Review of Room 237 (2012) by Jason C — 30 Sep 2013

Do you see all the penises on the cover of this documentary? I'm not sure which was worse: all the silly speculation or the one guy who stops to chat with his child...and they leave it in the documentary! If you're into speculation, this is your flick. There are some pretty stupid and outlandish claims within.

There may be a few interesting ideas, but the movie cries wolf so many damn times I just can't trust any of them. I thought the moon guy made the most sense. I don't believe Kubrick shot the fake footage of the moon landing and made The Shining about himself and his struggles in doing so. But that case is the best laid out one in the movie, and the guy does seem to be onto something in regards to the red VW in the book and Kubrick's use of a yellow VW, driving right by an accident featuring a smashed red VW...all as a giant eff you to Stephen King.

Among the more ridiculous ideas: a skier in a poster is a Minotaur. Kubrick airbrushed his own face into the clouds. The penis tray in the office. And anything else that was likely continuity problems. It is comical at times how far the theorists go to make a point. For instance, the window in the office probably should not belong. Did Kubrick intentionally put it there to show something was off...I mean, did he really think people would watch his movie and construct friggin maps of the hotel to determine the office must have been an internal room and shouldn't have a window? Jesus, give me a break. I wish I had that much time and energy. By the way, don't look for any hidden meaning in this review. I used the word "in" 27 times. Oh no! 2+7=9, which added to 27=36, which is just six away from 42...Jackie Robinson's number. And I wrote this just days after Mariano Rivera wore the number 42 for the final time in New York. Oh my! Let's make a documentary!