Blythe Theater Sparks a Flap : A Drama Unfolds Over Banning of Movie Critic

Movie critic Cathy Monnett had just taken a seat in the aging red brick theater to review the latest film to play at the only movie house in this desert community near the Colorado River.

But even before “Gorillas in the Mist” began to roll, the theater manager approached, handed back her money and asked Monnett to leave. The reason: the theater owner had decided that Monnett’s reviews were too negative and bad for business.

Determined not to be silenced, Monnett, 29, and her editor at the Palo Verde Valley Times, the town’s only newspaper, have decided she will drive 90 miles to the nearest theater, in Yuma, Ariz., to review the same films that are scheduled to play in Blythe.

“I’m incensed,” said Monnett, who began writing a movie review column for the twice-weekly newspaper in March and was booted out of the 600-seat theater Dec. 14. “By driving to Yuma I’m telling them they can’t stop me from writing reviews.”

Monnett calls it a violation of her freedom of expression. But the struggling theater’s co-owner, Paul Davis, 37, calls it a matter of economic survival. And the flap, which has caused an uproar in this town of 8,400, has prompted Monnett and her publisher to seek legal advice.

Monnett, who is paid $8--the price of two movie tickets--for her reviews, believes she has become a scapegoat for the theater’s financial problems. “Of the 28 reviews I have written, 17 have been positive,” she said.

Win Some, Lose Some

“That’s a pretty good percentage,” mused David Anson, a movie reviewer for Newsweek magazine. “I don’t think any of us would survive in Blythe.”

Several attorneys have advised Monnett and her newspaper, which has an average circulation of 4,500, to file a lawsuit. But some legal experts are not sure what to make of the dispute.

On one hand, they point out, a proprietor usually has a right to refuse service to a customer. On the other, the newspaper contends Monnett has a constitutional right to express her opinion.

“People have a right, normally, to go to a theater, particularly if it is the only theater in town,” said Herschel Elkins, senior state assistant attorney general in Los Angeles. “And one of the dearest rights we have is freedom of expression.”

But Jane Kirtley, executive director of the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, acknowledged that, “Because this (the theater) is a private entity not in any way supported by public funds, it is a little less clear whether this would give rise to a civil rights cause of action. I can’t predict that the outcome (of a lawsuit) would be a win.”

There seems to be no legal precedent that directly applies to the case. The closest example media observers could recall was when Rex Reed was denied admission in 1977 to free private preview screenings of United Artists films after he panned “The Pink Panther Strikes Back.”

For his part, Blythe Police Chief Robert Feemster said, “There is no law I can think of where you can arrest a property owner for keeping someone off their property.”

“We’d probably cite her for trespassing if she entered the theater and he (Davis) ordered her to leave and she refused,” added Feemster.

A spokesman for the theater owners said if a lawsuit is filed, they cannot afford to defend themselves and the ailing movie house would have to shut its doors.

“It is clear the theater does not have the money to fight a lawsuit; the theater will close,” said Don Davis, Paul Davis’ brother and a Los Angeles attorney representing the theater. “Because the theater is struggling to survive, he (Paul Davis) is putting his own money into it to keep it going.”

“People were staying away from the theater because of her reviews . . . (and) the feeling inside the theater, whether right or wrong, was that her criticism was not evenly balanced,” Davis added. “Certainly, she has a right to freedom of speech . . . but a business owner also has a right to operate a business and exclude people for any reason.”

The newspaper has published several editorials denouncing the theater’s action, and urged supporters to picket the movie house. About a dozen people did so recently; one placard read, “Big Screen, Small Mind.”

But Paul Davis, whose theater does not advertise in the newspaper, has called Monnett a dilettante with no credentials to review films. In a letter to the editor in the Blythe newspaper, Davis said: “Were her distorted, negative and unfair criticism harmless, we could perhaps ignore her, and chuck it off to a small-town mind that dabbles in writing newspaper articles.”

Local motel clerk Garth Pyeatt, 26, a lifelong Blythe resident, stressed that he is not taking sides in the dispute. But, like many residents, he was critical of the theater.

“It’s a very small-town . . . attitude and Blythe should have a better image to present,” Pyeatt said. “It’s not like she was pelting kids with candy or writing, ‘Don’t go to that theater, you’ll lose your shoes because they’ll stick to the goop on the floor.’ ”

Theater co-owner Paul Davis has not been specific about which reviews have bothered him. But Monnett insists they have been fair.

In one, she faulted the scriptwriter of “Funny Farm” for “failing to develop any truly amusing situations in his plot,” which could only be “interpreted as funny by someone with a sadistic mind.”

In another, though, she praised the movie “Willow” for its “sympathetic characters, a powerful conflict between good and evil. . . .”

Monnett moved from St. George, Utah, to this city on Interstate 10 in August, 1987, when her husband, Glen, landed a teaching job at Appleby Elementary School.

In March, Monnett, who had no journalism experience beyond movie reviews written for small Utah newspapers, offered to review family-oriented films for the Blythe newspaper.

Palo Verde Valley Times Publisher Glen Sparlin said Monnett will not review R-rated movies. He said he is considering “hiring a stringer to cover those R-rated movies.”

When Monnett was ejected from the movie house, the theater manager said she could return as a patron, but not as a critic.

“I think they are putting an awful lot on my head that doesn’t belong there,” Monnett said. “It’s not my responsibility if they are going downhill.”

Monnett’s Views of Recent Films

Here are excerpts from some of Cathy Monnett’s film reviews in the Palo Verde Valley Times:

“Hot to Trot”--” . . . Has only one thing to recommend it. It will restore your faith in TV. Nothing on the tube is this stupid, unimaginative, tedious, and irritating.”

“Willow”--”It offers sympathetic characters, a powerful conflict between good and evil, fantastic action sequences . . . and that most elusive of movie attributes: a happy ending.”

“Funny Farm”--” . . . There would have been hope if the writer and actors had managed to wring one bit of humor out of all the outlandish situations they encounter. . . .”

“Police Academy V”--”The comedy is sophomoric but rarely offensive, and you’ll even get a few big laughs for your money.”

“Moonstruck”--”This is basically a very old-fashioned movie with old-fashioned ideas about love; but if it doesn’t make a believer out of you, maybe you should have your cynicism level checked.”