History Main / CausticCritic

* John Solomon of the now-defunct webcomic review blog, ''Your Webcomic Is Bad and You Should Feel Bad''.

* [[AlphaBitch Chloé]]'s mother Audrey Bourgeois in ''WesternAnimation/MiraculousLadybug'' is a renowned fashion critic who's infamous for being impossible to please and uncompromising in her criticisms. She's also just a [[{{Jerkass}} thoroughly malicious and unpleasant person all around]].

* ''WebVideo/MauLer'' is a PlayedWith example: He will gladly make [[DoorStopper videos totaling several hours]] breaking down the nuances of movies and videogames with DeadpanSnarker tendencies sprinkled throughout, but his reviewing style "A Critique of X..." is focused on providing both the negatives ''and'' positives of a work, regardless of his personal feelings on it. This is because [=MauLer=] is a firm believer of "objectivity" (facts) being more important to assessing quality than "subjectivity" (feelings). PlayedStraight with his "An Unbridled Rage" series, however, where he [[AccentuateTheNegative purposely lets loose on both the negatives of the work and his negative feelings]].

** Uniquely, he's also not afraid to mock, comedically or seriously, other Caustic Critics like Yahtzee, Creator/JimSterling, Website/ThatGuyWithTheGlasses (specifically [[WebVideo/TheAngryJoeShow Angry Joe]]), and many others.

* Website/ThatGuyWithTheGlasses has many such reviewers

* ''Series/MalcolmInTheMiddle:'' In "Malcolm Films Reese", the dude ranch Francis works at is savaged by Charles Cutler. He comes back, supposedly to give them a second chance, but starts smugly dictating another mean-spirited review within seconds of being greeted. Upon being told that Francis and Piama are married, Cutler sneers about how his hosts aren't content on ruining the experiences of one generation of vacationers and insist on breeding. Francis and Otto give the guy a NoHoldsBarredBeatdown in response. As he's taken away on a stretcher, Cutler insults the color of the ceiling, as well as the sloppiness of the beating he just received. He also proceeds to write a nasty review of the hospital that treats his injuries. All of this backfires on Cutler, as his bad reviews have made him HatedByAll. All of the other local hoteliers and merchants to whom Cutler has given bad reviews are delighted by his misfortune and either send Otto and Francis gift baskets or recommend the dude ranch to the guests they don't have room to accommodate.

* WebVideo/BroTeamPill is very caustic with triple-A releases, and [[CuckoolanderCommentator nonsensical with everything else]]. His ''VideoGame/TheElderScrollsVSkyrim'' review is a rap of the ObviousBeta state of the game, dumbed down mechanics, and short. The ''War Z'' review mocked the [[RevenueEnhancingDevices microtransactions]] in a paid-for game, [[ObviousBeta broken mechanics]], and so on - even calling it a [[TheMockBuster scam]] [[FreezeFrameBonus in a frame]]

This trope tends to be [[PopularityPolynomial cyclic in popularity]]. At times, it's considered entertaining, especially if the audience already agrees that the target of the caustic review [[GuiltyPleasure probably deserves it]]. At other times, audiences will prefer a more educational, no nonsense, objective review of a product that they may consider purchasing or watching. This is why a lot of current Youtube reviewers have dispensed with [[StylisticSuck comedic interludes, quirky deliveries, and other filler]], thus being able to focus on informative content over stage persona. Or they [[FandomHeresy might be offended]] by a caustic negative review of something that is considered CultClassic of FairForItsDay, especially if the caustic reviewer in question is [[BeforeMyTime obviously too young to remember]] when it was a new thing [[note]] An example of a scenario that is generally considered bad form: A reviewer born sometime after 1993 delivers a caustic review that is heavily dependent on mercilessly attacking the dated aspects of an [[TheEighties early 80s]] anime production. Even attacking Macekres of that period is probably frowned upon since the reviewer in question never had to put up with them and [[KeepCirculatingTheTapes probably had to go out of their way to find them in the first place]] [[/note]].

* WebVideo/TheCriticalDrinker is usually pretty upset or confused if he doesn't like a particular work, though he ''is'' willing to actually say things to the credit of works he doesn't like when he feels it's due, like admitting ''WesternAnimation/MastersOfTheUniverseRevelation'' has gorgeous animation, and that ''VideoGame/TheLastOfUsPartII'' was ambitious and took a lot of risks in an era when most writers are terrified to step outside the box.

* WebVideo/TheCriticalDrinker is usually pretty upset or confused if he doesn't like a particular work, though he ''is'' willing to actually say things to the credit of works he doesn't like when he feels it's due, like admitting ''WesternAnimation/MastersOfTheUniverseRevelation'' has gorgeous animation, and that ''VideoGame/TheLastOfUsPartII'' was ambitious and took a lot of risks in an era when most writers are terrified to step outside the box.

* In ''Film/YouCantTakeItWithYou'', Kolenkhov's dour criticism of everything, to the point of a CatchPhrase, is, "It ''stinks.''"

* Jay Sherman of ''WesternAnimation/TheCritic'', whose catch phrase is "It stinks!" (Although most of what he [[ShowWithinAShow was reviewing]] [[StylisticSuck really did look absolutely terrible]].) In one early episode, a little girl gets mad at him because he didn't like ''WesternAnimation/{{The Lion King|1994}}'', and in another, he mentioned that the highest rating he gives a movie is 7 out of 10.

* In ''Critic's Choice'' by Creator/IraLevin, Parker Ballantine prides himself on writing the most devastatingly worded play reviews of any New York drama critic. At his house, with some paid assistance from John (his son by a previous marriage), he keeps a white box full of phrases to be used in glowing reviews and a black box full of phrases to be used in scathing reviews; he makes a habit of taking a slip from each box whenever he goes out to watch a new production. Much of the drama revolves around the question of whether or not he will review the play written by his wife Angela (who at one point accuses him of playing "God and George Jean Nathan rolled into one"), after he makes numerous disparaging remarks at home about it and its director and producer. At first he agrees to her demand that he should refrain from reviewing it, and gives up his opening night tickets. Later he has a dramatic change of heart, empties the black box and stuffs every pocket he has with the hundreds of slips in it before leaving for the Forty-fourth Street Theatre. He then writes the most damning review of the play without using any of his previously written phrases.

* "The Critic" by Music/RedHook portrays the singer's own insecurities and self-doubts as this:
--> Yeah, I got that freak cursing at me,\\
24/7, wish she would just SHUT THE FUCK UP!

* Jamie Kennedy's documentary ''Heckler'' takes aim at caustic critics, equating them with annoying hecklers at a comedy show. He confronts a few internet critics who wrote particularly vitriolic critiques of his films and demands to know why they needed to be so mean.

This trope tends to be [[PopularityPolynomial cyclic in popularity]]. At times, it's considered entertaining, especially if the audience already agrees that the target of the caustic review [[GuiltyPleasure probably deserves it]]. At other times, audiences will prefer a more educational, no nonsense, objective review of a product that they may consider purchasing or watching. This is why a lot of current Youtube reviewers have dispensed with [[StylisticSuck comedic interludes, quirky deliveries, and other filler]], thus being able to focus on informative content over stage persona. Or they [[FandomHeresy might be offended]] by a caustic negative review of something that is considered CultClassic of FairForItsDay, especially if the caustic reviewer in question is [[BeforeMyTime obviously too young to remember]] when it was a new thing [[note]] An example of a scenario that is generally considered bad form: A reviewer born sometime after 1993 delivers a caustic review that is heavily dependent on mercilessly attacking the dated aspects of an [[TheEighties early 80s]] anime production. Even attacking Macekres of that period is probably frowned upon since the reviewer in question never had to put up with them and probably had to go out of their way to find them in the first place. [[/note]].

* In ''Critic's Choice'' by Creator/IraLevin, Parker Ballantine prides himself on writing the most devastatingly worded play reviews of any New York drama critic. At his house, with some paid assistance from John (his son by a previous marriage), he keeps a white box full of phrases to be used in glowing reviews and a black box full of phrases to be used in scathing reviews; he makes a habit of taking one from each box whenever he goes out to watch a new production. Much of the drama revolves around the question of whether or not he will review the play written by his wife Angela (who at one point accuses him of playing "God and George Jean Nathan rolled into one"), after he makes numerous disparaging remarks at home about it and its director and producer. At first he agrees to her demand that he should refrain from reviewing it, and gives up his opening night tickets. Later he has a dramatic change of heart, empties the black box and stuffs every pocket he has with the hundreds of slips in it before leaving for the theatre. He then writes the most damning review of the play without using any of his previously written phrases.

* In ''Critic's Choice'' by Creator/IraLevin, Parker Ballantine prides himself on writing the most devastatingly worded play reviews of any New York drama critic. At his house, he keeps a white box full of phrases to be used in glowing reviews and a black box full of phrases to be used in scathing reviews. HilarityEnsues when his wife writes a play and gets it produced.

** WebVideo/TheNostalgiaChick, the Critic’s DistaffCounterpart, though she's broken out of the GirlShowGhetto and criticizes whatever she wants.

On paper, the job of a reviewer of any medium is to provide an evaluation of a given work in the medium, outlining its good and bad points and whether you should check it out. Useful, succinct, and an integral part of any entertainment industry.

* ''WebVideo/PittsburghDad'' rips the first ''{{Literature/Twilight}}'' movie to shreds in his spoiler-laden review.

* One classic literary examples is Creator/MarkTwain's "Literature/FenimoreCoopersLiteraryOffences", ripping into a then-popular series of adventure novels:

* Bob Lefsetz, known for his nonsensically elaborate analogies and love of the caps lock button. Taylor Swift's song "Mean" was probably directed at him.