Remembering Roger Ebert



I never met Roger Ebert, but it seems like I lost a friend today.

The gut punch I felt upon learning the prominent film critic, historian and screenwriter had died of cancer at age 70 is a testament to his immense talent. Ebert’s reviews and blog posts (typically about politics and current events) were so conversational and so accessible – while simultaneously displaying his fierce intelligence – that they fooled me into thinking the world’s most famous movie critic was having a private chat with me. That’s how great writing works.

My first exposure to movie reviews was At the Movies, the television show he co-hosted with rival critic Gene Siskel. As a kid, I was fascinated by the idea that these guys got paid to watch movies and talk about them, sometimes so passionately I thought they were going to get into a fistfight. That was their job! How cool is that?

Ebert also taught me the power of persuasive arguments. I was 13 when Pulp Fiction became a pop culture phenomenon, due in part to his rave review. Because I have good parents, they looked at me like I’d lost my mind when I asked them to drive their newly-teenage son to see Quentin Tarantino’s violent, profane masterpiece. To this day, one of my proudest achievements is convincing my mom and stepdad to change their minds by quoting some of the most interesting observations I remembered from At the Movies. Rather than scarring me for life, the film opened my eyes to the idea that films can be art as well as entertainment. I have Ebert to thank for that.

He is also directly responsible for my movie reviews appearing in the Times-Georgian for the last 11 years (in addition to the editor who allows me to keep writing them, of course). As a journalism student, I was taught to model my writing after other columnists until I could find my own voice. Guess who I picked? Obviously, Ebert had more talent in one of his fingernails than I possess after years of honing my craft, but his jovial, approachable tone – which so clearly communicated his love of film – taught me how I should convey my opinions. Not in a haughty, I’m-smarter-than-you fashion, but in a way that invites enthusiastic conversation.

In the last years of his life, Ebert taught millions of readers how to handle the setbacks of life with honesty and grace. When his first bout with cancer took his jaw, his voice and his ability to eat solid foods, he chronicled his struggles in a candid and relatable manner. Because he could no longer speak, he stepped up his journalistic output and social media presence. Just last year, he wrote more than 306 reviews, multiple blog posts each week and other occasional features. That’s astonishing, and he made it look effortless.

Ebert published his final blog post on Tuesday, informing readers that his cancer had returned and he would be reducing his workload. I have no idea if he knew how close he was to the end, but his parting words could not have been more perfect: “I’ll see you at the movies.”

There’s no way I can top that, so I won’t even try. I’ll just say thank you, Mr. Ebert. You taught me how to treasure movies, you taught me how write about them and you taught me how to respect people’s opinions even when I disagree. For that, and so much more, I’ll be forever grateful.

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