Opposable Thumbs: How Siskel & Ebert Changed Movies Forever

I learned so much from this book about two unique characters that deserve to be remembered. Siskel and Ebert created a genre that was so uniquely “them” that it no longer really exists now that they are gone. Singer writes so fondly and with such detail that it's clear how much he was influenced and inspired by the pair. I was so emotionally invested that the chapters near the end of the book where Gene and Roger reach the end of their lives came as a gut punch, even though I knew they were coming. This book is also a reminder that people can disagree respectfully about some things, and that's not only okay, sometimes the friction of two unyielding opinions - delivered with love (but not always kindness) - can be wonderful and full of life.

Before Rotten Tomatoes, Tik Tok, and YouTube, movie reviews primarily appeared in newspapers and magazines. Gene Siskel and Robert Ebert, rival movie critics at Chicago newspapers, shook up the industry in the 1970s-1990s by hosting a TV show in which they usually vigorously disagreed about the merits of each movie they reviewed. Audiences tuned in to Sneak Previews to see the hosts squabble about blockbusters, art films, foreign films, and even B-movies. Somewhere along the line, they added the now ubiquitous Thumbs Up/Thumbs Down to each review. Sadly, Siskel died in 1999. Ebert soldiered on with a new partner, but the magic was gone, and by the time of his death in 2013 online movie clips and reviews were readily available, rendering the Sneak Previews format obsolete.

Opposable Thumbs is a breezy, enjoyable look back at Siskel & Ebert's heyday. There's no dirt or revelations of long-held secrets, and the author repeats himself occasionally as he tries to stretch the material over 200+ pages. I appreciated it for the nostalgia factor. YMMV if you get all of your reviews from Tik Tok or Instagram and can't imagine why the opinions of two white men mattered so much.