You know, most of us have long since dismissed Rex Reed as a joke. It’s a wonder he’s still a working critic while so many brilliant ones have lost their jobs – from J. Hoberman to Stephanie Zacharek who left Movieline. Why are these great writers being let go while eternal waste of space Rex Reed keeps working and polluting the Metacritic collection of otherwise good writers? Hey, Metacritic, dump Rex Reed and put in, oh say, Glenn Kenny.
Anyway, Rex Reed decides to verbally assault Melissa McCarthy and completely misses everything that’s funny about her while doing so. Reed writes:
Melissa McCarthy (Bridesmaids) is a gimmick comedian who has devoted her short career to being obese and obnoxious with equal success.
He also calls her a hippo and “cacophonous, tractor-sized Melissa McCarthy,” though conveniently leaves out ‘Oscar-nominated.’ Anyone who saw Bridesmaids knows how funny she is. Anyone who saw This is 40 knows she saved that movie from the utter disaster it otherwise was, and anyone who watched the Gilmore Girls knows how versatile McCarthy is. So give it a rest, Rex Reed. Women have a hard enough time now just getting work period. The last thing they need is this taste nazi inflicting his own personal prejudices on his readers.