The Social Network: the good, the bad, and the downright despicable

It has taken me a long time to write this review because it has taken me a long time to decide if I liked it. I'm not even sure now, and it's been about three weeks since I saw it. I think it was a good movie. I can see why a lot of people would like it. I think it's going to be nominated for a bunch of things, and probably win a bunch more. It was well-made and entertaining, but I'm not sure that I liked it.

I love Facebook. Don't get me wrong, Facebook helps me to waste a lot of time that would be better spent doing homework or thinking about what I'll do in six months when I graduate or doing anything productive, really. So I'm grateful to Mark Zuckerberg for creating Facebook because I really enjoy it. Do I want to watch a movie about it? That's debatable.

Here's my problem with the film. Mark Zuckerberg was a jerk. His friend, Eduardo, was a tool. And I don't know anyone who can bring themselves to care about Justin Timberlake, regardless of what he's doing. There wasn't anyone in the film that I cared anything about. I was glad he got sued. I was glad that he ended up paying a bunch of people money. I thought he deserved it. I was only hoping that someone would sue Justin Timberlake too, and him, not the character he played.

I felt bad for the girlfriend. Not only did she have to deal with him being an asshole while they were together, but then she had to deal with him being an even bigger asshole after she got up the good sense to dump him. No one should have to read about themselves on the Internet. I'll admit that I've thought about posting unflattering things about my exes online before (in high school when I was much less mature and had much more time on my hands), but I haven't because that is just cruel. I really believe that break ups are personal and private things and should only be discussed between the two people who are breaking up with each other, so I could feel for her when she had to read about her bra size on the Internet because no one deserves that.

What I liked about it was that it didn't apologize. Mark Zuckerberg wasn't portrayed in any sort of positive light, and his character didn't make any apologies or justifications for his actions. He never admitted that anything he did was wrong. He even said to the Winklevoss twins in the film, "If you were the inventors of Facebook, you would have invented Facebook." The lawsuits just seemed like a minor inconvenience to him. He ignored the proceedings and simply moved forward with Facebook. I can respect that. A motto that I've lived by for a long time now is: no apologies, no regrets (respectfully borrowed (read: stolen) from popular Showtime series, Queer as Folk), and he certainly fits the bill.

Now that I've taken the time to write about it, I think I liked it. I've certainly spent a lot of time talking about it, so that must mean something. If I hadn't really liked it, I wouldn't have thought about it again after leaving the theater. And it made me cry I was so mad, and I hate crying. So, that's worth something.

All and all, I say, go see for yourself.