There is a new movie that has just hit theaters that broke a 27-year-old Rotten Tomatoes record. There have been several movies that have divided critics and audiences, with several big-budget action movies being seen as “critic-proof.” An example is a movie like Transformers, which has a nearly rotten 57% critics’ score and an 85% audience score. There have also been instances of review bombing on Rotten Tomatoes that make some scores look wrong. A perfect example is Captain Marvel, which has a 45% audience score and a 79% critics’ score. Many Captain Marvel negative audience reviews came in before the film was even released.
However, the latest movie to see a discrepancy like this on Rotten Tomatoes has nothing to do with big-budget blockbusters. The new documentary Melania has the biggest difference in Rotten Tomatoes scores of any movie. While the critics (with 20 reviews) gave it a 10% rotten score, the audience score is almost perfect, sitting at 99%. Previously, the record holder was cult 1999 crime drama, The Boondock Saints. Critics blasted the movie with a 26% rotten score, with many calling it an “ugly movie” that uses the “worst tendencies” of copying Quentin Tarantino. However, the audience score is a close to perfect 91%, with people still praising it in RT reviews to this day, with over 250,000 audience ratings. That was a 65% critics/audience divide, which was destroyed by the 89% difference in Melania.
Melania Divides Critics & Audience Members in Interesting Ways
Image courtesy of Amazon MGM
The Melania documentary, produced by Amazon MGM Studios, was Brett Ratner’s (X-Men: The Last Stand, Rush Hour) first directed movie in 12 years, and his first documentary. The film follows Melania Trump in the days leading up to the second term of office for her husband, U.S. President Donald Trump. It finished its first weekend with a $7.04 million box office take, falling behind Send Help ($20 million) and Iron Lung ($18 million) for the weekend. Melania had a $40 million budget with $35 million in marketing, so it still has a long way to go to break even.
Interestingly, the written reviews might explain the difference in the Rotten Tomatoes scoring. This is a political documentary about the First Lady of the United States, Melania Trump. That means it will be dividing no matter what. However, when looking at the reviews, it is easy to see why some people liked it and others dismissed the film as bad.
An example of the critical reviews comes from Variety, where critic Owen Gleiberman writes, “A documentary that never comes to life. It’s a ‘portrait’ of the First Lady of the United States, but it’s so orchestrated and airbrushed and stage-managed that it barely rises to the level of a shameless infomercial.” Other reviews mention that it is not fun and has a slow pace, where nothing really happens.
However, when looking at the positive audience reviews, many people talk about Melania Trump, and not about the documentary itself. Examples include reviews saying, “She is the epitome of class” and “Such a pleasure to see real class return to the White House.” There was also a review that praised the music, writing, “It was a magical awesome experience starting with the first song. All the songs were great! Melania is the most poised, beautiful, inside and outside First Lady.”
What do you think? Leave a comment below and join the conversation now in the ComicBook Forum!