Gene Shalit has left The Today Show, retiring from television at the age of 85 after 40 years reviewing movies.
Every critic, be it of films, TV, music, or pop culture ends up losing their ability to give a fair, unbiased appraisal of things. It’s an age thing, I believe, and it’ll even hit me one day.
It’s for this reason that I’m not that sad to see Gene Shalit leave The Today Show. Like Roger Ebert, he’s now become too old and out of the loop to really have a handle on what is good and bad.
I know that sounds ageist but it’s actually not. It’s just that people are brought up in certain eras and the thinking of that time stays with them for a long time.
This video of Shalit reviewing Funny People is a prime example. Because it’s clear he just doesn’t get the movie. At all.
Happy retirement, Shalit, the time for your departure was definitely ripe.
