Looking back at this summer, the world of pop culture was definitely a letdown. Sure, there were some great movies, music, TV and scandals, but all in all, the world of entertainment has been as boring as going to class during syllabus week.
Let’s talk movies first. Comedies, without a doubt, were the biggest successes of the summer. “Bridesmaids,” “Horrible Bosses,” “Bad Teacher,” “Friends with Benefits” and especially “Crazy, Stupid, Love” were all solid and featured fantastic performances. Who knew Justin Timberlake would be the most charming romantic lead I’d seen in a very long time?
And yes, “Harry Potter” was amazing and everything I wanted the final movie to be. But that was to be expected. The rest of the big summer blockbusters mostly fell flat.
“Transformers: Dark of the Moon” was everything you’d expect a third Transformers movie to be: not very good. Rosie Huntington-Whiteley makes Megan Fox look like the next Meryl Streep. “Thor” was OK but it was no “Iron Man.” “Cowboys and Aliens” took itself a bit too seriously, and I didn’t even bother seeing “Green Lantern.”
Last summer gave us four of the 10 Best Picture nominees, but there’s only one obvious contender I see from 2011 thus far: “Midnight in Paris.” In a year when Pixar released its first critical flop in its entire 16-year history, “Cars 2,” it’s obvious that something is amok.
Music was even worse this summer. There was no summer anthem on par with last year’s “California Gurls” or 2007’s “Umbrella.” In fact, the song that burned up the chart this summer was LMFAO’s completely obnoxious “Party Rock Anthem.”
Some extremely anticipated albums were released over the last few months, and none of them fully lived up all to the hype. Lady Gaga’s “Born this Way,” while a very good listen, isn’t all that radio-friendly. The same goes with Beyonce’s “4,” filled with a few too many baby makin’ slow jams.
Network TV, as always, was just dreadful this summer. It actually makes me mad that people still seem to care about “The Bachelorette.” Things were better on the cable side of things. “True Blood” and “Curb Your Enthusiasm” returned to be better than ever, but a summer without “Mad Men” is like a summer without sunshine.
And no, I haven’t yet hopped on the “Breaking Bad” train. Yes, I know I’m missing out on brilliance.
Even celebrity news was boring. The Casey Anthony coverage was exhaustive, Lindsay Lohan’s legal issues were tedious and Amy Winehouse’s death was only a few years later than expected.
I’m calling for a change next summer. I want a movie that comes out of nowhere and takes the world by storm. I want a song that I can’t get out of my head, but I don’t want it to leave. I want a TV show that makes me fall in love with each of its characters. I want a celebrity sex scandal so shocking that nobody will believe it until confirmed by the press. Selena Gomez getting pregnant by Justin Bieber would be perfect!
I know that I take the entertainment world entirely too seriously, but it’s my passion and I will always be unapologetically addicted. Pop culture can be just as exciting as sports or politics, and in my opinion is more so than both. All I’m asking for is something less mundane. Thank God for Oscar season!