Canadian distributor apologizes for misquoting film reviewer

TORONTO — A Canadian film distributor has apologized for using a reviewer’s comments out of context.

The back of the Blu-ray cover for Nailed features a description of the movie as “a comedic masterstroke” that is attributed to A.A. Dowd of The A.V. Club.

But, in an open letter on Monday, Dowd called out Toronto-based Mongrel Media.

“I don’t remember calling the film ‘a comedic masterstroke.’ In fact, even ‘comedic’ is a bit of a stretch,” he wrote.

Dowd acknowledged that reviews are commonly taken out of context but “this is among the most egregious misquotes I’ve ever seen.”

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He wrote: “Framing me as a big fan of Nailed isn’t just a lie, it’s an attack on my critical reputation.”

Within hours, Dowd said Mongrel Media president Hussain Amarshi emailed him and apologized, “agreeing that it was the wrong call to take the quote out of context, and promising that it will be removed from all future reprints.”

Nailed is the original title of Accidental Love, a comedy starring Jake Gyllenhaal and Jessica Biel. Plagued by production problems for two years, director David O. Russell walked away from the movie in 2010. It was completed without Russell’s involvement and released earlier this year.

Dowd was one of many critics who panned the film. His review read: “To be fair to whoever refashioned Accidental Love from the abandoned scraps of Nailed, there’s little reason to believe that the ideal, untroubled version of the material would have been a comedic masterstroke.”

In his open letter, Dowd said he didn’t expect the company to pull the Blu-rays off shelves but he wanted an apology “and maybe a promise that you won’t pull this kind of stunt again.”

After receiving Amarshi’s apology, Dowd wrote: “Consider our beef squashed.”