The goal behind “Am I Racist?” isn’t to answer the titular question. That’s just a clever marketing move.
It’s to expose DEI experts as the grifters star Matt Walsh thinks they are.
Agree? Disagree? It’s clearly the Daily Wire documentary’s purpose. And, given the positive audience response to date, it’s working.
Walsh wasn’t content exposing a movement that has consumed America in a very short time. He’s letting us see why mainstream movie critics refuse to watch his film.
The accidental movie star let loose with an X thread that does more than mock film critics. It reveals what they’ve said about the project.
First, some background.
Film critics have several ways to review a new title. They can attend pre-release public screenings. That’s the most common method, and it typically involves the biggest Hollywood releases. Think “Beetlejuice Beetlejuice,” “Speak No Evil” or “Deadpool & Wolverine.”
Streaming apps sometimes allow critics to watch an upcoming title via their Roku or similar devices.
Studio PR professionals might offer a “screening link” to aid in their reviews. Click the secure link and you can watch the movie on your laptop. Reviewers can then connect the computer to a flat-screen TV to see it closer to the theatrical experience.
It turns out The Daily Wire offered that approach to critics across the country. And, apparently, very few reviewers took them up on the offer.
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The conservative platform reached out roughly a month before the film’s release to see if critics from Time, the Associated Press, Variety, The Hollywood Reporter and more corporate media outlets would like to see the film early, according to Walsh.
Crickets.
Walsh’s PR team followed up on the offer.
More crickets. And it gets worse.
A few independent film critics did respond, but they hardly behaved in a business-like fashion. Walsh shared three of those messages via screen shots. Here are two of the three responses he posted with the names removed.
3/ We did, however, receive a flurry of unprofessional emails from independent critics who were enraged we’d even ask them to review the film. One of them wrote that he won’t waste any “professional time” on a movie opening in over 1,500 theaters because I was involved. pic.twitter.com/OfwVJClK87
— Matt Walsh (@MattWalshBlog) September 16, 2024
4/ Another critic stated that “You’d have to strap me to a chair like Malcolm McDowell to get me to watch this thing.” pic.twitter.com/BHJGUN2on4
— Matt Walsh (@MattWalshBlog) September 16, 2024
Variety later claimed The Daily Wire didn’t offer the film early for critical comments. Walsh called the site out on the misinformation.
Or is that disinformation?
He said some mainstream outlets eventually asked for screening links, but so far those efforts haven’t yielded actual reviews. The film has just 10 Rotten Tomatoes-certified critiques at the powerful review aggregator site. None are from what the platform dubs “top critics.”
“Am I Racist?” isn’t a minor title. The film has been in the Top 5 of new films since its Sept. 13 release. It’s currently showing in 1,500+ theaters. It’s the most popular documentary of 2024 already. Walsh remains one of the most popular podcasters in the country.
The Hollywood Reporter just shared a lengthy report on the film and the early reaction to it. The far-Left site described its success as “jaw dropping.”
Am I Racist? is showing no signs of slowing down and sported a cume north of $6.5 million by Thursday. It has come in No. 3 or No. 4 every day this week and is adding dozens of theaters daily. As of Friday, it is playing in 1,600 theaters. It’s doing best in the South, Midwest and central mountain states.
Does this sound like a title that shouldn’t be reviewed?
This isn’t the first time professional film critics have done more than ignore a populist movie. This reporter saw similar negative messages from critics when asked if they wanted to review a separate, right-leaning title.
A similar situation greeted “Lady Ballers,” the Daily Wire’s bawdy 2023 comedy poking fun at trans women in sports.
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