4. Movie Critic From Lady In The Water
Character Name: Harry Farber Actor Name: Bob Balaban It would be cheap if he didn't get away with it. But he did. He didn't go the Roland Emmrich route. Remember in Godzilla (1998) how the mayor of New York City and his aide dressed up like Ebert and Siskel (complete with the thumbs-up sign). It was done to get some payback for how the dynamic film duo had given Roland's films such negative reviews over the years. Turns out the joke was on Emmrich cause his film was awful and a box office disaster. Serves him right for indulging in such cheap theatrics to get a joke across. If you're going to lash out at someone then do it right. Now M. Night Shyamalan, he did it right. As part of the cornucopia of delightful eccentrics that populated the apartment complex in Lady In The Water there was a certain film critic that bears the most uncanny resemblance to the great character actor Bob Balaban (cause he is). Every stereotype about Film Critics are present in the character; the smugness, the entitlement, the out of touch opinions and the know it all mentality all with a bit of comedic self deprecating flair added by Shyamalan. The best thing about the charcter is his ability for hilarious instances of movie critic style appraisal for the situations, both mundane and supernatural, that he finds himself in. His play by play narration of his encounter with the monster is perhaps the greatest moment in the film. (warning: spoilers in this scene)