Meet Andrew Toy

We had the good fortune of connecting with Andrew Toy and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Andrew, we’d love to hear more about how you thought about starting your own business?
After getting fired two years ago, and unable to secure steady employment, I decided it was time to take my fate into my own hands. I was done being a useless cog in someone else’s machine, to be discarded whenever they saw fit. A job worth having is a job where you feel secure, right? Happiness and fair compensation are up there as priorities as well.

I’m not particularly good at anything. I can’t fish, because I’m afraid to touch the worms. I can’t fix cars because I can’t tell a Ferrari from a Ford Model T. I can’t be a live speaker because “Um” is my favorite word.

But, like any homebody, I know movies. I know movies because my brain is a film reel perpetually ticking through every movie I’ve seen. I found that one thing that I can never turn off – and I pursued it. If a food critic can get paid to eat out, why can’t I make a living by watching and talking about movies?

The most exciting thing for me when a movie comes out, however, is how it’s critically received. Media outlets seem to only focus on the overall score of a movie, but I’m more interested in the individual critiques. Not surprisingly, critics often don’t give good reasons for hating a good film or loving a bad film. So my YouTube channel is built around challenging those critics I disagree with.

I believe that in order to be a movie critic, you have to go into it with a certain amount of objectivity. Otherwise, why is one guy’s opinion worth more than mine? Here’s an example, and I’ll let you in on a little secret that might shock you: I really don’t like The Godfather. However, because I recognize its cultural and societal impact on the world, I’m not going to give it a low score simply because I don’t love it. I will give it a passing score because, as a representative of my audience, I think it is a movie they would love.

Not many critics do that, hence Roast The Critics. The whole premise of the YouTube channel is to challenge the critics who aren’t being objective, or are completely out of their minds.

Here’s an example. Look a one of the three critics who gave Toy Story 3 a bad score. They clearly don’t know what’s going on outside their own heads, so why should we take their word on any other movie? They’ve proven to be out-of-touch with reality, because like The Godfather, Toy Story 3 is objectively a good movie.

But it’s fun. I try to keep it light and let the jokes flow where they may. So hopefully my audience can be informed of who we’re taking recommendations from, and also have a lot of fun in the process.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
I roast the critics that review movies. Roast The Critics (RTC) is a burgeoning YouTube channel that puts out a new video every week. Every weekday I post memes on Instagram that are movie-related. I also just started a movie news segment. My first news series is where I predict the Rotten Tomatoes scores for upcoming movies. This is in hopes that people will start having discussions about the films mentioned.

The journey so far has not been easy, but my channel gained 450 subscribers in six months. It’s been nonstop script writing, filming, and editing. But from what I hear, to make it on YouTube, you just have to stick with it. So I’m in it for the long haul. The winners are the last people standing, and I intend to be one of them.

This channel is for anyone who needs honest and funny reviews of the movies we can’t stop talking about.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
I live in Louisville, so there’s not much here to show off. So we’d hit the movie theaters for the latest blockbuster. Then we’d take a westward road-trip and stop at every Mexican restaurant and Del Taco we find on the way. My best friend knows I’m all about movies and Mexican food.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
My wife, Sarabeth, who has been eternally patient with me, and who believed in me when no one else did. And my kids. They had to put up with a lot too.

Website: https://www.youtube.com/@RoastTheCritics

Instagram: @roastthecritics

Twitter: @AToyReviews

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/roastthecritics

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@RoastTheCritics

Image Credits
Andrew Toy