Edelstein on Thornton

David Edelstein is undoubtedly my favorite film critic. With his piercing wit and bemused insights into all things film, he's got the perfect blend of fair-play gamesmanship and chuckling ridicule to wade through the increasingly ludicrous waters of Hollywood. Even still, he manages to both delight and surprise, such as with this impeccable description of Billy Bob Thornton in Bad News Bears:

Thornton embodies the kind of flamboyantly dissolute but acidly intelligent Southern layabout who makes sloth, alcoholism, and self-abuse alarmingly attractive.

Faulkner would be jealous.