” gave it a cold-hearted wit and punch, and Will Reiser’s semi-autobiography in “50/50” gave it comedy, attitude and lovely charm.

I’m not as cynical as I used to be, but I’d like to think that if I criticize and remain practical about the way things are, I learn to understand it better without lying to myself.

I could lament the state of Hollywood movies, the useless 3-D fad or the ridiculous antics of the Oscars, but where does that get us?

I crack jokes and speak what’s on my mind, and I become a person who doesn’t shudder at the thought of discussing why “Thor” is more painful than a Viking hammer to the forehead. 

It’s healthy argument about controversial topics and bad situations that keeps me aware of both sides of an issue, even if it ultimately only gives me more reasons why I’m right.