Jonathan Lewis
Tomatometer-approved critic
Biography:
Jonathan Lewis came into the world during Chapter 37 of War and Peace, which his mother had been reading at the time she went into labor. (She never did finish the book). A highly allergic kid, he claimed asthmatic distress and successfully managed to miss an entire year of school, staying at home to watch musicals on television instead. Doris Day proved such an inspiration that Jonathan became an actor, first appearing as a milk bottle in a second grade stage play entitled “Healthy Foods.” His dubious 25-year acting career included such ignominious highlights as surviving a 400-lb. steel bar falling on his head during a production of "The Music Man" and playing Barney the Beaver in a chain saw commercial. A character actor cursed with the body, face and voice of a song-and-dance man, he finally gave up “acting at all costs” for the rewarding pursuits of an impoverished writer. A member of the Chicago Film Critics Association since 1997, he now walks in the shadow of Roger Ebert, hoping that some of the man’s fame and fortune will rub off on him.
Favorites:
Cabaret
Double Indemnity
Singing in the Rain
Woman of the Dunes
Citizen Kane
The Four Feathers
Raging Bull
The Miracle of Morgan Creek
The Fallen Idol
Alexander Nevsky
Location:
Rogers Park, northside of Chicago
Official Website:
http://www.gaychicagomag.com
The Emperor's New Clothes (2001)
73%
3.5/4
“Both a historical rumination and a fanciful romantic comedy.” –
Gay Chicago Magazine
Jul 1, 2002
Full Review
Bamboozled (2000)
54%
“Satire requires a subtle touch, and Lee is so defiant and reactionary that he fairly bludgeons the material to death.” –
Gay Chicago Magazine
Jan 1, 2000
Full Review
Remember the Titans (2000)
71%
“The movie manages to be moving and entertaining, and audiences will surely love it, but this is about as slick, predictable and manipulative as a movie can get.” –
Gay Chicago Magazine
Jan 1, 2000
Full Review
Dr. T & the Women (2000)
57%
“Each actress in this nearly all-female cast brings something unique to her role.” –
Gay Chicago Magazine
Jan 1, 2000
Full Review
Titus (1999)
69%
“Stylistic flourishes amount to little more than an anachronistic jumble, with no rhyme or reason to their application.” –
Gay Chicago Magazine
Jan 1, 2000
Full Review
High Fidelity (2000)
91%
“A smart, adult comedy about the trials and tribulations of failed relationships.” –
Gay Chicago Magazine
Jan 1, 2000
Full Review
Bait (2000)
26%
“The hackneyed script is filled with formulaic contrivances that continually strain credibility.” –
Gay Chicago Magazine
Jan 1, 2000
Full Review
Mansfield Park (1999)
78%
“One of the most assured and inspired literary film adaptations all year.” –
Gay Chicago Magazine
Jan 1, 2000
Full Review
Any Given Sunday (1999)
52%
“Any Given Sunday is director Oliver Stone's epic look at the world of professional football, and there is not one cliché, archetype or silly sports movie moment that he forgets to include.” –
Gay Chicago Magazine
Jan 1, 2000
Full Review
Battlefield Earth (2000)
3%
“This third-rate B-movie is predictable and silly in the extreme.” –
Gay Chicago Magazine
Jan 1, 2000
Full Review
The Talented Mr. Ripley (1999)
85%
“Great performances, pretty locales, and smart plot twists makes this exciting character study almost as cunning as the titled character himself.” –
Gay Chicago Magazine
Jan 1, 2000
Full Review
Disney's The Kid (2000)
49%
“You somehow never object to such shameless manipulation.” –
Gay Chicago Magazine
Jan 1, 2000
Full Review
Mission: Impossible II (2000)
57%
“John Woo takes over the director's reins this time, bringing his accomplished visual flair to the proceedings.” –
Gay Chicago Magazine
Jan 1, 2000
Full Review
Meet the Parents (2000)
85%
“The film is uproarious without ever becoming nasty or mean-spirited.” –
Gay Chicago Magazine
Jan 1, 2000
Full Review
Beautiful (2000)
17%
“The script never finds the right tone for its life lessons, opting for maudlin sentimentality and ludicrous plot twists as phony as a beauty contestant's hair color.” –
Gay Chicago Magazine
Jan 1, 2000
Full Review
Scary Movie (2000)
51%
“This is the gross-out comedy of the year.” –
Gay Chicago Magazine
Jan 1, 2000
Full Review
The Way of the Gun (2000)
46%
“The characters are such cardboard constructions that it hardly matters when they all start falling by the wayside in a furious hail of gunfire.” –
Gay Chicago Magazine
Jan 1, 2000
Full Review
The Patriot (2000)
62%
“Exciting and entertaining as any good summer blockbuster should be.” –
Gay Chicago Magazine
Jan 1, 2000
Full Review
Nurse Betty (2000)
83%
“Nurse Betty has the best ensemble cast and the most clever script so far this year.” –
Gay Chicago Magazine
Jan 1, 2000
Full Review
Center Stage (2000)
41%
“The cast is all very young and pretty, but they play types rather than anything approaching the semblance of a real human being.” –
Gay Chicago Magazine
Jan 1, 2000
Full Review
Girlfight (2000)
87%
“[Rodriguez] can be so real at times that it is almost painful to watch her.” –
Gay Chicago Magazine
Jan 1, 2000
Full Review
Chicken Run (2000)
97%
“One of the funniest, best written movies of the year.” –
Gay Chicago Magazine
Jan 1, 2000
Full Review
Erin Brockovich (2000)
85%
“Compelling drama.” –
Gay Chicago Magazine
Jan 1, 2000
Full Review
The Replacements (2000)
41%
“It is a giggle here at the testosterone posturing, and a chuckle there at the goofy cheerleader tryouts.” –
Gay Chicago Magazine
Jan 1, 2000
Full Review
Tumbleweeds (1999)
82%
“Giving two of the year's best performances, (McTeer and Brown) have astonishing authenticity and naturalness, which never seems like acting.” –
Gay Chicago Magazine
Jan 1, 2000
Full Review
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