"G.I. Joe" down to 38 percent on Tomatometer

I previously posted about the fact that the studio deliberately kept "G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra" from legitimate film critics. It was part of a strategy to control how the big-budget summer film was presented to audiences.

The film's backers were even bragging about how the flick had one of the highest ratings on the Tomatometer over at Rotten Tomatoes, the site that rounds up the reviews from critics big and small. At the time of my last post, it was at a 91 percent "fresh" rating -- meaning that 91 percent of the reviews were positive. This was because the only ones the studio deigned to screen the film for were carefully selected Web bloggers, some of whom were given a cushy junket in an implied exchange for positive reviews.

Well, the rating for "Joe" is now down to 38 percent, now that more of the unbiased press have reviewed the movie. When a film is not screened in advance for critics, some outlets run follow-up reviews, but many don't bother. So we can only guess at what the full critical reaction to "G.I. Joe" was.

Incidentally, I've been trying for months to get listed on Rotten Tomatoes, but I'm not getting any response, despite meeting their criteria. Joe Shearer, my partner at The Film Yap, has had the same lack of luck.

No "Joe"

A few hours before I was set to head out for my "G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra" screening, I learned that it had been canceled. Apparently they're not showing it to film critics -- well, not real critics anyway.

Some "journalists" -- who were flown in for the film's junket, put up in a fancy hotel and wined and dined -- were allowed to see it, and their quotes are now being used in the carefully crafted marketing campaign. Wouldn't you know it, their responses are overwhelmingly positive?

"Joe" currently has an unlikely 91 percent "fresh" rating on Rotten Tomatoes.

It's part of the sad, dark underbelly of the movie promotion biz. Studios essentially trade cushy accommodations and access to movie stars for positive spin.

The Associated Press even had a story yesterday about how the studio is deliberately keeping the film away from critics as part of its marketing strategy.

I can't say as I was dying to see the movie. But it's always better when studios allow the legitimate press to give their views. If it's true that this, like "Transformers," is a critic-proof movie, then they aren't losing anything by letting us see it.