I'm aware that Fargo predates Blair Witch Project. Not sure what your point is, regardless. As for which one is over-rated... Blair Witch Project received the critical response it deserved, more or less: it was a shit film, that was received badly But, I'm not sure why they can't both be over-rated, anyway. Their relative receptions - whether positive or negative - are not mutually exclusive, are they?
The reason I mentioned Blair Witch Project is because it used the same gimmicky, manipulative marketing tool that Fargo used. They lead audiences to believe that it was a true story, for financial gain. The funny thing is, I remember people being pissed off when Blair Witch did it. And, now, the same people are more than willing to excuse the same behavior.
Why?
I think it's because Joel and Ethan Coen have so concretely established themselves as respectable and talented film-makers, that their work (and/or any work associated with them) is automatically elevated to a high-art standard that it doesn't necessarily deserve. They are, as far as most fanboys/critics are concerned, infallible.
There are countless others.
If Nebraska was Alexander Payne's first film, for example, it wouldn't have been nominated for 6 academy awards. Payne's work decreases in quality, significantly, as his critical acclaim rises. Generally there is an inversely proportional relationship between the media's induction of the artist as a celebrity, and the quality of their work.
Fargo, like Nebraska, would not have received the same level of critical acclaim if the Coens hadn't already established themselves as worthy suitors with their other (far superior, but less award-generating) films like Barton Fink and The Hudsucker Proxy. It was a novelty film, owing a good portion of it's appeal to the a particular branch of the previously untapped quirkiness that is small-town middle-America.
Steve Buscemi & Peter Stormare's characters were entertaining. The rest of Fargo (the film) was cute/quirky filler. I remember a lot of people finding the way the locals talked really amusing. Personally, I found Frances McDormand's repetition of the word "ya" more than a little grinding. (I should point out that I've never been particularly impressed with her wide-eyed over-acting. If she wasn't married to Ethan, she wouldn't be in all their films. She's like Helena B. Carter in Tim Burton films.)
But fuck all that. Let's say Fargo was a really good film. The question, which no-one has even attempted to address, remains. Why adapt it into a TV show that has absolutely nothing to do with the film, aside from the title? What am I missing? Why does this project exist? And if there's no reason for it to exist, aside from branding/name-recognition, then doesn't it set a terrible precedent?
Robert Rodriquez's TV adaptation of "From Dusk Till Dawn", which was a horrible sell-out, makes more sense than this.
