“Master and Commander: The Far Side of the
World,” which opened Friday, was way overrated by the critics. (Admittedly, some were
underwhelmed, like Stephen Hunter.) Not being a devotee of Patrick
O’Brian’s seafaring novels, the basis for the movie, I’m in no position to
judge whether they’ve been faithfully translated to the screen — and couldn’t care less
— though I can’t imagine stunning “visuals” and a drum-beating score (the
movie’s strong suits) are the novels’ main strengths.
In any case, what do you make of this MSNBC.com headline: “Crowe’s new film dwarfed by ‘Elf'”? When you read
the story beneath it, you discover that “Elf” earned $27.2 million,
while “Master and Commander” earned $25.7 million. Dwarfed, huh? I guess the headline
writer couldn’t resist playing with words in an attempt at cuteness. We used to talk about truth in
advertising. How about accuracy in headlines?
