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Q. My family and friends are discerning movie-goers (we like all genres; we're down with the AFI 100). And we all, family and friends alike, thoroughly enjoyed "Speed Racer." It was a bit cheesy but I loved it as an old SR cartoon fan. My kids (16, 19) never really saw SR but enjoyed it just as well. My 16-year-old is a "chick flick" teenage girl and she raved about it! What I'm asking is, why do critics pan such movies? Isn't there a place for simple enjoyment and entertainment? Do you think that critiques of films may not always have the most useful criteria for judgment? (Jeff Young, Birmingham AL)
A. I haven't seen the film, but I have liked (and disliked) similar films in the past. When I like one, I am always reminded of Pauline Kael's insight: "The movies are so rarely great art, that if we cannot appreciate great trash, we should not go at all."