Friday, November 30, 2001

The good, the bad and the ugly of 2001 entertainment
By David Reese
Skiff Staff

A look back at the past year reveals that the entertainment field of 2001 has been an example of give and take. It has been a record-setting year for movies at the expense of quality. Television experienced a dash of success with new programming and returning series, but it has also lost some shows. Pop music has been losing its stronghold at the top of the charts, making way for more rock artists. Despite the disappointments and shifts, the entertainment field has been prolific enough to release a few outstanding products here and there. Here is a look at the good, the bad and the ugly of 2001.

Stealing the record from summer 1999, this past summer’s box office was the highest grossing summer of all time garnering more than $1.3 billion. However, sales do not always indicate quality.

The most critically acclaimed films are usually saved until the end of the year so they can get a boost from the holiday box office just in time for Oscar consideration, but there are numerous movies that are already receiving buzz this holiday season. Some include Tom Cruise in “Vanilla Sky,” Will Smith in “Ali,” Kevin Spacey in “The Shipping News,” Russell Crowe in “A Beautiful Mind” and George Clooney and a stellar Hollywood cast including Brad Pitt, Matt Damon and Julia Roberts in “Ocean’s 11.”

Although the holiday season is known for the better-quality films, the year was not a total waste in the realm of motion pictures.

A real niche was found in movies this year for animated features as it flexed its box office muscle and pulled in some cash. “Shrek” featured the voices of Mike Myers, Eddie Murphy and Cameron Diaz, and is the highest grossing film of the year so far with impressing earnings of $250 million.

As the winter holidays begin, “Monsters, Inc.” featuring the voices of John Goodman and Billy Crystal was also a critical and public success. The film, which opened in early November, has grossed more than $150 million so far.

But there are also many highlights from this year’s movie line-up.

The independent favorite of the year was “Memento” starring Guy Pearce, who is known for his 1997 role in “L.A. Confidential.” The movie proved to be a success among both critics and viewers raking in more than $50 million.

The British comedy of the year was “Bridget Jones’ Diary” which starred Renee Zellweger, a native Texan, playing the lead role of a British woman suffering through her thirties.

Perhaps the crowning achievement of this year’s slate of films is Chris Columbus’ film adaptation of J.K. Rowling’s “Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone.” The film has broken many records including the best opening weekend gross with more than $90 million.

Movies have not been the only entertainment field to fill their pockets this past year. Record companies and music artists have also filled their piggy banks.

Although album sales are down overall there are numerous artists who are doing fairly well.

Alicia Keys has enjoyed breakout success with her first single, “Fallin’,” and her triple-platinum album, “Songs in A Minor.” She seems to have a bright future in the music business and she looks to be the front-runner for the Grammy awards.

The international superstar, Jennifer Lopez, opened the year with a number one movie and album. Lopez’s second album entitled “J.Lo” has gone on to sell three million copies and had a huge number one single “I’m Real” featuring Ja Rule.

In all ways, the bubble gum pop music that dominated the charts in 1999 and 2000 started to falter in 2001. ‘N Sync released their third album, “Celebrity” in July, which has sold over five million albums to date. Although five million is a dream number for most artists, ‘N Sync sold double that for each of their two previous albums.

More proof that demonstrates teen pop is going down the drain includes the failure of Jessica Simpson’s “Irresistible,” Mandy Moore’s self-titled album, Willa Ford’s “Willa Was Here” and the Backstreet Boys’ greatest hits “The Hits — Chapter One.” None of these albums have been as successful as their previous ventures.

The most famous female pop princess, Britney Spears, released a number one self-titled album along with a sold-out concert tour. Spears looks like she will be dancing into 2002 with a her first film role in “Crossroads.”

Since pop music has been losing its hold the pop charts, rock musicians have been making their return into the forefront.

Linkin Park had a tremendous year with “Hybrid Theory” which has sold millions of records.

Sum 41, Alien Ant Farm and Creed have had a strong year as well. The rap and R&B genre has also dominated the year with artists such as Jay-Z, Eve, DMX and Mary J. Blige leading the way.
Earlier in the year, Janet Jacks

n had a surprise hit album “All for You” which sold an outstanding 600,000 copies in its first week. It beat her older brother, Michael Jackson’s comeback album, “Invincible” which surprisingly did better than expected.

An artist that was a complete disappointment this year was Mariah Carey. Along with treatment for a mental breakdown, Carey also faced the failure of both her first starring role in “Glitter” and its soundtrack.

Music has had the biggest ups and downs of the year, but television shows have become the biggest success and comeback stories of the year.

Many television shows including “Frasier,” “ER” and “Friends” have been invigorated by the new television season.

After a semi-disappointing season, “Friends” became a force to be reckoned with again this year with surprise twists and turns for the program’s last season.

Other shows that have been doing well include “Everybody Loves Raymond” which has become a staple in CBS’s Monday night programming. The show, which stars Ray Romano and Patricia Heaton as members of a blue-collar family, has moved up in ratings over the past five years. It was not until last year that it became the huge hit that it is now.

CBS also has another highly watched series entitled “CSI.” Originally, the series became a surprise hit after being placed behind last season’s “Survivor: The Australian Outback.” This year, it is “CSI” that is helping “Survivor: Africa.” The show has become the second highest rated drama series after “ER.”

Reality programming has lost a lot of steam that it once had. Series such as “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire,” “Survivor,” “Temptation Island” and “Weakest Link” are no longer the sure-fire hits that they once were. Actually, most of them have lost a lot of viewers.

New programming has also taken a beating this season. There have been very few huge hits this year. CBS has had success with “The Guardian” and NBC is riding high on “Crossing Jordan” starring the former “Law & Order” star, Jill Hennessy.

Other shows such as “Bob Patterson,” “Danny,” “Citizen Baines” and “Inside Schwartz” have had a rough start and three of the four are already canceled.

In all aspects, the entertainment field has had its ups and downs in the year 2001. However, there are still a few things left to look forward to in the last month of that will hopefully help the entertainment year end on a high note.

David Reese
d.w.reese@student.tcu.edu