| 1 | [[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/nathan_rabin_4657.jpg]] |
| 2 | |
| 3 | Nathan Rabin (born April 24, 1976) is a [[{{Review}} film critic]] based out of UsefulNotes/{{Atlanta}} and former head writer for [[Website/AVClub The A.V. Club]], the pop-culture sister site of ''Website/TheOnion''. Rabin famously [[TropeNamers coined the term]] ManicPixieDreamGirl in his [[http://www.avclub.com/articles/the-bataan-death-march-of-whimsy-case-file-1-eliza,15577/ review]] of ''Film/{{Elizabethtown}}'', and to [[https://web.archive.org/web/20090809121615/http://bygonebureau.com:80/2009/07/27/a-better-kind-of-scum-an-interview-with-nathan-rabin a lesser extent,]] [[DiscreditedMeme The]] WesternAnimation/FamilyGuy [[DiscreditedMeme Effect]]. |
| 4 | |
| 5 | Rabin's main contribution to the site, beyond criticism, is his long-running [[http://www.avclub.com/features/my-year-of-flops/ My Year of Flops]] feature, which he describes as "a leisurely stroll of cinema's biggest commercial and critical disasters, with an eye towards singling out unfairly maligned winners (like, say, ''Film/JoeVersusTheVolcano'' or ''Film/{{Ishtar}}'') and great scenes in otherwise middling movies." After 199 installments, My Year of Flops ended and was repurposed as [[http://www.avclub.com/features/my-world-of-flops/ My World of Flops]], allowing Rabin to delve into notable failures in other non-film media (though he still did films as well), thereby offering him a wider range of subject matter to pontificate upon. The feature ended after 36 installments due to his departure from the A.V. Club. |
| 6 | |
| 7 | More recently, he has taken to music criticism, applying the My Year of Flops formula to the ''[=NOW!=]'' series of bestselling NothingButHits pop compilations in a series called [[https://web.archive.org/web/20120501220433/http://www.avclub.com/features/then-thats-what-they-called-music/ [=THEN=] That's What They Called Music]]. |
| 8 | |
| 9 | Rabin's autobiography, ''The Big Rewind'', was published in 2009. A book based on ''My Year of Flops'' (which has long since passed the single year that Rabin planned for the feature to last, and was later relaunched as ''My World of Flops'' covering all types of media) was released in 2010. Through The A.V. Club, he is one of many co-writers of ''Inventory'', which compiles over 100 lists. |
| 10 | |
| 11 | Rabin was one of six longstanding A.V. Club writers (including editor in chief Keith Phipps and film editor Scott Tobias) to leave the site between late 2012 and Spring 2013, for Pitchfork Media's film website ''The Dissolve''. He continues to look for failed flicks in [[http://thedissolve.com/features/forgotbusters/ "Forgotbusters"]], which compiles movies that were successful in their own time, and grossed enough for the yearly top 25, but have either worsened their reputations or been forgotten. Around May 2015, he left The Dissolve and went freelance, writing for websites like ''Slate'' and ''Website/{{Cracked}}'' and even restarting ''My World of Flops'' in June 2015. He also continues to search for cinematic oddballs in Decider's ''[[http://decider.com/absolute-beginners/ Absolute Beginners]]'' "an ongoing column devoted to movies streaming online that movie stars and top directors made before becoming HouseholdNames," and Rotten Tomatoes' ''[[http://editorial.rottentomatoes.com/article/sub-cult-grandmas-boy/ Sub-Cult]]'', "a series devoted to weirdly infectious cinematic oddities on the cusp of becoming the cult films of tomorrow." |
| 12 | |
| 13 | In April 2017, Rabin launched his own personal website, [[https://www.nathanrabin.com/ Nathan Rabin's Happy Place]], which features various pop culture columns and features. Following ''The A.V. Club'''s cancellation of ''My World of Flops'' the next month, he [[https://www.nathanrabin.com/happy-place/2017/5/1/big-announcement-like-huge announced]] the column would be continuing on Happy Place. In addition, he and Clint Worthington have started the Travolta/Cage project, taking a chronological look at the careers of Creator/JohnTravolta and Creator/NicolasCage, starting with a podcast with a pair of books about the actors planned for the future. |
| 14 | |
| 15 | '''Bibliography:''' |
| 16 | * ''The Big Rewind: A Memoir Brought to You by Pop Culture'' (2009) |
| 17 | * ''My Year of Flops'' (2010): A book version of the column of the same name. |
| 18 | * ''Weird Al: The Book'' (2012): The official biography of Music/WeirdAlYankovic, co-written with the man himself (in fact, Yankovic personally selected Rabin for the project) |
| 19 | * ''You Don't Know Me but You Don't Like Me'' (2013): A book about many things, chiefly about covering the fanbases of Music/InsaneClownPosse and Music/{{Phish}}, but also Rabin's impending marriage and his near-bankruptcy while writing the book. |
| 20 | * ''The Weird Accordion to Al'' (2020): A song-by-song analysis of every officially released "Weird Al" song. He first wrote it on Nathan Rabin's Happy Place before collecting as a book. A LimitedSpecialCollectorsUltimateEdition soon followed. |
| 21 | * ''The Joy of Trash'' (????): An upcoming "Definitive guide to the very worst of everything." Not limited in scope to films, this one will also include books, shows, notably misguided Website/YouTube videos by famous people, and even RealLife endeavors like Mike Bloomberg's presidential campaign and Fyre Fest. |
| 22 | |
| 23 | !!Rabin provides page quotes for the following: |
| 24 | * [[invoked]]FranchiseOriginalSin |
| 25 | * ''Series/JohnFromCincinnati'' |
| 26 | * ShowerOfLove |
| 27 | * Creator/StevenSoderbergh |
| 28 | * WhenYouComingHomeDad |
| 29 | |
| 30 | !!Films featured in My Year of Flops include: |
| 31 | * ''Film/{{Elizabethtown}}'' |
| 32 | * ''Film/{{North}}'' |
| 33 | * ''Film/TheFountain'' |
| 34 | * ''Film/{{Gigli}}'' |
| 35 | * ''Film/BattlefieldEarth'' |
| 36 | * ''Film/BatmanAndRobin'' |
| 37 | * ''Film/SouthlandTales'' |
| 38 | * ''Film/SuckerPunch'' |
| 39 | * ''Theatre/{{Rent}}'' |
| 40 | * ''Film/Psycho1998'' |
| 41 | * ''Film/WalkHard'' |
| 42 | * ''Film/HowardTheDuck'' |
| 43 | * ''WesternAnimation/{{Delgo}}'' |
| 44 | * ''Film/CanadianBacon'' |
| 45 | * ''Film/Catwoman2004'' |
| 46 | * ''Film/TheWickerMan2006'' |
| 47 | * ''Film/{{Waterworld}}'' |
| 48 | * ''Film/ThePostman'' |
| 49 | * ''Film/{{Envy}}'' |
| 50 | * ''Film/{{Ishtar}}'' |
| 51 | * ''Literature/TheBonfireOfTheVanities'' |
| 52 | * ''Film/ManOfTheYear'' |
| 53 | * ''Film/{{Jarhead}}'' |
| 54 | * ''Film/{{Toys}}'' |
| 55 | * ''Film/FourRooms'' |
| 56 | * ''Film/Dune1984'' |
| 57 | * ''Film/NothingButTrouble'' |
| 58 | * ''Film/LadyInTheWater'' |
| 59 | * ''Film/{{Striptease}}'' |
| 60 | * ''Film/ThePostman'' |
| 61 | * ''Film/TankGirl'' |
| 62 | * ''Film/OverTheTop'' |
| 63 | * ''Film/FreddyGotFingered'' [[note]]One of the few entries where he noticeably went against the grain, as he liked the film unlike [[Website/RottenTomatoes 93% of other critics]].[[/note]] |
| 64 | * ''Film/TheIslandOfDrMoreau1996'' |
| 65 | * ''Film/HudsonHawk'' |
| 66 | * ''Film/ColorOfNight'' |
| 67 | * ''Film/StrangeDays'' |
| 68 | * ''Film/TheCatInTheHat'' |
| 69 | * ''Film/{{Dreamcatcher}}'' |
| 70 | * ''Film/BasicInstinct2'' |
| 71 | * ''Film/{{Glitter}}'' |
| 72 | * ''Film/PayItForward'' |
| 73 | * ''Film/ExitToEden'' |
| 74 | * ''Film/{{Hulk}}'' |
| 75 | * ''Film/SpeedRacer'' |
| 76 | * ''Film/CutthroatIsland'' |
| 77 | * ''Film/TheRocketeer'' |
| 78 | * ''Film/SupermanIVTheQuestForPeace'' |
| 79 | * ''Film/TheLoveGuru'' |
| 80 | * ''Film/OnDeadlyGround'' |
| 81 | * ''Film/SuperMarioBros1993'' |
| 82 | * ''Film/BoxingHelena'' |
| 83 | * ''Film/TheNumber23'' |
| 84 | * ''Film/MacAndMe'' |
| 85 | * ''Film/IKnowWhoKilledMe'' |
| 86 | * ''Film/LittleNicky'' |
| 87 | * ''Film/TheAdventuresOfPlutoNash'' |
| 88 | * ''Film/TheHudsuckerProxy'' |
| 89 | |
| 90 | !!Films featured in My World of Flops include: |
| 91 | * ''Film/TheAdventuresOfElmoInGrouchland'' |
| 92 | * ''Film/{{Alexander}}'' |
| 93 | * ''[[Film/AtlasShrugged The Atlas Shrugged Trilogy]]'' |
| 94 | * ''Film/AnAmericanCarol'' |
| 95 | * ''Film/AstroBoy'' |
| 96 | * ''Film/BangkokDangerous2008'' |
| 97 | * ''Film/{{Basic}}'' |
| 98 | * ''Film/{{Baywatch}}'' |
| 99 | * ''Film/BeCool'' |
| 100 | * ''Film/TheBeachBum'' |
| 101 | * ''Film/{{Bewitched}}'' |
| 102 | * ''Film/BigBully'' |
| 103 | * ''Film/BlindFury'' |
| 104 | * ''Film/BloodAndWine'' |
| 105 | * ''Film/BluesBrothers2000'' |
| 106 | * ''Film/BoatTrip'' |
| 107 | * ''Film/TheBookOfHenry'' |
| 108 | * ''Film/TheBronze'' |
| 109 | * ''Film/TheBrothersGrimsby'' |
| 110 | * ''Film/{{Bulletproof}}'' |
| 111 | * ''Film/CantStopTheMusic'' |
| 112 | * ''Film/CaptainCorellisMandolin'' |
| 113 | * ''Film/{{Carpool}}'' |
| 114 | * ''Film/{{Cats}}'' |
| 115 | * ''Film/ChainsOfGold'' |
| 116 | * ''Film/{{Chappie}}'' |
| 117 | * ''Film/TheCobbler'' |
| 118 | * ''Film/CollateralBeauty'' |
| 119 | * ''Film/CollisionCourse'' |
| 120 | * ''Film/{{Cookie}}'' |
| 121 | * ''Film/TheCottonClub'' |
| 122 | * ''Film/TheCouchTrip'' |
| 123 | * ''Film/TheCounselor'' |
| 124 | * ''Film/DangerousGame1993'' |
| 125 | * ''Film/DarkPhoenix'' |
| 126 | * ''Film/DeadHeat'' |
| 127 | * ''Film/DeathToSmoochy'' |
| 128 | * ''Film/DestinyTurnsOnTheRadio'' |
| 129 | * ''Film/DirtyLove'' |
| 130 | * ''Film/DomesticDisturbance'' |
| 131 | * ''Film/Domino2005'' |
| 132 | * ''Film/EyesOfAnAngel'' |
| 133 | * ''Film/FatAlbert'' |
| 134 | * ''Film/TheFanatic'' |
| 135 | * ''Film/FantasticFour2015'' |
| 136 | * ''Film/{{Fedora}}'' |
| 137 | * ''Film/TheForger'' |
| 138 | * ''Film/TheFrighteners'' |
| 139 | * ''Film/FromParisWithLove'' |
| 140 | * ''Film/TheFrozenGround'' |
| 141 | * ''Film/FurryVengeance'' |
| 142 | * ''Film/{{Gamer}}'' |
| 143 | * ''Film/GhostsOfMississippi'' |
| 144 | * ''Film/{{Gotti}}'' |
| 145 | * ''Film/{{Greedy}}'' |
| 146 | * ''Film/TheHappytimeMurders'' |
| 147 | * ''Film/HeartsOfFire'' |
| 148 | * ''Film/HeavenAndEarth'' |
| 149 | * ''Film/Hellboy2019'' |
| 150 | * ''Film/HighSpirits'' |
| 151 | * ''Film/HolmesAndWatson'' |
| 152 | * ''Film/IHopeTheyServeBeerInHell'' |
| 153 | * ''Film/JemAndTheHolograms2015'' |
| 154 | * ''Film/JohnCarter'' |
| 155 | * ''Film/{{Junior}}'' |
| 156 | * ''Film/JupiterAscending'' |
| 157 | * ''Film/KillingSeason'' |
| 158 | * ''Film/KingKongLives'' |
| 159 | * ''Film/LeftBehind2014'' |
| 160 | * ''Film/LetItRide'' |
| 161 | * ''Film/LetsGoToPrison'' |
| 162 | * ''Film/TheLifeOfDavidGale'' |
| 163 | * ''Film/TheLonelyGuy'' |
| 164 | * ''Film/LonelyHearts'' |
| 165 | * ''Film/TheLonelyLady'' |
| 166 | * ''Film/LookWhosTalkingNow'' |
| 167 | * ''Film/LooneyTunesBackInAction'' |
| 168 | * ''Film/LooseCannons'' |
| 169 | * ''Film/LuckyNumbers'' |
| 170 | * ''Film/MadCity'' |
| 171 | * ''WesternAnimation/MarsNeedsMoms'' |
| 172 | * ''Film/MaximumOverdrive'' |
| 173 | * ''Film/McHalesNavy'' |
| 174 | * ''Film/MoneyPlane'' |
| 175 | * ''Film/{{Monkeybone}}'' |
| 176 | * ''Film/MonsterTrucks'' |
| 177 | * ''Film/{{Mortdecai}}'' [[note]] The first film covered after he restarted MWOF. [[/note]] |
| 178 | * ''Film/Movie43'' |
| 179 | * ''Film/NewYearsEve'' |
| 180 | * ''Film/{{Next|2007}}'' |
| 181 | * ''Film/TheNextBestThing'' |
| 182 | * ''Film/NineLives2016'' |
| 183 | * ''Film/NotCool'' |
| 184 | * ''Film/OldDogs'' |
| 185 | * ''Film/OnlyGodForgives'' |
| 186 | * ''Film/OnTheLine'' |
| 187 | * ''Film/TheOogielovesInTheBigBalloonAdventure'' |
| 188 | * ''Film/TheOscar'' |
| 189 | * ''Film/{{Palmetto}}'' |
| 190 | * ''Film/Perfect1985'' |
| 191 | * ''Film/ThePickle'' |
| 192 | * ''Film/TheQuest'' |
| 193 | * ''Film/RoboCop3'' |
| 194 | * ''Film/RockOfAges'' |
| 195 | * ''Film/RockTheKasbah'' |
| 196 | * ''Film/RulesDontApply'' |
| 197 | * ''Film/Sahara1983'' |
| 198 | * ''Film/SeekingJustice'' |
| 199 | * ''Film/{{Serenity|2019}}'' |
| 200 | * ''Film/{{Sextette}}'' |
| 201 | * ''Film/Shaft2019'' |
| 202 | * ''Film/{{Sheena}}'' |
| 203 | * ''Film/SimonSez'' |
| 204 | * ''Film/SinCityADameToKillFor'' |
| 205 | * ''Film/SmallSoldiers'' |
| 206 | * ''Film/SnakeEyes'' |
| 207 | * ''Film/{{Solarbabies}}'' |
| 208 | * ''Film/TheSorcerersApprentice'' |
| 209 | * ''Film/ASoundOfThunder'' |
| 210 | * ''Film/SpiderMan3'' |
| 211 | * ''Film/TheSqueeze'' |
| 212 | * ''Film/Stolen2012'' |
| 213 | * ''WesternAnimation/StrangeMagic'' |
| 214 | * ''Film/StrokerAce'' |
| 215 | * ''Film/{{Sunset|1988}}'' |
| 216 | * ''Film/Supergirl1984'' |
| 217 | * ''Film/TheSurvivors'' |
| 218 | * ''Film/SwingVote'' |
| 219 | * ''Film/TheTakingOfPelhamOneTwoThree'' (2009) |
| 220 | * ''Film/ThatsMyBoy'' |
| 221 | * ''Film/AThousandWords'' |
| 222 | * ''Film/TrappedInParadise'' |
| 223 | * ''Film/TwoOfAKind1983'' |
| 224 | * ''Film/UTurn'' |
| 225 | * ''Film/UnderTheRainbow'' |
| 226 | * ''Film/Unforgettable1996'' |
| 227 | * ''Film/TheWeatherMan'' |
| 228 | * ''Film/WhiteHouseDown'' |
| 229 | * ''Film/WhiteMansBurden'' |
| 230 | * ''Film/{{Windtalkers}}'' |
| 231 | * ''Film/WintersTale'' |
| 232 | * ''Film/WiseGuys'' |
| 233 | * ''Film/WonderWoman1984'' |
| 234 | * ''Film/WonTonTonTheDogWhoSavedHollywood'' |
| 235 | * ''Film/AWrinkleInTime2018'' |
| 236 | * ''Film/YogaHosers'' |
| 237 | * ''Film/YourHighness'' |
| 238 | * ''Film/Zoolander2'' |
| 239 | |
| 240 | !!Other media featured in My World of Flops include: |
| 241 | * ''Series/CopRock'' |
| 242 | * ''VideoGame/ETTheExtraTerrestrial'' |
| 243 | * ''Series/IAmCait'' |
| 244 | * ''Series/TheJackAndTriumphShow'' |
| 245 | * ''Series/JohnFromCincinnati'' |
| 246 | * ''Series/KDOCFirstNight'' |
| 247 | * ''[[Music/LilWayne Lil' Wayne's]] [[NewSoundAlbum Rebirth]]'' |
| 248 | * ''ComicBook/{{Marville}}'' |
| 249 | * ''Series/TheMaryTylerMooreHour'' |
| 250 | * ''Series/{{Mulaney}}'' |
| 251 | * ''Music/MusicFromTheElder'' |
| 252 | * ''Series/PinkLadyAndJeff'' |
| 253 | * ''Series/SarahPalinsAlaska'' |
| 254 | * ''Series/Studio60OnTheSunsetStrip'' |
| 255 | * ''Series/TheTwoCoreys'' |
| 256 | * ''Series/WhatWouldRyanLochteDo'' |
| 257 | |
| 258 | !!Films featured in Forgotbusters include: |
| 259 | * ''Film/TheGoldenChild'' |
| 260 | * ''Film/Godzilla1998'' |
| 261 | * ''Film/SpaceJam'' |
| 262 | * ''Film/RisingSun'' |
| 263 | * ''Film/{{Congo}}'' |
| 264 | * ''Film/{{Hannibal}}'' |
| 265 | * ''Film/{{Disclosure}}'' |
| 266 | * ''Film/{{Jack|1996}}'' |
| 267 | * ''Film/DaysOfThunder'' |
| 268 | * ''Film/BringingDownTheHouse'' |
| 269 | * ''Film/{{Eraser}}'' |
| 270 | * ''WesternAnimation/SharkTale'' |
| 271 | * ''Film/WhatWomenWant'' |
| 272 | * ''Film/{{xXx}}'' |
| 273 | * ''Film/TangoAndCash'' |
| 274 | * ''Film/HotShots'' |
| 275 | * ''Film/FunWithDickAndJane'' (2005) |
| 276 | * ''Film/IndecentProposal'' |
| 277 | * ''Film/FailureToLaunch'' |
| 278 | * ''Film/{{Cobra}}'' |
| 279 | * ''Film/{{Hancock}}'' |
| 280 | * ''Film/{{Convoy}}'' |
| 281 | * ''Film/FantasticFourRiseOfTheSilverSurfer'' |
| 282 | * ''Film/ConspiracyTheory'' |
| 283 | * ''Film/JingleAllTheWay'' |
| 284 | * ''Film/FourChristmases'' |
| 285 | * ''Film/{{Avatar}}'' |
| 286 | * ''Film/Boomerang1992'' |
| 287 | * ''Film/{{Wanted}}'' |
| 288 | * ''Film/{{Michael}}'' |
| 289 | * ''Film/{{Phenomenon}}'' |
| 290 | * ''WesternAnimation/{{Antz}}'' |
| 291 | * ''Film/TurnerAndHooch'' |
| 292 | * ''Film/Ten1979'' |
| 293 | |
| 294 | !!The man himself: |
| 295 | * TheAtoner: He frequently made fun of Music/{{Phish}} fans and [[Music/InsaneClownPosse Juggalos]] but after going to their concerts as explained in ''You Don't Know Me, But You Don't Like Me'', he later identified with their sense of community. |
| 296 | * BrilliantButLazy: He is regarded as a talented critic, but he said that he spent his high school days largely cutting class, going to the arcade or finding films with nudity in them. |
| 297 | * CreatorBacklash: [[http://www.salon.com/2014/07/15/im_sorry_for_coining_the_phrase_manic_pixie_dream_girl/ He doesn't like the Manic Pixie Dixie Dream Girl term anymore.]] |
| 298 | * DeadpanSnarker: Though he doesn't like the term. |
| 299 | * HilariouslyAbusiveChildhood: As seen in his memoir, The Big Rewind, he hasn't had the happiest of childhoods. But damned if he doesn't wring some laughs out of it. |
| 300 | * JewishAndNerdy |
| 301 | * ManicPixieDreamGirl: TropeNamer |
| 302 | * TheMovieBuff: Well, of course. |
| 303 | * OddballInTheSeries: His MWOF on ''[[VideoGame/ETTheExtraTerrestrial E.T.]]'', the only video game covered in the series. After playing it, he states how he never wants to play another video game for the foreseeable future. |
| 304 | * PrettyFlyForAWhiteGuy: He mentions many times his love for hip-hop. |
| 305 | * TheStoner: Mentions his pot smoking several times, among other drug consumptions. |
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