As an old movie fan, I've dealt with many successful and unsuccessful remakes of old movies I like. The Heiress, Charade, the list goes on and on. However, in all of these cases the movie was touted as a remake, and not sneakily re-written in some kind of hope that no savvy viewers would realize what they were watching.
I have a secret love for stupid teen comedies, so I watched Loser expecting a brainless fiesta. Imagine my outrage when I realized I was watching a horrendous remake of my favorite movie of ALL TIME, "The Apartment." In shock, I watched as characters, situations, and whole sequences were lifted wholeheartedly from Billy Wilder's beautifully dark and comic parable about the value of morals in a faceless urban society.
What shocked me the most is that Amy Heckerling has never copped to this being a remake. I have watched DVD special features, read reviews, and even searched here for some word from Ms Heckerling, but there is nothing. I am not so troubled by this being a mediocre at best remake than by it being so shadily remade. Until I read the comments from my fellow IMDb posters, I had not even read about anyone else realizing the similarities.
If you're interested in watching Loser, do yourself a favor and watch the Apartment instead. You will feel uplifted and rewarded as a film goer and a human being. (Note: Amy Heckerling is an old movie fan! I have seen her doing interviews in tributes to directors like Frank Capra and Billy Wilder himself! So this remake was NOT an accident OR a coincidence!)
I have a secret love for stupid teen comedies, so I watched Loser expecting a brainless fiesta. Imagine my outrage when I realized I was watching a horrendous remake of my favorite movie of ALL TIME, "The Apartment." In shock, I watched as characters, situations, and whole sequences were lifted wholeheartedly from Billy Wilder's beautifully dark and comic parable about the value of morals in a faceless urban society.
What shocked me the most is that Amy Heckerling has never copped to this being a remake. I have watched DVD special features, read reviews, and even searched here for some word from Ms Heckerling, but there is nothing. I am not so troubled by this being a mediocre at best remake than by it being so shadily remade. Until I read the comments from my fellow IMDb posters, I had not even read about anyone else realizing the similarities.
If you're interested in watching Loser, do yourself a favor and watch the Apartment instead. You will feel uplifted and rewarded as a film goer and a human being. (Note: Amy Heckerling is an old movie fan! I have seen her doing interviews in tributes to directors like Frank Capra and Billy Wilder himself! So this remake was NOT an accident OR a coincidence!)