Chapter 315: Standard Ending**

*San Francisco Chronicle*, 33 points: "If you're a 12- to 14-year-old girl, you'll like it, but only within that age range."

A brutal hit right from the start.

Without giving any spoilers, the review uses the simplest and most direct language to mock the film, sharply capturing its essence and pointing out its flaws.

*Metacritic* has its own distinctive style: green for positive reviews, red for negative ones, and yellow for neutral, in-between reviews.

It's very clear at a glance.

On the review page for *The Princess Diaries*, the first thing you notice is the glaring red, prominently displayed at the top, instantly tightening the mood.

Brad couldn't hold back and exclaimed, only to cover his mouth a beat too late. He glanced at Ansen nervously, full of worry.

That look, that gesture—it made Ansen burst out laughing.

"This isn't the end of the world," Ansen reassured Brad instead.

Brad was visibly anxious. "But..."

It was impossible not to worry. Even though he kept telling himself there was no need to be so upset over a single review, human nature is what it is—ten good reviews can't outweigh the sting of one bad review.

Especially when you're hit with a bad review right out of the gate.

Ansen, however, remained calm.

When he agreed to take on *The Princess Diaries*, Ansen knew it wasn't going to be a universally beloved critical success. This type of commercial popcorn movie has a very clear market: it caters to the daydreams of teenage boys and girls. It lacks depth and has no artistic value—its sole purpose is to make people laugh.

A movie like this was never going to receive unanimous praise on *Metacritic*. In fact, the criticism and backlash were entirely predictable.

Of course, even though he had prepared himself mentally, seeing that glaring red was still a bit disappointing. But with Brad's exaggerated reaction, everything seemed lighter, and a smile crept onto Ansen's face.

Ansen joked, "What actor hasn't been in a couple of bad movies?"

Brad was speechless. "Ansen!"

Whoosh!

Suddenly, James woke up from his sleep with a start, sitting up like a zombie. "What happened? What's going on?"

Ansen turned to James. "Nothing, Brad saw a bad review for the movie."

James yawned. "From where? It's not from *The Times*, is it?"

In Los Angeles, *The Times* refers specifically to *The Los Angeles Times*. In North America, however, *The Times* typically refers to *The New York Times*. Either way, both papers hold the highest level of influence in the region.

More accurately, those two papers, along with *The Wall Street Journal*, are the top three most influential media outlets in North America. *The Washington Post* still falls slightly behind them.

If the bad review came from *The Los Angeles Times*, it would have a very direct impact on the box office since the paper has a large and loyal readership.

Ansen glanced at Brad. "It's not *The Times*."

Brad rolled his eyes. "*The San Francisco Chronicle* is bad enough, okay?"

On the West Coast, *The San Francisco Chronicle* also has a large subscriber base.

Ansen calmly lowered his right hand. "It's okay, it's just one media outlet."

Then, the webpage slowly refreshed, and the air fell silent—

27 points: "Immature, dumb, and nothing more than a sugar syrup with no substance."

36 points: "Comparing this to bubblegum is an insult to bubblegum, because at least bubblegum is sweet and worth chewing before being spat out. This movie isn't even worth chewing."

40 points: "Garry Marshall should stop making this kind of visual garbage—it's not colorful, not vibrant, not romantic, and not good."

43 points: "If you're holding out hope for the film because of Julie Andrews, it's best to let that hope die. That's the best course of action."

17 points: "Please don't misunderstand. I was very excited and eager to see Julie Andrews return to the big screen. But if it's in a movie like this, I'd rather she didn't come back at all."

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48 points: "A daydream with no nutritional value. Not only is the movie simplistic, it's stupid. The unrestrained silliness and nauseating humor feel like a poorly executed high school play. The script's mental age is, at most, fifteen years old—no more."

Negative review. Another negative review. More negative reviews.

Negative reviews everywhere, covering the entire page. The sight was truly shocking. Brad had even forgotten to exclaim, standing there completely dumbfounded.

Including Ansen.

If Ansen claimed he wasn't affected, he'd be lying.

Even though he knew *The Princess Diaries* wasn't a critical darling, even though he knew it would still achieve impressive box office numbers and secure the chance for sequels, even though he knew *The Princess Diaries* would later become a classic—so much so that Disney had been trying to reboot it or make a third film for years—everything pointed to it being a good decision.

But now, seeing a flood of negative reviews still took a toll on his mood.

Moreover…

Brad noticed a particular review, and Ansen did too—

It was from the famous film critic, Roger Ebert, from *The Chicago Sun-Times*.

In the North American film market, there was one film critic who stood out from the rest.

He was the first and only film critic in history to win a Pulitzer Prize for film criticism. He had his own books, columns, website, and even a film festival. While it might be a bit of an exaggeration to call his reviews the Bible of film criticism, it was undeniable that his opinions held significant influence.

The reason was simple: he believed that a movie's quality was relative, not absolute.

For example, when comparing disaster films like *Twister* and *Titanic*, *Twister* falls short. But when compared to *Volcano*, *Twister* is an excellent film.

Additionally, he believed that just because a film has average reviews doesn't mean it's not worth watching, as some commercial popcorn movies are meant to be enjoyed for a moment of relaxation in the theater. Conversely, just because a film receives high praise doesn't mean it's a must-watch, as some art films are not meant for wide appeal from the start.

Thanks to his unique perspective, Ebert earned a strong reputation in the film industry. Not only did audiences value his opinions, but even producers, directors, and actors were willing to consider his insights.

This critic was Roger Ebert.

And Roger Ebert did not like *The Princess Diaries*.

38 points: "A swamp monster cobbled together from a pile of discarded, rotten storylines. At times, it slips into sitcom-level ridiculousness; at other times, it lingers in the realm of self-destructive, stupid gags."

The worst had happened after all.

Even though the negative review from *The Los Angeles Times* that James had feared didn't appear, the critical blow from Roger Ebert was still devastating.

Clearly, *The Princess Diaries* hadn't received universal acclaim or applause. After the praise and adoration Ansen received for *Friends*, was choosing a role like *The Princess Diaries* a mistake? Had Ansen's acting career hit a wall before it even had the chance to firmly establish itself?

So, what now? What's going to happen next?

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