Don't trust that yardstick

Here's a talking point. I did a bit of research on Amazon.com, the following are the Average Customer Review ratings in number of stars:

Glitter - 3.5
Gigli - 3
Super Mario Brothers - 3.5

Citizen Kane - 4
Gone with the Wind - 4.5

Something is rotten in Denmark. Is the American consumer is idiot, or simply of poor taste? Maybe both, maybe neither, but I hold that these numbers are the consequence of a biased survey. (I suppose I'm on a statistics kick)

In all fairness, it really is an arbitrary scale. Person A's label of "good" could be three stars, while Person B envisions "good" as three and a half. The two saw the movie as the same, but in analysis it would appear Person B enjoyed the movie a bit more. So, there’s a problem that each person's individual scale isn't calibrated with everyone else's. Also, is the scale even based in ratio to zero? Are four stars twice as good as two? Remember, 60 degrees is not twice as hot as 30 degrees unless there's a "K" after each.

Is "Gone with the Wind" only 30% better than "Glitter"? What's good or bad is a matter of taste, but I will assume that for most people who saw both movies, Rhett and Scarlett's story was, um, maybe a little more than a third better than Mariah Carey's picture...now, I'm just guessing. To make this system fit it could be that being a star better than a movie indicates being, um, "a bazillion" times better.

Or we have bias. My guess of what happened is that a handful of Jennifer Lopez's fans went to Amazon and, in a world of their own, proceeded to rate the movie five stars. Rational people then got on and gave the movie what it really deserved. Most of the people that bothered to see the movie were likely the singer's fans, anyway - who else would have bothered to see the movie?

If you want to know bias, read Amazon.com's review of "Gigli": "Many critics called Gigli one of the worst movies ever made, but their condemnation isn't entirely justified...this character-based vehicle ...is not without its charms..." Well, ya can't blame a guy for trying to make a buck.

In terms of revenue, "Gone with the Wind" was, um (again), slightly more than 30% of the success "Glitter". That's just another measure; I'm not saying money taken in is a meaningful measure, either. I'm just reporting the numbers as they are. Do what you will with them.

*T.J.'s non-objective note: "Super Mario Brothers" got three and half stars? What the hell were you people thinking?