{"title":"Matt Singer","description":"\u003cp\u003eDelve into the insightful and engaging film criticism of Matt Singer. From blockbusters to indie darlings, discover a fresh perspective on cinema and explore his takes on the movies that matter.\u003c\/p\u003e","products":[{"product_id":"opposable-thumbs-book-matt-singer-9780593540152","title":"Opposable Thumbs","description":"\u003cb\u003eOnce upon a time, if you wanted to know if a movie was worth seeing, you didn't check out Rotten Tomatoes or IMDB.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e \u003ci\u003eYou asked whether Siskel \u0026amp; Ebert had given it \"two thumbs up.\"\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e On a cold Saturday afternoon in 1975, two men (who had known each other for eight years before they'd ever exchanged a word) met for lunch in a Chicago pub. Gene Siskel was the film critic for the \u003ci\u003eChicago Tribune\u003c\/i\u003e. Roger Ebert had recently won the Pulitzer Prize--the first ever awarded to a film critic--for his work at the \u003ci\u003eChicago Sun-Times.\u003c\/i\u003e To say they despised each other was an understatement.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e When they reluctantly agreed to collaborate on a new movie review show with PBS, there was at least as much sparring off-camera as on. No decision--from which films to cover to who would read the lead review to how to pronounce foreign titles--was made without conflict, but their often-antagonistic partnership (which later transformed into genuine friendship) made for great television. 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Ben Stiller, Seth Rogen, Will Ferrell, Owen Wilson, Steve Carell, and Vince Vaughn became unlikely leading men-a band of rowdy wedding crashers, hungover bachelors, and 40-year-old virgins dubbed the \"Frat Pack\" that took Hollywood by storm over the span of a single decade. Then, seemingly overnight, Frat Pack movies vanished. Or did they?\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e In \u003ci\u003eFunny Business\u003c\/i\u003e, award-winning author and film critic Matt Singer traces the path these gonzo stars and directors took from the fringes of comedy to the mainstream-beginning on tiny stages like Second City and the Groundlings, then infiltrating into talent incubators like \u003ci\u003eSNL\u003c\/i\u003e, eventually leading to the big screen. 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