There was a cretin on the Film Score Monthly board - one of these odd obsessives that troll boards like that from time to time - this guy's obsession is Lost Horizon - not the Capra, but the Ross Hunter production, the musical. Now, even people who find it a guilty pleasure know it's terrible. I always WANT to like it, but it's terrible, mostly thanks to the ham-fisted and ponderous direction of Charles Jarrott - in fact, I have never seen a Charles Jarrott film that I cared for, but maybe the whole problem rested with Mr. Hunter. Add to that the horrendously bad choreography of Hermes Pan, along with the weirdly performed but somehow somewhat likable songs and you have one of the most critically-reviled box-office disasters ever.
But this guy LOVES IT! This guy thinks it wasn't a box-office disaster overseas (it was), this guy thinks it got rave reviews (he managed to find four to post, none of which were raves, but were decent, which just goes to show you - one of the decent ones was by Arthur Knight, the man who HATED The First Nudie Musical, so that puts everything into perspective) - and because I dared to disagree (nicely) with him (as did others)? He began calling me a bitter soundtrack queen. Then he stated (in response to someone else who hated it) that Mame was a movie for old ladies and homosexuals. That comment rankled a whole slew of people. And then he wouldn't stop - homophobic comments hurled in my direction - I don't mind being called gay or whatever people want to call me, but the moderator was warning him and he still couldn't stop - I finally called him a twit and the moderator asked me not to do it, so I stopped. But he wouldn't and then he called the moderator a queen. That was that. He was banned. I now have his e-mail address, thanks to friends in high places. Unfortunately, but predictably, it's a hotmail address, otherwise I could have some fun
I suspect anyone who has to make those kinds of gay-baiting comments and who LOVES Lost Horizon The Musical, well, I somehow think he's one of those self-loathing people like Harold in Boys In The Band. That's my guess, and I'm sticking to it.
