Movie Jail: This week's defendant is...Jason Reitman!

Last Updated on August 2, 2021

This is Movie Jail, a unique maximum security prison that houses some of the worst writers, directors, actors and producers from Hollywood and beyond. Their crimes? The offenses vary from convict to convict but most of these inmates have contributed negatively to the film world to some capacity* and his or her misdeeds have covered a long enough period of time that the authorities had to intervene. In each column a defendant is put on trial, arguments are made, and then it is up to YOU, the jury, to decide if the person is guilty or not guilty of crimes against cinema. Their lives are in your hands, dude.

The Defendant

The Case

The Prosecution: Men, Women & Children, Labor Day, Young Adult

Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, things have gone terribly wrong for Jason Reitman since scoring a Golden Globe win for his Up in the Air script.

Mr. Reitman's last two films Labor Day and Men, Women & Children received low reviews from most critics, and both movies were failures at the box office, with Men, Women & Children grossing less than $2 million worldwide. Although based on books, Mr. Reitman also wrote the screenplays for both films.

The jury is already aware of the prosecution's dislike for Mr. Reitman's Young Adult because of Charlize Theron's trial. While it does have a fresh rating at Rotten Tomatoes (80%), the audience score (49%) is much lower for the dramedy, so it's not like we're the only ones who thought the director stumbled a bit with the movie. And Juno may have been a big hit at the box office and with critics, but there are many who think the film is extremely overrated.

The prosecution is very concerned about the drop in quality of Mr. Reitman's recent films, but we're not trying to lock him up for life. He has only directed six movies and is still a young (and talented) filmmaker, however we do believe spending a month or two in Movie Jail will do him some good.

The Defense: Young Adult, Up in the Air, Juno, Thank You for Smoking

Ladies and gentlemen, just because Mr. Reitman's last two films were trashed by critics doesn't mean he deserves to go to Movie Jail, even if it isn't a long sentence.

At least Mr. Reitman tried to step out of his comfort zone with Labor Day, and my client admitted he made mistakes with the movie. Men, Women & Children is by no means a great film, but it is still an interesting look at social issues involving technology and the internet.

But in the defense's opinion, this is a classic case of the good outweighing the bad. Mr. Reitman's Thank You for Smoking is one of the defense's favorite dark comedies of all time, and like Juno and Up in the Air, was well-received by critics. Speaking of Juno, are there really that many people out there who hate the movie? Mr. Reitman also seems like a decent dude, so it is hard to hate the guy or his films. Plus, his The Empire Strikes Back live-read (as well as his ones for other movies) sounded really awesome.

Let's wait and see how Mr. Reitman's I Would Only Rob Banks for My Family and Hulu series Casual turn out before we toss him in Movie Jail. My client has built up a lot of goodwill with his older films, and the defense doubts the jury will want to send Mr. Reitman to prison at this point in his career.

IN CLOSING…

Do we need to put Mr. Reitman behind bars, or is the prosecution just overreacting to his recent failures? Are you still confident in his abilities as a director, or do you believe a short stay in Movie Jail will help him? Is Jason Reitman GUILTY or NOT GUILTY?

*The cases for and against a defendant going to Movie Jail by the author are not necessarily his views and opinions but they are some of the beliefs that one would use to effectively make an argument for both sides. Not quite a devil's advocate but you get the point. Anyway, this is all in fun so don't take it too seriously. We have a separate jail for those people called "Troll Tower" and believe me you do NOT want to go there.

WHAT SAY YOU, GUILTY OR NOT?

LAST WEEK'S VERDICT

Most jury members said French filmmaker Luc Besson is (or at least partially) responsible for way too many crappy action flicks, however he was found NOT GUILTY of all charges in last week's trial. Mr. Besson got off thanks to the jury's love for his La Femme Nikita, The Professional and The Fifth Element, but the court will be monitoring all of his activities since there were a few who said he belongs in Movie Jail.

PREVIOUS VERDICTS

GUILTY Adam Sandler, Eddie Murphy, Vince Vaughn, Tim Burton, The Farrelly Brothers, Michael Bay, Jessica Alba, Ice Cube, Gerard Butler, Halle Berry, Marlon Wayans, Julia Roberts, M. Night Shyamalan , Katherine Heigl , Cuba Gooding, Jr., Tyler Perry, Cameron Diaz, Kate Hudson, Ashton Kutcher, Happy Madison Productions, Jennifer Lopez, Bruce Willis, Paul W.S. Anderson, Matthew Broderick, Sarah Jessica Parker, Brett Ratner, Rob Cohen, Renee Zellweger, Shia LaBeouf, Renny Harlin, Diane Keaton, McG, Demi Moore, King Joffrey (Game of Thrones Special), David Spade, Spike Lee, Kevin James, Joel Schumacher, Ehren Kruger, Chris Rock, Mark Steven Johnson, Mickey Rourke, Ashley Judd, Uma Thurman, Josh Duhamel, Saw Franchise (Halloween Edition), Zach Braff, Sam Worthington, Melissa McCarthy