While we're on the subject of movies... What about your favorite guilty pleasure movie? Something that most everyone hated and you loved?

I'll admit to mine: Renaissance Man.

-- Anonymous, December 14, 1999

Answers

Real Genius, although I see from that other forum question that it's on a lot of favorite teen flick lists. I'm pretty sure I'm supposed to be over it by now, though. Others: The Sure Thing (again, could have gone on my teen flick list, I guess) and a couple of romantic comedies that I won't name because if my boyfriend reads this, he'll leave me.

-- Anonymous, December 14, 1999

*cough cough* I have a trio of guilty pleasure, fantasy films: "Legend" -- that fairy tale film with a very youg Tom Cruise and Tim Curry as the Devil's son.

It's horribly edited, badly put together, and some of the lines should have been rewritten, but I still love this film.

It's visually stunning, in a murky way, the soundtrack still gives me chills and the story is sweet and scary all at once.

"The Dark Crystal" -- It's a Henson flick. It's got cute elf-like main characters. It's got solemnity, humor, magic and sweeping epic scale and nifty twist at the end that still blows me away.

Another film whose music gets right under my skin.

"Labyrinth" -- David Bowie in tights. A fairy/troll world designed by Brian Froud. That luscious ball gown Jennifer Conelly wears in a fantasy sequence. More funny/memorable lines than you can shake a stick at and one really cool maze.

More cool music.

Hmm -- I'm noticing a trend here -- even if a film is put together badly, if the soundtrack is good and hits the right buttons, I still like it!

-- Anonymous, December 14, 1999

1941. It's stupid and overdone and unsubtle, but there are certain scenes that just kill me. Don't get me started.

-- Anonymous, December 14, 1999

"Blue." I have to feel guilty about liking a movie my wife thought was stupid and pointless. I also have to avoid telling her that I identify strongly with the main character, probably because of the 'stupid and pointless' thing...

-- Anonymous, December 14, 1999

There are quite a few, but the first that comes to mind is "Valley Girl." Had a Nick Cage obsession way back. I must have seen it two dozen times by now, but I always, always stop whatever I'm doing if I see it on TV and watch it through to the end.

-- Anonymous, December 14, 1999

Hey hey hey--"Dark Crystal" and "Labyrinth" are too good to be guilty pleasures. :-)

Now, "Grease 2", on the other hand--my personal favourite guilty pleasure--is a genuinely, fabulously bad movie. My boss and I are convinced, however, that if we turned it into a hokey stage play it could run off-off-Broadway FOREVER. I mean come on..."Cool Rider"..."Who's That Guy" ("He came out of the darkness in the middle of the night...blazing like a mother with a fist of dynamite"...who WRITES stuff like that??)..."Girl For All Seasons"...utter crap. I've seen it about 50 times.

An even guiltier pleasure is "The Pirate Movie", which was a horrible modernized version of "The Pirates of Penzance" from the early 80's starring Christopher Atkins and Kristy McNichol. Songs from the operetta were combined with horridly cheesy early 80's music. If I could find it on video, I'd be a happy girl.

Melissa

Planning A Sky http://users.snip.net/~mel4/planningasky.html

-- Anonymous, December 14, 1999

"Dream for an Insomniac" was a B-movie released last year -- I think it was originally broadcast on cable, had a really short theater run amd is now on home video. It has the girl from "Say Anything" whose name I have a mental block against remembering, as well as MacKenzie Astin and Jennifer Aniston. And it has problems -- you can pretty much tell ten minutes into the movie how it's going to end. But I like some of the dialogue, and it's kind of satisfying in a warm- fuzzy type of way.

On the other hand ... does anyone out there have movies they feel guilty for NOT liking? I just don't get the appeal of "Raising Arizona", which makes me an object of ridicule among my circle of friends (all of whom can quote lines from memory). I'm about ready to admit that this may be one case where the rest of the world is right and I'm wrong, but I still have to leave the room whenever it shows up on television.

-- Anonymous, December 14, 1999

That would have to be Ladyhawke, and it's not just because I have a Matthew Broderick thing, either.

-- Anonymous, December 14, 1999

I'm with you, Beth K. -- "Labyrinth" is one of my all-time favorites.

It's only forever... Not long at all The lasting yearning That's underground, underground...

I wrote a paper for an English class on the symbolism of threes in this film. I deconstructed it in terms of a traditional fairy tale and asked whether the Goblin King was not, in fact, a creation of Sarah's mind. I examined the relevance of the Escher scene in detail.

When I got the paper back, I had a comment to the effect: "Sei, after reading your paper I had to go out and see this film. I found it, I'm sorry to say, nothing more than a bad fantasy film...I'm not quite sure what you see in it."

I still got an "A" on the paper. --Sei.

-- Anonymous, December 14, 1999

My three favorite movies are also the Guiltiest of Guilty Pleasures. in no particular order: Urban Cowboy John Travolta and Debra Winger I have been trying to find a mechanical bull in the NYC area because of that movie although to no avail. Saturday Night Fever, again John Travolta and I have been to the club in Nowhere Brooklyn where the club still exsist and the floor still lights up, and last but not least Coal Miners Daughter with Sissy Spasek(sp) and Tommy Lee Jones from this movie I have devoloped a love for Loretta Lynn and have gone as far as reading the book and buying her greatest hits (really cheesey and catchy songs) Ok now you all know my deepest darkest secrets, pretty sad huh?

-- Anonymous, December 14, 1999

Melissa!

You named my two: Grease 2 (did she mention Michelle Pfieffer is the female lead?)Oh, it's so flimsy it hurts. And yet, that "we're gonna bowl tonight" song is going through my head.

Pirate Movie: Also flimsy, yet totally cotton candy wonderful

-- Anonymous, December 14, 1999

Mine is Andrei Tarkovsky's "The Sacrifice." The witch, the mad scene. Aah. I have returned to watch it again and again. I laugh, I cry, it has become part of me.

No, I'm not serious. "Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan," and "Who Framed Roger Rabbit." I can listen to Montalban quote (or mangle)"Moby Dick" from here till doomsday. And the "singing sword" scene where the weasels die in "Roger Rabbit" is a classic of surreal comedy.

-- Anonymous, December 14, 1999

These two guilty pleasures actually were popular with teenagers, which makes it all the more embarassing. When I get bummed out I comfort myself with "Romy & Michelle's High School Reunion" and if it's really a dark gooey career related depression I pretend "Working Girl" might actually be something less than the ridiculous, implausible farce of a plot that it was. Oh yeah. That boardroom full of executives would still believe wholeheartedly in the puffy faced, box spilling, sweatshirt wearing Melanie Griffith after she wasted most of their day - not to mention the last few weeks - lying to them around a multi-million dollar deal. However, I am hoping Harrison Ford will find time in his busy schedule to pack my lunch soon though. I need that milk money, honey.

P.S. - Just thinking about David Bowie in the "Labyrinth" ad outfit is enough to make me laugh for the rest of the day. Yipes!

-- Anonymous, December 14, 1999

Well, I'm having a mental block on guilty pleasure movies (as well as papers and finals). But I had to say that the DVD of Labyrinth is great. Um... yeah, that was about it.

-- Anonymous, December 15, 1999

Let's see: Fast Times at Ridgemont High ("If I'M here and YOU'RE here, doesn't that make it OUR time?") I freakin LOVE that movive.

Ummm, Saturday Night Fever ("When my mother dies you got the job"), Clueless, Legends of the Fall (two words: BRAD PITT), Urban Cowboy, Coalminers Daughter, The Champ, Die Hard, All the Right Moves (such an awful movie) and Clash of the Titans (Doh!).

NOW I'm embarrased. Christine

-- Anonymous, December 15, 1999

Showgirls. I have seen it about 10 times by now. It's just so fabulously trashy. And also I'm with Nita and Melissa on Grease 2. It's a guilty pleasure as a soundtrack as well.

-- Anonymous, December 16, 1999

Actually ... my real guilty pleasure, if you want true embarrassment factor ... is "Titanic"

But it has _nothing_ to do with DiCaprio.

-- Anonymous, December 16, 1999

Indecent Proposal. I know Robert Redford hasn't aged well, but I still really like him and I just loved that movie and yes, I would have done it for half the money!

-- Anonymous, December 16, 1999

No, actually, for free.

-- Anonymous, December 16, 1999

"G.I. Jane", definitely. I really dislike D.Moore, in everything else, but watching Ridley Scott and the cinematographer go to work on that flick brings out all the hidden possibilties. It's so funny, and pretty damn satisfying.

-trouble

-- Anonymous, December 16, 1999