Taylor Swift's The Life of a Showgirl dropped last week to massive commercial success and is already on its way to becoming the biggest album of all time. Despite all this, the critical reception has been deeply divided. While Rolling Stone awarded it a perfect five stars, other critics weren't as kind. The Guardian called it a "dull razzle-dazzle" that "floats in one ear and out the other," while Consequence noted the album gets "lost in its own metaphor" and is "only skin deep."Across the critiques, many point out the same thing. And the album's central problem is one screenwriters know well. When your protagonist is at the top, there's nowhere interesting for the story to go. - YouTube www.youtube.com The Need for ConflictVariety's Chris Willman liked the album but identified the core issue, writing that where previous albums felt "hard-fought," this record feels too easy-breezy. And, he adds, TSwift "flourishes with adversaries," but here even the diss tracks are bright and cotton-candy thin. The Standard echoed this sentiment, noting Swift "doesn't have much heartbreak grist for her creative mill" now that she's engaged and thriving, and instead she "complains about how hard it is being soooo rich."The Telegraph wrote, "The Life of a Showgirl gives us romance and wit, but it lacks the drama of her earlier music."Many references on the album pertain to settling down (and having sex, but we won't get into that), and that's all fine if a bit tedious. There are only a few instances...
Published By: NoFilmSchool - Today