mika at the movies

"Will you stop being so negative!"

That was the usually affable Joe Scarborough commenting - finally and rather atypically - to Mika Brzezinski, his partner both on-screen and off, during a segment on yesterday's episode of his eponymous MSNBC show, "Morning Joe."  Joe Scarborough repeated, almost verbatim, what I often find myself shouting at my TV screen every time Mika makes one of her predictably snide comments as Joe brings up the subject of movies.

MSNBC, of course, is the liberal answer to the GOP-fixated Fox network. For any progressive (count me in), it's the only game in town although, frankly, I've become very selective about those MSNBC hosts with whom I chose to spend time. Life's way too short. But more about that later.

My wife and I start the day with Mika and Joe - a pairing that Nora Ephron once aptly compared to Hepburn and Tracy. Before I go any further, full disclosure: I think Mika Brzezinski is terrific - aside, of course, from this strange routine she's adopted every time Joe dares to bring up a movie.

She's been a champ for nudging women to honor their potential.

That said, anyone familiar with the show knows that Joe is a popular-culture enthusiast, particularly in terms of music and film. And I appreciate his adventurous, open-minded taste in films. Harold Ramis' "Caddyshack" (1980) and Mike Judge's "Office Space" (1999), for example, are two of Joe's favorites, classic comedies that are so much more than the "guy flicks" label attached to them.

But Mika disapproves. Always.

She'll roll her eyes and shake her head whenever Joe brings up a film title, taking on the persona of a judgmental scold. This was amusing the first few times Mika did it - it was actually disarming - but it has worn terribly thin and become wildly unattractive. I mean, why would any modern woman want to voluntarily play the stereotype of a 1950s nag?

Joe's mind may be opened but Mika's is closed. "I would never go see that!," she'll invariably say, with an air of clueless superiority.

On this occasion, Joe was singing the praises of "Avengers: Endgame," the current recording-breaking movie hit. Mika couldn't restrain herself, making snarky comments, until Joe - again, finally and rather atypically - asked her to cut the negativity. Great. But Joe didn't go far enough, seemingly missing exactly what's so offensive about Mika's routine.

"I would never go see that!" And that's Mika's problem - she judges and criticizes movies that she ... has ... never ... seen. Or plans to see.

She is not alone in this annoying tendency. During my 35 years as a working movie critic, I've found myself trapped into conversations with people exactly like Mika - people who comment freely on movies that they have yet to see. Some of them have even spoken rather authoritatively, making facile judgments on a film based on the material in question or because of who directed it, who stars in it or what the trailer reveals.

Here's the deal: If you haven't seen a movie, then your opinion of it is utterly ... worthless.

Note in Passing: Now about the line-up on MSNBC, ever the contrarian, I find myself doing anything to avoid the network's so-called "stars," most prominently - dare I confess it? -   Rachel Maddow and Chris Hayes.

Blasphemy, I know.

Maddow's shrill voice and naked self-satisfaction would be unpalatable even if I were a diehard fan. The Grande Dame of MSNBC, she seems to symbolically hug herself whenever she makes a clever point. As for Hayes, he reminds me too much of the smartest kid in school who instinctively raised his hand first to answer (correctly) any question posed by the teacher. This kid was always nice enough but made everyone else look like a slacker/loser - the kid for whom "brown-noser" was invented.

Then there's Chris Matthews who seemingly makes no effort to pronounce the names of his guests correctly and can't seem to control his saliva, often spraying the camera, when he's pontificating. Still, it's difficult to dislike Chris Matthews. And I enjoy his gaffes, some head-scratchers.

For example, a few months ago, in response to a guest's comment, Chris bellowed, "Great! Tim Conway terriitory!  'The Prince of Tides'!"

Er, that would be Pat Conroy, Chris.

Frankly, I've winnowed down my daily viewing habit to only two MSNBC shows - as already mentioned, "Morning Joe," and "Deadline: Washington," with the fabulous Nicolle Wallace.

It's odd, I suppose, that I've gravitated towards two shows hosted not by liberals but by former Republicans. Joe and Mika (who actually has always been a Dem) bring some much-needed and -appreciated joy and passion to the inevitable bad news that they report, and Nicolle is, hands-down, the network's best interviewer and also, arguably, its most informed host.

Sorry, Rachel.

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~Images

(from top) 

~Mika Brzezinski and Joe Scarborough, the hosts of "Morning Joe"
~photography: MSNBC 2018©

~Even Mika Brzezinski would love the little gopher in "Caddyshack"
~photography: Warner Bros. 1980©

~Nicolle Wallace, host of "Deadline: Washington"

~photography: MSNBC 2018©