Four Word Film Review
Encyclopedia
The Four Word Film Review (FWFR) is an interactive website
founded in 1999 by Benj Clews. It is an online database
of film summaries, all written in four words or fewer and submitted by site members. The database currently contains more than 275,000 reviews covering some 25,000 films.
The Four Word Film Review was nominated in 2005 for a Webby Award in the Humor category.
Exactly what constitutes an “acceptable” Four Word Film Review is often a source of heated debate on the site’s message board. The general rules are listed in the site's FAQ
, although their interpretation is ever evolving, subject to both the decisions of the site’s creator/owner, and the interpretation of the MERPs.
One common reason for the editors to decline a submitted review is that it is "too generic," meaning it doesn’t make specific enough reference to the film in question and may include fanboy statements. According to the site's FAQ
, other reasons a review may be declined include exceeding the four-word limit, using a quotation from the film itself rather than written in the voice of the site user, similarity to one that is already posted, or being incomprehensible to MERPs. The reviewer is entitled to one appeal for a declined review, in which the user may explain the review and reasons why it should be accepted. Appeals are limited to 100 characters or fewer. All submissions and declines are ultimately at Clews' discretion except for the rule that all reviews must be four words or fewer.
Every page of the website features a “What Film?” box, which randomly selects one of the many thousands of reviews. The "What Film?" box allows the visitor to guess which film to which it refers, then follow a link to the film to see if he or she was correct. The box reflects the site's philosophy that it must be possible to deduce a film from its review.
. This review, referring to those who froze to death in the Atlantic following the sinking of the RMS Titanic, is an example of a “pop culture reference” review, as it is a pun on a famous quote from another film (The Sixth Sense
). It quickly became one of the top vote-getters, and has spawned imitators throughout the site, all based on the same film quote. Reviews are also judged by how completely they summarize the film. Each FWFRer is allowed to vote on a given review only once.
The twenty reviews that receive the most votes each day are displayed in the "Top Reviews" section of the site. The Top Reviews section changes frequently to reflect votes cast during the preceding 24 hours.
is the all-time highest vote getter ("I bet Kramer wins."), which only barely displaced the relatively less prolific pudking's review for Titanic ("Icy dead people.") at the number one spot. Other former number ones include Aardball's review of The Blair Witch Project
("Tense. Intense. In tents.") and noncentz's review of Breast Men
("Sale of two titties.").
films, The Terminator
series, et al.), all the films featuring a certain actor or made by a particular director, films featuring a day of the week in the title, or films with a post-Apocalyptic theme etc. An accolade can include any number of movies.
Each FWFRer's personal page includes a "trophy cabinet," showing every accolade they have completed. To date, Randall, the most prolific completer of accolades, has more than 1800 in his trophy cabinet.
There is no central or group review of accolades. The creation and maintenance of accolades is on an individual basis.
s and contests" is a busy section within the Fourum. The traditional games include:
Website
A website, also written as Web site, web site, or simply site, is a collection of related web pages containing images, videos or other digital assets. A website is hosted on at least one web server, accessible via a network such as the Internet or a private local area network through an Internet...
founded in 1999 by Benj Clews. It is an online database
Database
A database is an organized collection of data for one or more purposes, usually in digital form. The data are typically organized to model relevant aspects of reality , in a way that supports processes requiring this information...
of film summaries, all written in four words or fewer and submitted by site members. The database currently contains more than 275,000 reviews covering some 25,000 films.
The Four Word Film Review was nominated in 2005 for a Webby Award in the Humor category.
Reviews
Users of the site, or "FWFRers" (sometimes pronounced "fwiffers"), write the reviews and submit them for site publication. Submitted reviews are put on the FWFRer’s Pending Approval list. Clews and a team of anonymous volunteer editors (called "MERPs", an acronym for the site's Multiple Editor Review Processing system) to weed out submissions according to broadly defined selection guidelines. If the review passes the Pending Approval process, it is added to the site and other FWFRers have the opportunity to vote on it.Exactly what constitutes an “acceptable” Four Word Film Review is often a source of heated debate on the site’s message board. The general rules are listed in the site's FAQ
FAQ
Frequently asked questions are listed questions and answers, all supposed to be commonly asked in some context, and pertaining to a particular topic. "FAQ" is usually pronounced as an initialism rather than an acronym, but an acronym form does exist. Since the acronym FAQ originated in textual...
, although their interpretation is ever evolving, subject to both the decisions of the site’s creator/owner, and the interpretation of the MERPs.
One common reason for the editors to decline a submitted review is that it is "too generic," meaning it doesn’t make specific enough reference to the film in question and may include fanboy statements. According to the site's FAQ
FAQ
Frequently asked questions are listed questions and answers, all supposed to be commonly asked in some context, and pertaining to a particular topic. "FAQ" is usually pronounced as an initialism rather than an acronym, but an acronym form does exist. Since the acronym FAQ originated in textual...
, other reasons a review may be declined include exceeding the four-word limit, using a quotation from the film itself rather than written in the voice of the site user, similarity to one that is already posted, or being incomprehensible to MERPs. The reviewer is entitled to one appeal for a declined review, in which the user may explain the review and reasons why it should be accepted. Appeals are limited to 100 characters or fewer. All submissions and declines are ultimately at Clews' discretion except for the rule that all reviews must be four words or fewer.
Every page of the website features a “What Film?” box, which randomly selects one of the many thousands of reviews. The "What Film?" box allows the visitor to guess which film to which it refers, then follow a link to the film to see if he or she was correct. The box reflects the site's philosophy that it must be possible to deduce a film from its review.
Examples of reviews
- "Martin spins Sellers' grave." (for The Pink PantherThe Pink Panther (2006 film)The Pink Panther is a 2006 American comedy film and a reboot of The Pink Panther film series. In this film, Inspector Jacques Clouseau is assigned to solve the murder of a famous soccer coach and the theft of the famous Pink Panther diamond. The film also stars Kevin Kline, Jean Reno, Emily...
; review written by Randall) - "Waterworld, starring Al Gore." (for An Inconvenient TruthAn Inconvenient TruthAn Inconvenient Truth is a 2006 documentary film directed by Davis Guggenheim about former United States Vice President Al Gore's campaign to educate citizens about global warming via a comprehensive slide show that, by his own estimate, he has given more than a thousand times.Premiering at the...
; review written by The Prof) - "Julia gets in Gere." (for Pretty WomanPretty WomanPretty Woman is a 1990 romantic comedy film set in Los Angeles, California. Written by J.F. Lawton and directed by Garry Marshall, this motion picture features Richard Gere and Julia Roberts, and also Hector Elizondo, Ralph Bellamy, and Jason Alexander in supporting roles. Roberts played the only...
; review written by george fourman) - "Princess suffers sleeping curse." (for Sleeping BeautySleeping Beauty (1959 film)Sleeping Beauty is a 1959 American animated film produced by Walt Disney and based on the fairy tale "La Belle au bois dormant" by Charles Perrault...
; review written by MelissaS) - "Virtual viral villain vanquished." (for The Matrix RevolutionsThe Matrix RevolutionsThe Matrix Revolutions is a 2003 American science fiction film and the third installment of The Matrix trilogy. The film was released six months following The Matrix Reloaded. The film was written and directed by the Wachowski brothers and released simultaneously in sixty countries on November 5,...
; review written by SoS) - "Indiana Jones' Temple, Doom." (for Jonestown: The Life And Death Of Peoples Temple; review written by wildheartlivie)
- "Depp: Shear genius." (for Edward ScissorhandsEdward ScissorhandsEdward Scissorhands is a 1990 romantic fantasy film directed by Tim Burton and starring Johnny Depp. The film shows the story of an artificial man named Edward, an unfinished creation, who has scissors for hands. Edward is taken in by a suburban family and falls in love with their teenage daughter...
; review written by Ali) - "Wee Will Rock You (for School of RockSchool of RockSchool of Rock, also called The School of Rock, is a 2003 American musical comedy film directed by Richard Linklater, written by Mike White, and starring Jack Black...
; review written by Pope George Ringo) - "Beatle on wall doco." (for Let It BeLet It Be (film)Let It Be is a 1970 documentary film about The Beatles rehearsing and recording songs for the album Let It Be in January 1969. The film features an unannounced rooftop concert by the group, their last performance in public...
; review written by AussieCanuck) - "Not-so-White Sox." (for Eight Men OutEight Men OutEight Men Out is an American dramatic sports film, released in 1988 and based on Eliot Asinof 1963 book 8 Men Out. It was written and directed by John Sayles....
; review written by Badbart) - "Harry gets Goyle-ish figure." (for Harry Potter and the Chamber of SecretsHarry Potter and the Chamber of SecretsHarry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets is the second novel in the Harry Potter series written by J. K. Rowling. The plot follows Harry's second year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, during which a series of messages on the walls on the school's corridors warn that the "Chamber of...
; review written by Montgomery) - "D.C. M.D. vs E.T's." (for The InvasionThe Invasion (film)The Invasion is a 2007 science fiction thriller film starring Nicole Kidman and Daniel Craig, directed by Oliver Hirschbiegel, with additional scenes written by the Wachowski brothers and directed by James McTeigue....
; review written by calmer) - "Take one Russian trip." (for Russian ArkRussian ArkRussian Ark is a 2002 Russian historical drama film directed by Alexander Sokurov. It was filmed entirely in the Winter Palace of the Russian State Hermitage Museum using a single 96-minute Steadicam sequence shot...
; review written by Haggis) - "Matt in, Leo out." (for The DepartedThe DepartedThe Departed is a 2006 American crime thriller film, fashioned as a remake of the 2002 Hong Kong film Infernal Affairs. The film was directed by Martin Scorsese and written by William Monahan...
; review by Gregorik) - "John Fitzgerald: troublesome, self-obsessed." (for JFKJFK (film)JFK is a 1991 American film directed by Oliver Stone. It examines the events leading to the assassination of President John F. Kennedy and alleged subsequent cover-up, through the eyes of former New Orleans district attorney Jim Garrison .Garrison filed charges against New Orleans businessman Clay...
; review written by Salopian) - "Robot goes nuts, bolts." (for I, RobotI, RobotI, Robot is a collection of nine science fiction short stories by Isaac Asimov, first published by Gnome Press in 1950 in an edition of 5,000 copies. The stories originally appeared in the American magazines Super Science Stories and Astounding Science Fiction between 1940 and 1950. The stories are...
; review written by Airbolt)
Quality reviews and voting
Members of FWFR are encouraged to vote for reviews that they particularly like or find humorous, the objective being to encourage contributors to write humorous, clever, or otherwise entertaining reviews. Over the years, a core group of users has developed, and this has led to many of the reviews incorporating inside jokes. Perhaps the most famous is the “Icy Dead People” review for the film TitanicTitanic (1997 film)
Titanic is a 1997 American epic romance and disaster film directed, written, co-produced, and co-edited by James Cameron. A fictionalized account of the sinking of the RMS Titanic, it stars Leonardo DiCaprio as Jack Dawson, Kate Winslet as Rose DeWitt Bukater and Billy Zane as Rose's fiancé, Cal...
. This review, referring to those who froze to death in the Atlantic following the sinking of the RMS Titanic, is an example of a “pop culture reference” review, as it is a pun on a famous quote from another film (The Sixth Sense
The Sixth Sense
The Sixth Sense is a 1999 American psychological thriller film written and directed by M. Night Shyamalan. The film tells the story of Cole Sear , a troubled, isolated boy who is able to see and talk to the dead, and an equally troubled child psychologist who tries to help him...
). It quickly became one of the top vote-getters, and has spawned imitators throughout the site, all based on the same film quote. Reviews are also judged by how completely they summarize the film. Each FWFRer is allowed to vote on a given review only once.
The twenty reviews that receive the most votes each day are displayed in the "Top Reviews" section of the site. The Top Reviews section changes frequently to reflect votes cast during the preceding 24 hours.
All-time top reviews
The site's "All-time Top Reviews" pages display the five hundred reviews with the most votes. Currently, long-time reviewer MguyX's review of Kramer vs. KramerKramer vs. Kramer
Kramer vs. Kramer is a 1979 American drama film adapted by Robert Benton from the novel by Avery Corman, and directed by Benton. The film tells the story of a married couple's divorce and its impact on everyone involved, including the couple's young son...
is the all-time highest vote getter ("I bet Kramer wins."), which only barely displaced the relatively less prolific pudking's review for Titanic ("Icy dead people.") at the number one spot. Other former number ones include Aardball's review of The Blair Witch Project
The Blair Witch Project
The Blair Witch Project is a 1999 American horror film pieced together from amateur footage. The film was produced by the Haxan Films production company. The film relates the story of three student filmmakers The Blair Witch Project is a 1999 American horror film pieced together from amateur...
("Tense. Intense. In tents.") and noncentz's review of Breast Men
Breast Men
Breast Men is a 1997 United States semibiographical, dark comedy film written by John Stockwell and directed by Lawrence O'Neil for HBO.- Plot :The film tells the tale of the doctors who pioneered the usage of silicone breast implants...
("Sale of two titties.").
Accolades
FWFRers may collate movies with a common feature into groups, referred to on the site as "accolades". They are called "accolades" because a trophy, assigned to the accolade by its creator, is awarded to the reviewer once a review is written for every movie in the group. Any number of accolades may be created, and no guidelines have been set for their creation. However, accolades are expected to have some kind of purpose or theme, an accolade may contain, for example; all the films in a series or a franchise (the Star WarsStar Wars
Star Wars is an American epic space opera film series created by George Lucas. The first film in the series was originally released on May 25, 1977, under the title Star Wars, by 20th Century Fox, and became a worldwide pop culture phenomenon, followed by two sequels, released at three-year...
films, The Terminator
The Terminator
The Terminator is a 1984 science fiction action film directed by James Cameron, co-written by Cameron and William Wisher Jr., and starring Arnold Schwarzenegger, Michael Biehn, and Linda Hamilton. The film was produced by Hemdale Film Corporation and distributed by Orion Pictures, and filmed in Los...
series, et al.), all the films featuring a certain actor or made by a particular director, films featuring a day of the week in the title, or films with a post-Apocalyptic theme etc. An accolade can include any number of movies.
Each FWFRer's personal page includes a "trophy cabinet," showing every accolade they have completed. To date, Randall, the most prolific completer of accolades, has more than 1800 in his trophy cabinet.
There is no central or group review of accolades. The creation and maintenance of accolades is on an individual basis.
Four Word Film Reviews: The Book
After several years of expressed interest from founder Benj Clews to develop the website's content into book form, in 2008 site user Michael Onesi spearheaded a concerted pitch effort to assess publishers' interest. Within two weeks, interest was registered from several publishing agents, and ultimately Adams Media won the right to publish the book. Made up of reviews originally published on the website, the book was released on August 18, 2010. In mid-2010, a second website was established to promote the book.The Fourum
FWFR has a message board, called the Fourum, for discussion of any topic. The Fourum has several categories.FWFR Related
"FWFR related" is a broad category in the Fourum. The sections include:- "Reviews" - Discussions of any and everything FWFR related. Contains review discussion and a number of individually run contests.
- "Film Related" - Discussions of accolades, rankings, ratings, and features of the site. It contains a section devoted to listing and describing accolades created by members.
- "Site Maintenance" - Discussions related to reviews that may be generic, misspelled, duplicates or incorrect descriptions of the film.
- "General" - Discussions of FWFR that doesn't fall into the above categories.
Film Related
"Film Related" contains discussions of all things regarding film:- "Films" - Members discuss current films, old films and films yet to come.
- "Film Queries" - Members may post questions regarding film identification, cast members and actors.
- "General" - Members may discuss anything else film related.
Games and contests
"GameGame
A game is structured playing, usually undertaken for enjoyment and sometimes used as an educational tool. Games are distinct from work, which is usually carried out for remuneration, and from art, which is more often an expression of aesthetic or ideological elements...
s and contests" is a busy section within the Fourum. The traditional games include:
- "Alternative Four Word Reviews" - four word reviews for things other than films.
- "AvatarAvatar (computing)In computing, an avatar is the graphical representation of the user or the user's alter ego or character. It may take either a three-dimensional form, as in games or virtual worlds, or a two-dimensional form as an icon in Internet forums and other online communities. It can also refer to a text...
Contests" - a contest to come up with the funniest or most clever message board avatarAvatar (computing)In computing, an avatar is the graphical representation of the user or the user's alter ego or character. It may take either a three-dimensional form, as in games or virtual worlds, or a two-dimensional form as an icon in Internet forums and other online communities. It can also refer to a text...
that complies with the week's given theme. The winner of each contest gets to choose the theme of the next. - "Four Word Tasteless Obituaries (FWTOs)" - four word obituaries describing the life of someone (living or dead) as though they had just died.
- "Four World PornPORNPorn is a common short form for pornography. It may also refer to:* Progressive outer retinal necrosis, a disease of the retina* PORN, a French industrial rock band...
Titles (FWPTs)" - four word titles describing the names of films that would have been made should the subject have chosen to make pornographic films. - "Movie Haikus" - reviews in haikuHaiku' , plural haiku, is a very short form of Japanese poetry typically characterised by three qualities:* The essence of haiku is "cutting"...
format.