The documentary about Melania Trump is seeing a record-breaking gap between critics and audiences. On Rotten Tomatoes, critics have given it just 11%, while the audience of "verified tickets" has given it a 98% rating.
A coordinated action by activists, or a sign of the political polarization of our time?
This extreme gap between professional and public critical scores is not unknown – often the film that wins the most awards or makes the most money does not match the critics' approval.
But the contrast between the harsh reviews for Melania (“The most depressing experience I’ve ever had at the movies” – Mark Kermode) and the enthusiastic comments from the audience (“Every American should see this film to understand the charm and power of Flotius [sic]” – Jackie) seems almost surreal.
With an 87% difference between critics and audiences, Melania is expected to remain the film with the largest gap between critics' and audiences' scores. Previously, the record was held by Five Nights at Freddy's 2, where critics gave it 16%, but audiences gave it 84%. Before it, the film with the largest gap was Emilia Pérez (2024): 70% for critics, 17% for audiences.
The analyses show two main trends: films that are well-received by audiences are often easy and predictable, while films that fail with audiences often have female protagonists, which may reflect ideological or cultural biases.
Films like Emilia Pérez, Under the Skin, or several female superheroines have experienced "bombardment" from audiences in online ratings.
Of course, both points should be taken with a grain of salt. Critics have a more academic approach, while online commentators are often eccentric.
But the gap seems set to remain and is growing: from Emilia Pérez's 53%, to Five Nights at Freddy's 2's 68%, to Melania's 87%. A record that seems hard to break.
At its core, the film about Melania is more than a documentary – it is a reflection of the polarization of public opinion and the influence of politics on the perception of popular culture. /GazetaExpress/
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