Hancock is terrible... because it's not a family film and thus shouldn't open on July 4th weekend?

Roger Friedman of FoxNews.com calls Hancock 'Will Smith's $150 million Disaster'. But it is not a critique, but rather a judgment based on a false premise. Namely that July 4th is for family movies and thus Hancock should be a family movie.

Um, how about we review the movie and not whether it is appropriate for children. A) it's PG-13, the same rating as Smith's decidedly not for kids I Am Legend. B) July 4th is not necessarily a family film weekend by law.

In 1991, Terminator 2 broke records ($55 million in five-days) on this weekend. In 1992, Eddie Murphy opened the R-rated Boomerang. In 1993, the big smash that weekend was The Firm, an R-rated 2.5 hour legal thriller. Blown Away, Judge Dredd, The Patriot, Scary Movie 2, Terminator 3, War Of The Worlds (PG-13 but certainly not for kids either)... The list goes on and on.

Most of Friedman's rant is over the fact that it is a film that is inappropriate for young children and that Smith dares to star in an unlikable role. I knew that from the trailer, to say nothing of the media reports detailing the film's struggle to avoid an R. This isn't news and it isn't a review. Hell, it's not even gossip, but rather an attempt to create controversy where none exists.

Scott Mendelson