My beef with Slumdog Millionaire

Let me start by saying if you haven't seen Slumdog Millionaire, and plan on it, then do not read this.

I'm very puzzled at why people like this movie so much. I've watched the Golden Globes and SAG awards and this movie has SWEPT both of them, in a sense that its nominated for a lot and it wins several. This movie is also getting incredible Oscar buzz, buzz speculations that say the movie is a surefire to win Best Picture and that the other nominations need not even prepare a speech.

After seeing the movie, I don't understand how people can like the film THAT much. Granted its a good movie, story isn't that bad, music and acting is top notch, but I have my complaints. The idea of the film you know is that the main character is on the Indian equivalent of Who Wants to be A Millionaire?, and it shows how events in his life led him to know the answer to the questions he's being asked.

If you haven't seen the film the movie starts out with this question:

Jamal Malik is one question away from winning 20 million rupees. How did he do it?

a. He cheated
b. He's lucky
c. He's a genius
d. It is written

And naturally at the end of the film it is revealed that D is the "correct" answer.


Personally, I don't buy that. It's like the quote from The Matrix, when Neo is asked Do you believe in Fate? He says No, because I don't like the idea that I'm not in control of my life. This is my first really big complaint about the film.

My second complaint is to the effect of this: So when a poor kid from the slums is on a show like this, and he gets all of the questions right, by the logic of the police and host of the show: He's cheated. This is of course the basis for the film.

My complaint about this aspect of the movie, why CAN'T a person know these things? Why is the only solution to them: he cheated? Granted it is implied since he is poor, essentially he can't know things.

It's like what Penn Jillette expresses in his youtube vlog account pennsays: If the film had been changed from an Indian kid in the slums to an African American child from Harlem who won Who Wants to be a Millionaire and they had to explain it due to some poverty ridden experience in his life cause he can't just KNOW the answers. I think the same people that are loving this movie might find it a little bit offensive.

Those are my complaints, look at the film how you want, but I have to disagree with all the praise it gets, and now you know why.