PHILADELPHIA—Exhaling and rolling his eyes in exasperation as the credits to Listen Up, Phillip rolled, your father said “That’s it? What the heck was that?” in remarks Monday constituting a scorched-earth capsule review of the movie you suggested your family watch together. “What exactly did you just show me? Is this the stuff you like? Do people actually watch this?” your dad asked in regard to the indie film about narcissistic Brooklyn novelists, expressing incredulity that you thought his love of Don DeLillo would endear him to “such a plotless piece of junk.” “I guess this is what passes for entertainment these days, but that was not my cup of tea. Now, The Bourne Identity, that was a good movie. Well-written. Great performances. This, though, this was just ridiculous. You should apologize to your mother for wasting two hours of her life.” After a hushed consultation with your mother, your father later amended his review by saying “After thinking about it, I can see why you thought it was interesting.”

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