Roger Ebert, the influential American film critic, gave a scathing one-and-a-half-star review to the 2003 drama Levity, directed by Ed Solomon, dismissing it as a "witless enterprise" that wasted its cast's talents and the audience's time. The film starred Billy Bob Thornton as a man seeking redemption after killing someone, alongside Holly Hunter, Morgan Freeman and Kirsten Dunst, but Ebert felt the strong ensemble was squandered on unoriginal, stock melodrama rather than authentic storytelling.

Ebert accused Solomon of having "stolen two hours from the lives of everyone who sees the film", arguing there was "not a moment of authentic observation" in the plot. Levity went on to earn just $723,040 at the box office and has largely faded from cinematic memory, in stark contrast to other 2003 releases such as The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King and Finding Nemo. Solomon later found greater success writing the Bill & Ted films, Men in Black and Charlie's Angels, though he had also previously written 1993's widely panned Super Mario Bros.