At some point, we really need to ask: who hired an Etsy witch to curse Amy Adams’ career? Was it Isla Fisher?? Amy was well on her way to becoming one of the most acclaimed actresses of her generation, and then her career fell off a cliff out of nowhere. I blame that rancid Cabbage Patch doll JD Vance – Amy starred in the film adaptation of Vance’s Hillbilly Elegy in 2020 and that seemed to be the beginning of this professional downward spiral. Anyway, Amy is currently starring in Klara and the Sun, directed by Taika Waititi, who co-adapted the script from Kazuo Ishiguro’s novel. Jenna Ortega is the star of the film, along with Amy and several other actors. So what’s the problem? Critics didn’t fall all over themselves to praise the film. That’s basically it – like, some critics liked it just fine, and some were like “meh.” Klara and the Sun currently has a 74% fresh on Rotten Tomatoes, with “cloying and twee” high on the critical summary. Which… okay? That’s what many expect from Waititi’s films. Well, Taika was mad as hell about the critical response and he posted this on his Instagram:
I haven’t read a review of anything aimed at me or my peers in almost 15 years. But I do listen to the people. 💥🎉🫶🏽💦
So this Halloween, let’s spare a thought for those sad lost souls who couldn’t achieve their dreams of becoming artists, and thus settled, and became critics. The same people who also hated Jojo Rabbit 😂 🤷🏽♂️
Irrelevant. Out of touch. Obsolete. In the bin.
I cannot even imagine being a whole-ass Oscar winner and being *this* thin-skinned. Critics weren’t even that mad about the movie!! It wasn’t like the Cats movie or Madame Web, where critics were cackling as they piled on their attacks. The critical response to Klara was basically “so Taika’s style is just twee as hell, I guess, well, someone might like it.” And here’s another thing – if Taika truly has not read any review in 15 years, then why is his ass hurting?? Jesus.
Also: I refuse to be lectured on cultural relevancy by someone married to RITA ORA.
Photos courtesy of Cover Images.
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- 21st Rome Film Festival ‘Klara And The Sun’ premeire at the Auditorium Parco Della Musica Featuring: Taika Waititi Where: Rome, Italy When: 17 Oct 2026 Credit: Marco Provvisionato/IPA/INSTARimages **UK, USA AND AUSTRALIA RIGHTS ONLY**
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- 21st Rome Film Festival ‘Klara And The Sun’ premeire at the Auditorium Parco Della Musica Featuring: Taika Waititi Where: Rome, Italy When: 17 Oct 2026 Credit: Marco Provvisionato/IPA/INSTARimages **UK, USA AND AUSTRALIA RIGHTS ONLY**
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- 21st Rome Film Festival ‘Klara And The Sun’ premeire at the Auditorium Parco Della Musica Featuring: Taika Waititi, Jenna Ortega Where: Rome, Italy When: 17 Oct 2026 Credit: Marco Provvisionato/IPA/INSTARimages **UK, USA AND AUSTRALIA RIGHTS ONLY**
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- Sony Pictures/Columbia Pictures/3000 Pictures and Spy Glass special screening of ‘Klara and the Sun’ at the Crosby Street Hotel Featuring: Jenna Ortega, Taika Waititi, Amy Adams Where: New York City, New York, United States When: 19 Oct 2026 Credit: Roger Wong/INSTARimages
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- Sony Pictures/Columbia Pictures/3000 Pictures and Spy Glass special screening of ‘Klara and the Sun’ at the Crosby Street Hotel Featuring: Jenna Ortega, Taika Waititi, Amy Adams Where: New York City, New York, United States When: 19 Oct 2026 Credit: Roger Wong/INSTARimages
I’m convinced that the drop in quality (in terms of creativity, that sort of edge he used to have) of Taika’s work is linked to his divorce. How many times have the ex-wives (first wives etc) done all the work and dude gotten the credit? He bought his own hype and now, can’t even take the smallest bit of criticism?
@Danbury….Yup…seems like a Peter Bogdanovich/Polly Platt situation who were “creative partners” because the quality of his films TANKED in the late 70s AFTER they divorced AFTER he cheated & that quality NEVA recovered! 😲
Threads was abuzz with this exact theory over the weekend.
So many women “help” their husbands without receiving credit.
But when they’re gone, it shows.
The “critics are failed artists” line is so overdone and lame. Criticism, done right, is a thoughtful and academically rigorous field that makes people take film seriously. And a lot of serious artists dabble in criticism to improve their work and also, make a bit of cash. Because most artists have side hussles, Taika.
When I was in art school, and later in the business world, creative work was always subject to critical review by peers, and of course by instructors, managers, and clients. Thin-skinned, indeed.
From what I’ve read by people who read the book and saw the film the story is a lot darker than the trailer made out and his (twee) style isn’t a great match for the themes of the story.
I was interested based on the trailer but having been burnt last year by Wicked Little Letters (excellent film, NOT a comedy) I won’t make that mistake again even if he skates over some of the darker elements of the book.
Coffee spew on your last line, Kaiser. 😂
Ishiguro is one the finest authors around. Any adaptation of his material to the screen is going to be picked apart. When Waititi announced he was going to take on Klara and the Sun, I was intrigued. One has to have a certain amount of cojones to adapt Ishiguro, and Waititi certainly has the talent; unfortunately his ego is not up to the task.
Whatever happened to him. I think it may be a combination of no longer collaborating with the people who kept him in check (his ex-wife for one, Jermaine Clement as well), access to big Hollywood budgets after working in NZ indie films where every bit of cash had to be battled for, his head having been turned by Hollywood so his ego is out of control, and an embarrassing mid-life crisis.
I’m wondering if he’s crashing out because his source material is so prestigious because he hasn’t had good reviews since Jojo in 2019 & he’s rolled with the infinite punches🫤
Ever since his divorce from his first wife his work quality has declined. She was a producer on all the significant work he did. And I have a feeling that she was the one who reigned in all of his worst instincts. Now left to his own devices…this and Thor Ragnarok is what we get. Taika is an ego maniac who is very clearly surrounded by people who aren’t honest with him. This film was based on a book and from everything I have read he did not honor the source material – and this is the result.
Actually, he was still married to Chelsea Winstanley when Ragnarok was released and it’s the better of his two Thor films. By Thor Love & Thunder, she was gone and that film is a mess with too much Taika excess. He wasted a really good performance by Christian Bale.
I cannot even tell you the level of exhaustion I feel from fragile male ego. I’ve lost all and any tolerance for it.
Honestly I think his response is just misplaced. The studios pulled the movie early (entirely?) from theatrical release because of low projections. Not every movie is going to make Marvel money and I think studios have a responsibility to stand behind films and theatres.
Yes, I have no idea what happened to Amy Adams career. She was everywhere and now it’s like she’s not as visible. I don’t know if she made a deliberate decision to step back or she just stopped getting hired.
The 74% on RT is actually the audience score; the critical store is much lower, at 24%.
Regardless, few things piss me off more than privileged wealthy actors and directors punching down on critics for deigning to…do their jobs and critique whatever art form they specialize in. Critics are definitely not decried as “irrelevant” when the reviews are good. What’s more, these artists fundamentally misunderstand that they are not going to win popular sympathy by sobbing about negative reviews. Every single profession has “performance reviews.” Why should artists be exempt from that? If anything, a negative performance review (aka, poor critical response) is far less consequential for these people. They’ll still be rich, and can go cry in their mansions. In the real world, a bad performance review can have real, tangible, life-changing consequences.
Beyond that, having read the lovely, nuanced Klara and the Sun, as soon as I heard that Taika was attached to the project, I knew it would be a disaster. Truly a tonal, emotional mismatch between subject matter and director.