Manohla Dargis does Comic-Con

New York Times movie critic Manohla Dargis has redeemed herself by not only attending Comic-Con, but reveling in the convention where fans rule. I have never recovered from Dargis' review of Park Chan-wook's Oldboy, that I felt was unfair in so many ways. I was convinced that she was a high-browed critic that couldn't reduce herself to fan-boydom. Maybe that is still true, but Dargis removes the fancy-pants NYT film critic hat for her report ("We're All Geeks Here") on this year's Comic-Con in San Diego.

Dargis was struck at the intimacy and sincerity between fan and producer. Acknowledging the pros and cons of such a huge convention, Dargis nonetheless wholeheartedly admits that she "had a blast" at her first Comic-Con. More than anything, I appreciate her reporting on Comic-Con, as an outsider (and a paid outsider), and recognizing the genuine spirit of the people attending. Like most conventions of this sort, whether they be pegged as a fantasy con or an anime con or a comic con, people attend because they feel they can be themselves. I would argue that there is a little bit of Comic-Com fever in all of us, and Manohla Dargis just backed that up.