''My Year of Flops'' (subtitled ''The A.V. Club Presents One Man's Journey Deep Into the Heart of Cinematic Failure'') is a 2010 book by film critic

Nathan Rabin Nathan Rabin (; born April 24, 1976) is an American film and music critic. Rabin was the first head writer for ''The A.V. Club'', a position he held until he left the ''Onion'' organization in 2013.

based on his columns on the website ''

The A.V. Club ''The A.V. Club'' is an American online newspaper and entertainment website featuring reviews, interviews, and other articles that examine films, music, television, books, games, and other elements of pop-culture media. ''The A.V. Club'' was cre ...

''.

Background

Starting in 2007, Rabin set out to provide a revisionist look at critical and commercial cinematic failures at a weekly basis.

Criteria

Rabin's critique for each film fall into three categories: Fiasco, Failure and Secret Success.

Notable films featured in the book

*''

Waterworld ''Waterworld'' is a 1995 American post-apocalyptic action film directed by Kevin Reynolds and co-written by Peter Rader and David Twohy. It was based on Rader's original 1986 screenplay and stars Kevin Costner, who also produced it with Charl ...

'' (1995) *''

The Cable Guy ''The Cable Guy'' is a 1996 American black comedy film directed by Ben Stiller, written by Lou Holtz Jr. and starring Jim Carrey and Matthew Broderick. It was released in the United States on June 14, 1996. The film co-stars Leslie Mann, Jack Bl ...

'' (1996) *''

Last Action Hero ''Last Action Hero'' is a 1993 American fantasy action comedy film directed and produced by John McTiernan and co-written by Shane Black and David Arnott. It is a satire of the action genre and associated clichés, containing several parodies ...

'' (1993) *''

Freddy Got Fingered ''Freddy Got Fingered'' is a 2001 American surreal absurdist screwball black comedy film directed by Tom Green in his feature film directorial debut and written by Green and Derek Harvie. Green stars in the film as a childish slacker who wishes ...

'' (2001) *''

The Scarlet Letter ''The Scarlet Letter: A Romance'' is a work of historical fiction Historical fiction is a literary genre in which the plot takes place in a setting related to the past events, but is fictional. Although the term is commonly used as a synonym ...

'' (1995) *'' Heaven's Gate'' (1980) *'' Even Cowgirls Get the Blues'' (1993) *''

Exit to Eden ''Exit to Eden'' is a 1985 novel by Anne Rice, initially published under the pen name Anne Rampling, but subsequently under Rice's name. The novel explores the subject of BDSM in romance novel form. The novel also brought attention to Rice's pub ...

'' (1994) *''

Lolita ''Lolita'' is a 1955 novel written by Russian-American novelist Vladimir Nabokov. The novel is notable for its controversial subject: the protagonist and unreliable narrator, a middle-aged literature professor under the pseudonym Humbert Humber ...

'' (1997) *'' Elizabethtown'' (2005) (the first "file case" where he coined the termed "

manic pixie dream girl A Manic Pixie Dream Girl (MPDG) is a stock character type in films. Film critic Nathan Rabin, who coined the term after observing Kirsten Dunst's character in '' Elizabethtown'' (2005), said that the MPDG "exists solely in the fevered imagination ...

") *''

Joe vs. The Volcano ''Joe Versus the Volcano'' is a 1990 American romantic comedy film written and directed by John Patrick Shanley and starring Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan. Hanks plays a man who, after being told he is dying of a rare disease, accepts a financial offer ...

'' (1990) *''

The Rocketeer The Rocketeer is a fictional superhero appearing in American comic books originally published by Pacific Comics. Created by writer/artist Dave Stevens, the character first appeared in 1982 and is an homage to the Saturday matinee serial heroes f ...

'' (1991) *''

Rent Rent may refer to: Economics *Renting, an agreement where a payment is made for the temporary use of a good, service or property *Economic rent, any payment in excess of the cost of production *Rent-seeking, attempting to increase one's share of e ...

'' (2005) *'' Santa Claus: The Movie'' (1985) *'' Skidoo'' (1968) *'' The Conqueror'' (1956) *''

Pinocchio Pinocchio ( , ) is a fictional character and the protagonist of the children's novel ''The Adventures of Pinocchio'' (1883) by Italian writer Carlo Collodi of Florence, Tuscany. Pinocchio was carved by a woodcarver named Geppetto in a Tuscan vil ...

'' (2002)

Aftermath

In 2011, Rabin started ''My World of Flops'' to include TV shows and music-related flops starting with

Aaron Sorkin Aaron Benjamin Sorkin (born June 9, 1961) is an American playwright, screenwriter and film director. Born in New York City, he developed a passion for writing at an early age. Sorkin has earned an Academy Award, a BAFTA Award, five Primetime E ...

's ''

Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip ''Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip'' is an American comedy-drama television series created and primarily written by Aaron Sorkin. The series was about the production of a live comedy series, similar to ''Saturday Night Live''. Produced by Warner B ...

'' and ending with the 2016 comedy film ''

The Brothers Grimsby ''Grimsby'' (released in the United States and Canada as ''The Brothers Grimsby'') is a 2016 spy action comedy film directed by Louis Leterrier and written by Sacha Baron Cohen, Phil Johnston, and Peter Baynham. The film stars Baron Cohen, Mark ...

'' before opening his own personal site called "Nathan Rabin's Happy Place".About —— Nathan Rabin's Happy Place
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References

External links

*{{Official website, https://www.simonandschuster.co.uk/books/My-Year-of-Flops/Nathan-Rabin/9781439160312 Books about film 2010 non-fiction books Film and video fandom Books of film criticism Charles Scribner's Sons books