We hold these truths to be self-evident. Not all movies are created equal,
and they are not endowed by their creators with the inalienable right to
barage our senses and sensibilities with utter trash (what Spanish speaking
people call "pura mierda").

Nevertheless, that's exactly what the makers of the current very over-rated
rage, INDEPENDENCE DAY, have done. Mayor Koch, in his review of this sad
excuse for a sci-fi film, noted that you will be more sorry that you wasted
your time than that you wasted your hard earned $8 plus. But this film has
you more than merely wasting your time. It has you go into paraxisms of
embarrassment, if you have any sensitivity whatsoever.

Not only has the story been better told before. Not only have the special
effects been seen before, and better done. Most other sci-fi films that
this reviewer has seen, including those utter now campy sci-horror films of
the 1950s, have at least a hint of a good script. I am willing to bet that
even some of Ed Wood's works have better dialogue than that of INDEPENDENCE
DAY.

To me, the most laughable AND the most embarrassing aspect of the film are
the portrayals of Harvey Firestein of an overly swishy homosexual, and of
Judd Hirsch as a horribly stereotyped New York Jewish father. Both of these
roles are completely superfluous to the film's story.

One has to wonder, not only why they were written into the script but more,
why these two actors were willing to sully their reputations and craft.
It's also amazing to me that an actor of such fine quality as Jeff Goldblum
would be willing to involve himself in this utter mess. Perhaps if I were
an actor in Hollywood, and my agent told me that all I had to do was to be
a parody of what my background is, and that I would make an incredible
amount of money in a flim guaranteed to gross hundreds of millions before
it is through, then yeah, maybe I too would be a whore and do it for the
money.

The story, as is well known, concerns itself with the invasion of earth by
a race of aliens bent on killing off mankind and taking over our planet,
and the subsequent uprise of the human race to fight off the attack on
July 4th, American Independence Day. I will not ruin the story for those
who insist on seeing this claptrap, even though they may have heard how bad
it is, by telling the details of the denoument. I will merely say that the
defeat of the invaders is in the hands of an Afro-American pilot, a New
York Jewish intellectual, a drunken has-been, and a sickenly clean cut JFK
clone of a president. What a winning combination!

There is even, believe it or not, a bit of RELIGION thrown in, when Judd
Hirsch, who plays Jeff Goldblum's over-talkative, pushy Jewish father,
gives his son a pair of old TEFILLIN, and tells him to pray. Oy Vey! I'll
bet that even the ALMIGHTY Himself was embarrassed!

But hey, go see it, if you want to be rooked. After all, its summer, and
the days are long, and you have to fill up your leisure time somehow,
right? OK. Go for it. Make your day!

I know not what course others may take. But as for me, give me liberty or
give me the death of INDEPENDENCE DAY.

New York
7-23-96