Veteran Film Critic Rex Reed Mistakes Benicio Del Toro for Guillermo del Toro in 'The Shape of Water' Review

BY Josiah HughesPublished Dec 20, 2017

Look, we all make mistakes. Click around our site, and you'll be sure to find the odd error that slipped through an editor's proofread (while you're poking around, click a few ads too). But some mistakes are truly baffling.

Take, for example, the error-laden review of Guillermo del Toro's excellent The Shape of Water, which was published by The Observer on December 19 before being quickly edited. Written by veteran film critic Rex Reed, the piece mistakenly credited the film to "Benecio Del Toro."

Of course, that mistake alone is a cruel gift that keeps on giving — not only did Reed credit the flick to an actor that had nothing to do with it, but he also misspelled the man's first name. 

Outside of that, Reed said that Benicio was from Spain, which makes it confusing as to whom he was even referring. After all, Benicio Del Toro is from Puerto Rico and Guillermo del Toro is from Mexico.

As if that weren't enough, Reed also referred to Sally Hawkins' character as being "mentally handicapped" in the film. He also failed to credit the film's co-writer Vanessa Taylor.

Read reactions and screenshots from the mishap below, including a response from Benicio Guillermo del Toro himself.

Thanks to Indiewire for the tip.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

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