# A Series of Unfortunate Titles **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [July 26, 2007, 1:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-series-of-unfortunate-titles/413176 "2007-07-26T01:17:06Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![John\_DiFool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_difool/32/19543_2.png) [@John\_DiFool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_DiFool)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2007, 1:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-series-of-unfortunate-titles/413176/1 "2007-07-26T01:17:06Z")
What titles (movie/book/TV series/etc.) seemed oddly inappropriate, unintentionally humorous, if not outright _wrong_, for whatever reasons, and you wondered how someone could have been as oblivious as to choose it for their work? My favorite is the film **K-Pax** , which sounds to me like a feminine hygiene product. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2007, 1:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-series-of-unfortunate-titles/413176/2 "2007-07-26T01:59:26Z")
**A Midsummer Night’s Sex Comedy** , which isn’t a comedy. This isn’t a dig: it’s a fine drama (perhaps even a tragedy). But the title is ironic and confused a lot of people. ---
**Author:** ![TLDRIDKJKLOLFTW](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/51bf81/32.png) [@TLDRIDKJKLOLFTW](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TLDRIDKJKLOLFTW)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2007, 2:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-series-of-unfortunate-titles/413176/3 "2007-07-26T02:09:28Z")
Metal Gear Solid 3: **Snake Eater** ---
**Author:** ![jackelope](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/a6a055/32.png) [@jackelope](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jackelope)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2007, 2:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-series-of-unfortunate-titles/413176/4 "2007-07-26T02:17:46Z")
Based on its idiotic title, [Going All the Way](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0119209/) promised to be a moronic high-school sex comedy. A friend convinvced me to watch it, though, and instead it was a pretty well-done, dark little drama about a couple of fairly young soldiers coming home from the Korean War. Not to menion: _Mmmm… Rose McGowan in a prom dress…_ ---
**Author:** ![Mehitabel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/8797f3/32.png) [@Mehitabel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mehitabel)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2007, 2:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-series-of-unfortunate-titles/413176/5 "2007-07-26T02:34:57Z")
_The Naked Lunch._ “I can think of at least two things wrong with that title…” \ ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2007, 9:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-series-of-unfortunate-titles/413176/6 "2007-07-26T09:58:45Z")
Disneyland claims to be “The Happiest Place on Earth!” (or some such drivel). Having been there, once on a date and once with a 4-year-old, I _strongly_ disagree. ---
**Author:** ![Liberal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/848f3c/32.png) [@Liberal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Liberal)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2007, 10:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-series-of-unfortunate-titles/413176/7 "2007-07-26T10:59:17Z")
**Midnight Cowboy** - a lot of people at the time didn’t know that it meant “male prostitute”. ---
**Author:** ![Kalhoun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/3bc359/32.png) [@Kalhoun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kalhoun)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2007, 11:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-series-of-unfortunate-titles/413176/8 "2007-07-26T11:36:17Z")
[QUOTE=Liberal] **Midnight Cowboy** - a lot of people at the time didn’t know that it meant “male prostitute”. [/QUOTE] I didn’t know that until this second. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2007, 11:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-series-of-unfortunate-titles/413176/9 "2007-07-26T11:56:19Z")
**Ballistic: Ecks vs. Sever** sounds like they never finished writing the title. There ought to be more to it, or less > **[Ballistic: Ecks vs. Sever (2002) ⭐ 3.7 | Action, Crime, Mystery](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0308208/)** > > 1h 31m | R **Metalstorm: The DEstruction of Jared-Syn** sounds as if they expect us to know who or what Jared-Syn is. > **[Metalstorm: The Destruction of Jared-Syn (1983) ⭐ 3.8 | Action, Adventure,...](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0085935/)** > > 1h 24m | PG **Sorceror** sounds like a fantasy film, or maybe it’s about Carlos Castaneda’s shaman, Don Juan Matus. I never would’ve figured it as a remake of _The Wages of Fear_. It was YEARS before I learned where the title came from (It’s apparently the name of one of the trucks) > **[Sorcerer (1977) ⭐ 7.7 | Adventure, Drama, Thriller](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0076740/)** > > 2h 1m | PG **Vision Quest** sounds like it should be a fantasy quest movie, or maybe about a pre-Columbian American Indian going on his mystic inner journey. I’d never have guessed it’s about a high school wrestler: > **[Vision Quest (1985) ⭐ 6.6 | Drama, Romance, Sport](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0090270/)** > > 1h 47m | R ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2007, 12:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-series-of-unfortunate-titles/413176/10 "2007-07-26T12:47:27Z")
[QUOTE=CalMeacham] **Sorceror** sounds like a fantasy film, or maybe it’s about Carlos Castaneda’s shaman, Don Juan Matus. I never would’ve figured it as a remake of _The Wages of Fear_. It was YEARS before I learned where the title came from (It’s apparently the name of one of the trucks) [/quote] It is – but at no point in the film is the name mentioned in dialog. You can only see it written on the side – and then if you’re looking for it. ---
**Author:** ![OneCentStamp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/13edae/32.png) [@OneCentStamp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OneCentStamp)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2007, 1:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-series-of-unfortunate-titles/413176/11 "2007-07-26T13:27:22Z")
[QUOTE=CalMeacham] **Vision Quest** sounds like it should be a fantasy quest movie, or maybe about a pre-Columbian American Indian going on his mystic inner journey. I’d never have guessed it’s about a high school wrestler: [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0090270/](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0090270/) [/QUOTE] The film’s title _is_ actually meant as a reference to the mystic inner journey. The (excellent) book makes that comparison more explicit. ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2007, 1:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-series-of-unfortunate-titles/413176/12 "2007-07-26T13:35:00Z")
[QUOTE=Gatopescado] Disneyland claims to be “The Happiest Place on Earth!” (or some such drivel). Having been there, once on a date and once with a 4-year-old, I _strongly_ disagree. [/QUOTE] I went there (well, The Magic Kingdom,) last weekend and the ticket tacker reminded us that we were going to The Happiest Place on Earth, I almost shoutest “Tijuana!”\* \*The Simpsons did it. ---
**Author:** ![Fiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e274bd/32.png) [@Fiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fiver)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2007, 2:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-series-of-unfortunate-titles/413176/13 "2007-07-26T14:06:37Z")
Rick Schmidt made a _Waiting For Guffman_-type movie about a stage production of _Showboat_ titled _Showboat 1988._ But when the holders of the _Showboat_ rights threatened to sue, he changed his title to the spectacularly unhelpful [1988: The Remake](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0075609/). ---
**Author:** ![It\_s\_Not\_Rocket\_Surgery](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/it_s_not_rocket_surgery/32/312_2.png) [@It\_s\_Not\_Rocket\_Surgery](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/It_s_Not_Rocket_Surgery)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2007, 2:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-series-of-unfortunate-titles/413176/14 "2007-07-26T14:31:11Z")
What about the play _Sexual Perversity In Chicago_ being turned into a movie with the “safe”, boring title _…About Last Night_? ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2007, 2:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-series-of-unfortunate-titles/413176/15 "2007-07-26T14:51:41Z")
**[Picking Up the Pieces](http://www.sff.net/people/rothman/GBF/pieces.htm)** is a singularly unmemorable title for a very funny film. ---
**Author:** ![cbawlmer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/71e660/32.png) [@cbawlmer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cbawlmer)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2007, 2:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-series-of-unfortunate-titles/413176/16 "2007-07-26T14:58:38Z")
_The Hudsucker Proxy_ is a wholly unmarketable and confusing title for a great movie. Same with _The Shawshank Redemption_. Tim Robbins spent 1994 in movies he’s lucky anyone ever saw. ---
**Author:** ![Winston\_Bongo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/a9adbd/32.png) [@Winston\_Bongo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Winston_Bongo)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2007, 3:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-series-of-unfortunate-titles/413176/17 "2007-07-26T15:08:53Z")
[QUOTE=CalMeacham] **Metalstorm: The DEstruction of Jared-Syn** sounds as if they expect us to know who or what Jared-Syn is. [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0085935/](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0085935/) [/QUOTE] A stupid title made even stupider by the fact that at no point in the movie is Jared-Syn destroyed. (Yes, I just used spoiler tags on **Metalstorm**. We wouldn’t want to ruin anyone’s enjoyment of that fine piece of science-fiction cinema, would we?) ---
**Author:** ![OneCentStamp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/13edae/32.png) [@OneCentStamp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OneCentStamp)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2007, 3:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-series-of-unfortunate-titles/413176/18 "2007-07-26T15:14:33Z")
[QUOTE=Winston Bongo] A stupid title made even stupider by the fact that at no point in the movie is Jared-Syn destroyed. (Yes, I just used spoiler tags on **Metalstorm**. We wouldn’t want to ruin anyone’s enjoyment of that fine piece of science-fiction cinema, would we?) [/QUOTE] Heh…I always took the title to mean the destruction _wrought by_ Jared-Syn. Because, you know, there was some. 🙂 This is really turning into one of the more esoteric and geeky side conversations I’ve ever seen in _CS_. ---
**Author:** ![Mouse\_Maven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ac91a4/32.png) [@Mouse\_Maven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mouse_Maven)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2007, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-series-of-unfortunate-titles/413176/19 "2007-07-26T15:43:34Z")
[The Gods Hate Kansas](http://www.users.globalnet.co.uk/%7Ejimthing/monarch.html) Never read it, now I _must_ find it! [War with the Newts](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/War_with_the_Newts) Great social commentary on Europe and U.S. during the 1930’s. Bad name! ---
**Author:** ![Siddhartha\_Vicious](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/919ad9/32.png) [@Siddhartha\_Vicious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siddhartha_Vicious)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2007, 7:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-series-of-unfortunate-titles/413176/20 "2007-07-26T19:34:00Z")
[Let’s Get Harry](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0091400/) always struck me as a really stupid title. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-series-of-unfortunate-titles/413176.md?page=2)