Nature & Animals Quote by Ivan Reitman

Devastating reviews are supposed to be a death sentence. Reitman’s line turns that supposed authority into a setup punchline: the critics came early, swung hard, and still didn’t get to write the ending. The intent isn’t self-pity; it’s a quietly swaggering reminder that cultural impact doesn’t always arrive with permission slips from tastemakers.

“Animal House” (1978) landed in a moment when American comedy was getting rowdier, more openly juvenile, and more suspicious of institutions. Its pleasures are anarchic: the joy is in watching a system of respectability get pantsed. Early reviewers, trained to reward polish and moral seriousness, often read that kind of comedy as stupidity rather than strategy. Reitman’s phrasing - “at the start” - is doing a lot of work. It frames criticism as a snapshot taken before the picture develops. The movie didn’t change; the audience did the reappraisal in real time, packing theaters until the industry had to admit the joke was on them.

The subtext is also about class and gatekeeping. “Devastating” implies power: the ability to crown or crush. But the story of “Animal House” is that mass laughter can outvote professional judgment, and that “low” comedy can be a delivery system for mood, rebellion, and generational identity. Reitman isn’t denying the sting; he’s reclaiming it as proof of concept. If the reviews were that angry, the film was probably hitting exactly where it aimed.