The editing we deserve

I had thought I would complain a little about the latest Star Wars trilogy -- primarily The Last Jedi -- and that would be the end of it. 

I find I actually have a lot more to say about the trilogy than I realized; I should get more into that next week. 

For now, that title was the note I had. I can write about that today because it was not just that movie.

I really enjoyed the Paul Feig Ghostbusters and a lot of Spy, also by him.

What I most disliked in Spy was a tendency to overindulge in anything that seemed clever or fun to explore. 

I would say what I hated most were the specific streams of profanity, but I think that was also an aspect of the self-indulgence.

Good examples would be when they are messing around with the loss of gravity in the plane or when Rayna can't remember Susan's last name (no, my name is not Susan Groupon) or when Susan is being really mean to Anton right before he gets killed.

It's not that there aren't any humorous elements to them. Actually, I think Björn Gustafsson injected a fair amount of pathos into Anton for the limited screen time he had. Still, at some point it becomes a distraction. 

It may be something that's funny in a comedy, or something that has a lot of emotion in a drama, but can still detract overall.

The fist time I remember seeing extras was on a laser disc for Austin Powers: Man of Mystery. There were scenes of friends and family getting notifications of the deaths of evil henchmen. Specifically, they were the one who loses his head to ill-tempered mutant sea bass and the one crushed by the slow-moving steamroller. In addition, there was a scene where Number Two tries to team up with Austin by offering him a briefcase full of money, but it is not the full amount, because he took some out to buy the briefcase, a Fendi.

They ranged from funny to interesting (maybe a little sad for the one henchman's wife and stepson), but they absolutely would have slowed down the film. The movie worked better without them.

This is also true of the extended version of The Lord of the Rings. Yes, we know there is a lot more that could go in there from the books, but putting all of it in there loses dramatic momentum.

Interestingly, it felt like Peter Jackson forgot everything he knew about wise editing choices based on The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey. The two Austin Powers sequels were much more self-indulgent and proportionately less funny.

That may be a trend.

Ages and ages ago I read about the proposed final scene for The Sixth Sense. There was an extended conversation between Malcolm and his sleeping wife, where he got to say more of what he needed to her. Her breathing became less visible, indicating that the cold that he brought was receding, driving home more that both of them were able to be at peace now. 

M. Knight Shyamalan loved it, but it didn't work in the movie, so he cut it.

Again, you can lose knowledge that you have. I suppose that gets to the heart of what "deserve" meant.