Line #70 Main/CriticBreakdown


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6	[[quoteright:350:[[WebVideo/TheNostalgiaChick https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/criticbreakdownnchick.png]]]]
7	[[caption-width-right:350:Yeah... ''Film/FreddyGotFingered'' will [[INeedAFreakingDrink do that]] to you.]]
8
9	->''"ONE guy?! No continues?! Like, seriously, give me a reason why there's no continues. WHY ARE THERE NO CONTINUES?! ''[hysterically]'' WHY ARE THERE NO FUCKING CONTINUES?! ''[loudly]'' WHHHYYYYY?!?! AAAAGGHHH!!!!"''
10	-->-- ''WebVideo/TheAngryVideoGameNerd'', on the [[Platform/NintendoEntertainmentSystem NES]] ''ComicStrip/DickTracy'' game
11
12	Sometimes, a piece of 'entertainment' is so excruciatingly awful, so mind-numbingly boring or appalling, the only way that a critic or reviewer can find to fend off those considering seeing or playing it out of perverse curiosity is to... well, [[ChewingTheScenery massively]], [[ComicalOverreacting comically over-react]].
13
14	Don't just pan the film; walk out of the theater in disgust, in as dramatic a fashion as possible. Don't just give the game a low score, [[BrokeTheRatingScale or even a sub-zero score]] -- pretend you couldn't bring yourself to finish the review at all. Act out as if you are ''terrified'' of the show/game/book/whatever. Scream in outrage at the very '''existence''' of the thing. Speak as if it has pushed you over the DespairEventHorizon and that the memory of it will drain all the goodness out of everything else you have ever reviewed.
15
16	In other words, make it clear that, yes, it really does hurt to watch, to AndIMustScream levels for anyone experiencing it, and no amount of BileFascination can make up for the awfulness.
17
18	While these sorts of theatrics are not limited to {{Caustic Critic}}s, they are a favored tactic of several of them when confronted with something that is [[TakeThat actually as bad as they usually make everything else out to be]].
19
20	Usually, this is well rehearsed ahead of time, as the critic has, presumably, actually finished it, or at least isn't watching it as they perform the review. It has been known to occur in real-time, however, especially in game criticism with the rise of 'First Impressions'-style reviews which are being recorded as the critic plays for the first time.
21
22	Note that this a trope for ''critics'', not the material they criticize, though it can appear in the reactions of fictional reviewers (in which case it it should be listed for the series or story where it appears).
23
24	A subtrope of SuckinessIsPainful. Usually involves a serving of LargeHam.
25	----
26
27	!!Examples of Critic Breakdown in Fictional Critics
28
29	[[foldercontrol]]
30
31	[[folder:Live-Action TV]]
32	* ''Series/ABitOfFryAndLaurie'': [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CHtjl8V483A&ab_channel=howlingmadme Several examples.]]
33	-->'''Hugh:''' Simon Clituris, you watched that sketch ... I assume you were disappointed?
34	-->'''Stephen:''' Well frankly, I thought it was predictable.
35	-->'''Hugh:''' You predicted it, did you?
36	-->'''Stephen:''' Absolutely, and I think that's why it was predictable. Their choice of targets was predictable ...
37	-->'''Hugh:''' Estate agents ...
38	-->'''Stephen:''' Where?
39	-->'''Hugh:''' The target of that last sketch was estate agents.
40	-->'''Stephen:''' I didn't notice that.
41	-->'''Hugh:''' And of course their choice of language was predictable ...
42	-->'''Stephen:''' Precisely. English was a sadly predictable language for them to have chosen.
43	* Terrible films are the bread and butter of ''Series/MysteryScienceTheater3000'', so this is a natural thing for the series. The protagonists aren't professional critics, but they are trapped in space and forced to watch bad movies (real ones; the fictional part is the setup of the series). The worst of the worst movies actually do drive the cast to the edge of breakdowns, or completely over.
44	** ''Film/ManosTheHandsOfFate'', perhaps the most notorious of the Joel-era episodes, sent both Tom and Crow into a panic ''during the opening credits'', because they were convinced that they were going to be forced to watch a SnuffFilm. Later, both TV's Frank and Dr. Forrester approached the communicator when the other was away, to privately apologize to Joel and the bots for foisting something so awful on them.
45	** ''Film/MonsterAGoGo'' left the bots in a deep depression, which Joel unsuccessfully tries to cheer them out of. They also state that it was just as bad as ''Manos'', which is a pretty severe criticism in light of their reaction to that.
46	** ''Film/{{Eegah}}'' was so bad that Crow and Tom Servo [[ShowerOfAngst had to take showers afterwards to wash the filth away]].
47	** ''Film/RedZoneCuba'' makes Mike think he's Carol Channing. Tom Servo and Crow have to sing a manic "Bouncy Upbeat Song" to keep themselves from complete despair.
48	** ''Film/InvasionOfTheNeptuneMen'' leaves the [[HeroicBSOD cast sobbing and wondering what's the point of living anymore]]. A surprise visit from Phantom of Krankor pulls them back from a complete breakdown.
49	** ''Film/{{Hobgoblins}}'' was so bad, everyone walked out of the theater and left behind cardboard cutouts of themselves in there and on the SOL. Eventually, Pearl found out what they were up to and forced them to finish the movie.
50	** But none of these compare to ''Film/TheCastleOfFuManchu'', where the cast can’t finish any of their host segments due to how horrible the movie is, and it’s due to only a suggestion at the final segment that Frank and Forrester watch it that the Mads don’t use it to conquer the world.
51	[[/folder]]
52
53	!!Examples in RealLife Critiques
54
55	Note that examples are given in the category of the review, not the reviewed items.
56
57	[[foldercontrol]]
58
59	[[folder:{{Print Media}}]]
60	* When Melissa Mills reviewed Music/UriahHeep's first album for ''Magazine/RollingStone'' in 1970, her critique began “If this group makes it, I’ll have to commit suicide”--a sentence which quickly attained the era's equivalent of MemeticMutation status.
61	* Creator/RogerEbert did not often lose his temper at films, but when he did, the results were legendary:
62	** In Ebert's [[https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/the-human-centipede-2010 review]] of ''Film/TheHumanCentipede'', which he disclaimed as not being "so much a review as a public service announcement," he [[BrokeTheRatingScale outright refused to rate it]]:
63	--->'''Ebert:''' I am required to award stars to movies I review. This time, I refuse to do it. The star rating system is unsuited to this film. Is the movie good? Is it bad? Does it matter? It is what it is and occupies a world [[StealthPun where the stars don’t shine]].
64	** Ebert's [[https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/north-1994 review]] of ''Film/{{North}}'' started out as a zero-star pan but devolved into an outright tirade in print:
65	--->'''Ebert:''' I hated this movie. Hated hated hated hated hated this movie. Hated it. Hated every simpering stupid vacant audience-insulting moment of it. Hated the sensibility that thought anyone would like it. Hated the implied insult to the audience by its belief that anyone would be entertained by it.
66	[[/folder]]
67
68
69	[[folder:WebVideo]]
70	* ''WebVideo/TheAngryJoeShow'': Joe is simply in love with this trope.
71	** His [[https://youtu.be/a1HTKWX15oo review]] of ''VideoGame/RideToHellRetribution'' opens with him in his gaming chair writhing in agony and clutching at his eyes.
72	** Similarly, the [[https://youtu.be/eK4u4uezIPM review video]] for ''VideoGame/MindJack'' opens with him sitting facing the camera, staring blankly and drooling as a voiceover explains that the game Mind Jacked him while he was playing.
73	** He [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LkwRJz1-2Qg opens his review]] of ''[[VideoGame/SonicRiders Sonic Free Riders]]'' by claiming that the game had ruined his life, draining the pleasure from things like music and food, and declaring that he would start a fistfight with anyone who dared give the game a positive review.
74	* ''WebVideo/BrowsHeldHigh'':
75	** Kyle's review of ''Film/WhatIsIt'' caused him to break down over its disturbing and offensive imagery.
76	** Kyle tries very hard to hold it together in his review of ''Film/ASerbianFilm'', but ultimately snaps and calls NATO over it. Deconstructed when the NATO commander he talks to mocks him for being outraged that a film deliberately designed to be as offensive and shocking as possible was offensive and shocking.
77	** PlayedForDrama in his review of ''Film/{{Melancholia}}'', a film about depression, where over the course of watching it he grows more and more despairing and lashes out at his friends and job.
78	* Creator/JimSterling, especially in the ''Best Of Steam Greenlight Trailers'' series:
79	** Had a screaming fit over ''[[https://youtu.be/MoNj7Or7SOU Pixel Rising]]'' on finding that it is ''yet one more [=UnitZ=] asset flip''; they had reviewed '''seven''' versions of the same game with different names uploaded by different 'developers' by this time, so a degree of outrage was called for.
80	** Was sent into a state of [[HeroicBSOD existential despair]] by [[SmallNameBigEgo Digital Homicide]]'s ''[[https://youtu.be/LV2krWfHC6E E.L.T.: The Extra-Large Testicle]]''.
81	** During their "Squirty Play" (LetsPlay-style playthrough) of ''Zen Fish Simulator''[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XxNqXwGBjMs]], they mused first whether they were 'on some secret drug [..] like some government shady psychotropic test', then whether they were trapped in a ''Film/JacobsLadder''-style dying hallucination and was really 'on a stretcher in Vietnam or something'.
82	** Alternated between [[HeroicBSOD devolving into]] [[BabyTalk child-like gibberish]] ("it's sad game to have bad times with! No goody game game!") and [[LargeHam scenery-chewing ranting]] in their review of ''VideoGame/ContraRogueCorps'', which they describe as being the antithesis of a ''VideoGame/{{Contra}}'' title.[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cIWwyyOzrFQ]] Admittedly, this was a Creator/{{Konami}} title made after the departure of Creator/HideoKojima, which automatically makes it a something of BerserkButton for Sterling.
83	* ''WebVideo/JonTron'' had several breakdowns for several inane reasons:
84	** During the ''VideoGame/{{Nightshade}}'' review, when he gets to the point of seeing an old lady being constantly hammered, he stops playing the game, takes the cartridge to the back room and starts smacking it with a sledge hammer and it devolves into a bizarre karaoke session in slow motion that makes him sounds like a 'sedated Chewbacca'. [[MindScrew It's as weird as it sounds.]]
85	** One of his oft-memed breakdown happens during the review of ''VideoGame/BanjoKazooieNutsAndBolts'' when he finds out that there is a car building and car driving session.
86	-->'''Jon:''' "Cars...? ''Cars...? '''CAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRSSSS!!!!!'''''" \
87	(suddenly breaks into a parody of [[Music/WhitneyHouston "And I Will Always Love You"]]) \
88	"AND III-IIIII--''HOLY SHIT!!''--WILL ALWAYS LOVE YOU-''[[MotorMouth ICAN'TBELIEVEYOUDIDITTOMEGODDAMMITHOWCOULDYOUDOTHISTOME!?!?!?]]''"
89	* Parodied by Creator/JoshScorcher when reviewing the ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'' episode "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS3E13MagicalMysteryCure Magical Mystery Cure]]". After witnessing Alicorn Twilight, he went utterly apeshit, screaming, banging his locker, sobbing under a ShowerOfAngst, but in the end of it, he suddenly calms down and declares, "I'm OK with this."
90	** An [[InvertedTrope inversion]] of this parody happens when he found out about the development of ''VideoGame/HyruleWarriors'': He {{Squee}}s so hard at the joy of two of his favorite series crossing over, but then calmly says in the end "It's going to suck because it's not a true ''[[Franchise/TheLegendOfZelda Zelda]]'' game." He had to put a disclaimer that the last part is a joke.
91	* ''WebVideo/TheMysteriousMrEnter'' nearly gives up during his review of ''WesternAnimation/MegaBabies'', and needs a pep talk from his mentor in order to finish it up. Also, ''WesternAnimation/WhereTheDeadGoToDie'' disturbed him so much that he shows his face in a vlog to explain why [[BrokeTheRatingScale it's too depraved for an Animated Atrocity review]]. Aside from a quick snark at ''WesternAnimation/TheProblemSolverz'' for now needing glasses, he sounds emotionally deadened throughout. The concept that such a film could be made, and worse yet with the alleged intention of comedy, traumatized him to the point of delaying his ''WesternAnimation/MarsNeedsMoms'' review to think about the abomination he'd just watched.
92	* ''WebVideo/TheNostalgiaCritic'' has built his entire career on this trope, particularly after his review of ''Film/BatmanAndRobin'' had him undergo such a breakdown that he had to be restrained by orderlies in three [[TimeSkip Time Skips]], and even after calming down, could not say or hear the words "Bat Credit Card" for years afterwards without leaping into another homicidal rage. Creator/DougWalker, the real person behind the persona, has stated more than once that his fans watch his show for the freak-outs and will constantly bring up a trigger phrase (like Bat Credit Card above) to see what reaction he'll give in person.
93	** His review of ''WesternAnimation/{{Foodfight}}'' opens with him wandering into his home in a daze. He then snaps, destroying the DVD with the garbage disposal followed by frantically smashing every product in the kitchen which was featured in the film (or on the DVD jewel case).[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VO1FdVSMZHA]]
94	** ''[[Film/TheNeverEndingStoryIIIEscapeFromFantasia The NeverEnding Story 3]]'' causes the Nostalgia Critic to go LaughingMad, go to the hardware store and buy a hammer, and smash the DVD in a fit of rage.
95	** He gets so depressed during his review of ''Film/SonOfTheMask'' that he literally ''begs'' ''TheDevil'' ''himself'' ''[[DrivenToSuicide to kill him]]''. The Devil refuses, because he just loves the idea the Critic is undergoing a FateWorseThanDeath.
96	** His earliest stint at this during the review of ''Film/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtlesIII'', whereas five minutes after believing that the movie's going to be an improvement over the two previous films... he's seen without his jacket under a ShowerOfAngst crying and rambling "OH MY GOD, IT'S SO TERRIBLE! IT'S SO TERRIBLEEHHAHAHAHAHA--", and doing a lot of crazy breakdowns before declaring it the worst thing that no one should ever have to see and inventing the word "Horribufuckus."
97	** His review of ''Film/TheOddLifeOfTimothyGreen'' opens with him questioning how bad it can be before doing a TimeSkip during which he saw the movie and became so (literally) murderously enraged that he killed a neighbor's cat before he could stop himself. He still feels a lot of regret, though.
98	* ''WebVideo/{{ProJared}}'' has had several:
99	** Playing ''VideoGame/{{Oscar}}'' was such an awful experience that he [[https://youtu.be/vgSJjp9sGF8 spends the entire review]] [[HeroicBSOD lying on the floor and questioning his life]] when not despairing about the game.
100	** The opening of his [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FaLHt1ajC5w review]] of ''VideoGame/VirtualHydlide'' replaces his usual "I'm playing..." line with a shot of him slumped backwards with an expression of slack-jawed horror, able only to muster a miserable croak by way of description.
101	* ''WebVideo/{{SomeCallMeJohnny}}'' is mostly a down to earth game reviewer, but even he has his moments:
102	** His first instinct upon finding out he had to review ''VideoGame/Superman64'' was a BigNo, followed by telling [[ItMakesSenseInContext the demon who gave the game to him]] "fuck that". Later, after putting up with the FakeDifficulty and the game's [[invoked]] ObviousBeta status and [[AWinnerIsYou getting nothing out of it]], he gave the game a [[BrokeTheRatingScale -64 out of 10]] [[ScrewTheRulesIMakeThem after realizing that it's his review and he can do whatever the hell he wants]].
103	** Downplayed in his ''VideoGame/ShadowTheHedgehog'' review, in which he just [[ScrewThisImOuttaHere silently drops the controller and leaves]] upon seeing the Black Arms race appear from the sky. [[ButThouMust He comes back anyways, but he's clearly unhappy]].
104	** Johnny's frustration also hits its maximum peak trying to kill the final boss in ''VideoGame/EccoTheDolphin'', [[RageQuit before angrily giving up, saying that Ecco died saving his kind and quickly tore the game cartridge off his Sega Genesis]].
105	** He also got fed up trying to wrestle with the controls to ''VideoGame/SonicFreeRiders'' (to be fair, it ''is'' the Kinect), to the point where he started damning the Kinect towards the end of his look at.
106	** He ''hates'' ''VideoGame/SuperMarioSunshine'' with a passion (or to be precise, the hoops he had to go through to get the [[BonusFeatureFailure lackluster]] OneHundredPercentCompletion reward), [[DrowningMySorrows to the point where he got]] ''[[DrowningMySorrows drunk]]'' [[DrowningMySorrows mid-review]].
107	* ''Creator/TheQuarterGuy'' had this kind of breakdown during his 'Top 10 Worst [[VideoGame/MegaManX Mavericks]]' when describing Tornado Tonion, screaming ''"He's just an onion!!"'' every time until he's left in a whimpering mess reciting that in a MadnessMantra. The funny thing is that [[spoiler:Tornado Tonion is just #2 in the countdown; it gets even worse when he talks about Flame Hyenard]].
108	* ''WebVideo/NitroRad'': Throughout his review of ''VideoGame/Bubsy3D'', James [[AccentuateTheNegative talks about the game very negatively]], [[OoCIsSeriousBusiness which says a lot considering he usually avoids doing this in his reviews]], borders on SanitySlippage and gets ExhaustedEyeBags the more he progresses in the game. When he finally beats it, he does a PostVictoryCollapse, and calls ''Bubsy [=3D=]'' the worst game he's ever played, and finishes she video by stating he'll go [[CooldownHug hug]] [[IWantMyMommy his mom]] [[DespairEventHorizon and cry]].
109	* Eric from ''WebVideo/PrettyMuchIt'' tends to pick content that he enjoys for his commentaries, which causes him to truly lose it and scream several times when he's forced to watch Creator/TheFineBrothers' ''Film/FTheProm''.
110	-->'''Eric:''' "I HAVE TO PAY ATTENTION, OR MY BRAIN IS GOING TO FALL OUT OF MY FUCKING EARS! I DON'T KNOW WHERE I AM... I DON'T KNOW WHO I AM!"
111	* ''WebVideo/TheSpoonyExperiment'': their review of ''VideoGame/UltimaIX'' has Spoony comically perched on the armrest of his chair in a fetal position and swallowing pills pretty early on, but eventually culminates in a severe MoodWhiplash, when he suddenly breaks character and relates a very personal story of his childhood and how much the ''Ultima'' series meant to him growing up, concluding on a very serious reflection on the trauma its bungled finale had inflicted upon him.
112	* ''WebVideo/MothersBasement'': His [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2dAIvjuj1dg review]] of ''Literature/TheMasterOfRagnarokAndBlesserOfEinherjar'' closes with Geoff saying that he was going to go stare at a wall until the memories of the series faded, but that he might review something better 'when I can feel positive emotions again'.
113	* [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mB1zWEhgrLs GameSpot's video review]] of ''Videogame/BigRigsOverTheRoadRacing'', where Alex Navarro gets increasingly frustrated at the "[[ObviousBeta game]]", culminating in him leaving the office and flopping on the ground. [[StunnedSilence All without saying a word]].
114	* James Phyrillas of WebVideo/SchaffrillasProductions is known for usually staying fairly level-headed throughout his reviews even when it's clear he really does not like the movie(s) he is reviewing and/or finds certain elements very stupid. However, ''WesternAnimation/MegamindVsTheDoomSyndicate'' caused the normally restrained Schaffrillas to go from angry and/or frustrated shouting to ''shrieking in incandescent rage'' over the course of his review of the movie over how much of a trainwreck he found the movie to be on almost every level (especially as a follow-up to ''WesternAnimation/{{Megamind}}'', a movie he openly holds very near and dear to his heart). Many of his fans remarked that he had finally had his "[[WebVideo/TheNostalgiaCritic Bat Credit Card]]" moment.
115	[[/folder]]
116
117	[[folder: Other]]
118	* Romance novel review site ''[[https://smartbitchestrashybooks.com Smart Bitches, Trashy Books]]'' have elevated this trope almost to the level of a SignatureStyle for their negative reviews. It's ''usually'' PlayedForLaughs, albeit sometimes [[BlackComedy rather dark ones]], but when a book goes into certain territory (such as offensive stereotyping, cavalier handling of RapeAsDrama and ''especially'' RomanticisedAbuse) it becomes [[DudeNotFunny the exact opposite]].
119	* When reviewing ''Film/WolfCreek'' in 2005 on Australian TV program ''At The Movies'', film critic David Stratton claimed that he was so spooked by the film, he couldn't rate it.

Context Main / CriticBreakdown