# Bad Movies You Still Love

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bad-movies-you-still-love/73122>\
**Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\
**Created:** [July 20, 2001, 12:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bad-movies-you-still-love/73122 "2001-07-20T00:41:12Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 20\
**Page:** 4

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**Author:** ![Bumbazine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bumbazine/32/362_2.png) [@Bumbazine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bumbazine)\
**Post date:** [July 21, 2001, 10:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bad-movies-you-still-love/73122/61 "2001-07-21T22:03:45Z")

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A movie that everyone tells me was bad that I thought was hilarious - **A Funny Thing Happened On The Way To The Forum** - Zero Mostel, Phil Silvers, Jack Gilford, Buster Keaton, lots of slapstick and cheesy songs, with a few ladies of negotiable virtue thrown in. What more could you want?

Okay, then how about **Deathrace 2000.** - Pretty much what it sounds like, a road race from New York to Los Angelos where the drivers earn extra points by running over pedestrians. Is it SciFi? is it a comedy? What the Hell is it? Watch for the ‘hand grenade’ at the end. I think they’re going to remake this one, or make a sequel, I’m not sure which.

Not really a _bad_ movie maybe, but an obscure one - **No Way to Treat a Lady** - Rod Steiger as a seriel killer. George Segal is the cop out to catch him.

And my favorite movie that was supposed to be bad but turned out to be good - **Tremors.**

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**Author:** ![R3nergy8](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e99b99/32.png) [@R3nergy8](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/R3nergy8)\
**Post date:** [July 22, 2001, 12:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bad-movies-you-still-love/73122/62 "2001-07-22T00:41:16Z")

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A few of my favorite "bad " movies :

**Ishtar** : I think it’s one of the funniest movies of all time.  
\*\* Hudson Hawk\*\* : another funny movie (heck, I’ll even say it - I like Bruce Willis- so there)

\*\* Harley Davidson & The Marlboro Man\*\*: Y’know, I have yet to meet another person who claims to have heard of this movie let alone even _liked_ it. Guess I’m the only one \<_shrugs shoulders\>_ oh well…

**Dead Alive** : Ok,I don’t Know if this really qualifies as a ‘bad’ movie, but I sure do love watching this one over and over again!!

\*\* The Running Man\*\*: again, I don’t know if this one counts, but this is one of my favorite Arnold Schwarzenegger movies.

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**Author:** ![Redboss](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8baadc/32.png) [@Redboss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Redboss)\
**Post date:** [July 23, 2001, 4:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bad-movies-you-still-love/73122/63 "2001-07-23T04:50:32Z")

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**You Can’t Stop The Music!  
Nobody Can Stop The Music!  
something something da dum  
something something da dum  
something something da dum  
It’s easier  
cos  
You Cant Stop The Music…**

The Village People are just ordinary kids, wanting to express their music, Valerie Perrine wears sexy make-up and clothes (a tattoo on her face saying “Look at me, I’m sexy” would have worked better), Nancy Walker does her bitchy “ugly girl-friend” thing (first seen with Judy and Mickey in “Girl Crazy” 1937), and some Olympic champion is the love interest.

Sounds like a recipe for success?

Well, at least it’s great fodder for sarcastic-remark type viewing. Works best if you’re drunk, stoned or gay.

All three can be arranged.

Redboss

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**Author:** ![ITR\_champion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/c67d28/32.png) [@ITR\_champion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ITR_champion)\
**Post date:** [July 23, 2001, 5:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bad-movies-you-still-love/73122/64 "2001-07-23T05:01:55Z")

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**The Three Amigos**. It’s not the least bit funny, but I still have to watch it.

**The Fifth Element**. I love Milla Jovovich’s hair.

**Dragnet** , meaning the 80’s version. It’s like the Simpsons in that dialogue that should be lame somehow ends up being funny.

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**Author:** ![Doug\_Bowe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/df788c/32.png) [@Doug\_Bowe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doug_Bowe)\
**Post date:** [July 23, 2001, 5:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bad-movies-you-still-love/73122/65 "2001-07-23T05:47:35Z")

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Love the casting of Rory Calhoun with Wolfman Jack.

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**Author:** ![lolagranola](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ea5d25/32.png) [@lolagranola](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lolagranola)\
**Post date:** [July 23, 2001, 6:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bad-movies-you-still-love/73122/66 "2001-07-23T06:55:00Z")

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I came here to nominate [Gotcha](http://us.imdb.com/Title?0089222), a truly bad, bad movie released in the mid-80’s starring Anthony Edwards and Linda Fiorentino. I know it’s terrible, it has no real redeeming qualities, yet I find it strangely soothing.

I have to second the **Evil Dead** series, **Prince of Darkness** , **April Fool’s Day** , and **They Live**.

But even I hate **Hudson Hawk**.

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**Author:** ![Drastic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Drastic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drastic)\
**Post date:** [July 23, 2001, 9:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bad-movies-you-still-love/73122/67 "2001-07-23T09:21:07Z")

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Oh, so many. I’ll take a bad movie over a merely mediocre one anytime. What constitutes truly enjoyable badness is, of course, highly debateable. But these are some of mine:

**Riki-Oh: Story of Ricky  
The Evil Dead** (all three)  
**Dead Alive  
Godzilla versus the Smog Monster** (I’m fond of all the rubber-suited G films, but this one will always have a special place in my heart, being the first one I ever saw. Plus, I think it’s one of the worst asskickings the Big G ever takes in a film before finally rallying, and that’s including the ones where he allegedly dies.)  
**Scanners  
They Live  
Big Trouble in Little China  
In the Mouth of Madness  
Prince of Darkness** (John Carpenter seems to have a knack for making good “bad” movies. I was disappointed in “Vampires” (that merely mediocre thing) but have tentative hopes for “Ghosts of Mars” from the trailer).  
**Conan the Barbarian  
Tremors**

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**Author:** ![detop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/bcef8e/32.png) [@detop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/detop)\
**Post date:** [July 23, 2001, 10:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bad-movies-you-still-love/73122/68 "2001-07-23T10:41:45Z")

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> [@](#):
>
> \*Originally posted by trose \*  
> \*\*
> 
> > [@](#):
> >
> > \*Originally posted by Crafter\_Man \*  
> > \*\*My favorite bad movie is a little-known B flick called **They Call Me Bruce.** I think it was made in the 1970’s. \*\*
> 
> Crafter, could you be thinking of **My Name Called Bruce** [sub]_sic_[/sub]? IIRC, after Bruce Lee’s untimely death, they tried to keep the franchise going for several years by recutting his movies and using old outtakes. The title is indicative of the quality of the dubbed translation. \*\*

No there is a movie named **They Call Me Bruce**. It is a bad comedy about a Chinese cook working for a mafia don. There’s even a sequel, **They Still Call Me Bruce**.

**R3nergy8** , I’ve _Harley Davidson and the Marlboro Man_, not a truly bad movie, but I’ve seen better/worse.

Another vote in favor of _Howard the Duck_.

Also, for all of those listing the first **Evil Dead** movie as a bad one, keep in mind that it was originaly a **school** project. It was done for their film class while in college. So, for a truly first movie, it is imppressive.

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**Author:** ![Spoons](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spoons/32/3141_2.png) [@Spoons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoons)\
**Post date:** [July 23, 2001, 12:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bad-movies-you-still-love/73122/69 "2001-07-23T12:37:34Z")

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**Scylla** mentioned **Americathon** , and that’s one of my favourites as well. From the Beach Boys on the soundtrack to John Ritter as President Chet Roosevelt, it’s pretty bad–but if it’s on the late movie, I’ll watch it yet again.

I’ll add one of my own: **Blues Brothers 2000**. No Belushi, and the plot is weak, and the endless car crashes get tiresome. But the basic premise is still there: _any_ excuse to give well-known R&B stars a chance to shine in a movie. I have no idea why, but I can (and have) watched this a number of times, and will do so again.

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**Author:** ![Crafter\_Man](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crafter_man/32/458_2.png) [@Crafter\_Man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crafter_Man)\
**Post date:** [July 23, 2001, 10:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bad-movies-you-still-love/73122/70 "2001-07-23T22:11:11Z")

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> [@](#):
>
> \*Originally posted by detop \*  
> \*\*
> 
> > [@](#):
> >
> > \*Originally posted by trose \*  
> > \*\*
> > 
> > > [@](#):
> > >
> > > \*Originally posted by Crafter\_Man \*  
> > > \*\*My favorite bad movie is a little-known B flick called **They Call Me Bruce.** I think it was made in the 1970’s. \*\*
> > 
> > Crafter, could you be thinking of **My Name Called Bruce** [sub]_sic_[/sub]? IIRC, after Bruce Lee’s untimely death, they tried to keep the franchise going for several years by recutting his movies and using old outtakes. The title is indicative of the quality of the dubbed translation. \*\*
> 
> No there is a movie named **They Call Me Bruce**. It is a bad comedy about a Chinese cook working for a mafia don. There’s even a sequel, **They Still Call Me Bruce**.
> 
> \*\*

The name of the movie was definitely **They Call Me Bruce**.

Here’s the imbd link:

[http://us.imdb.com/Title?0084786](http://us.imdb.com/Title?0084786)  
It starred “Johnny Yune” and was made in 1982. I saw it for the first time about 10 years ago, and it was one of the funniest movies I had ever seen (and _bad_). One notable character who had a bit part was **Margaux Hemingway**. A search revealed that she committed suicide in 1996. Wow, didn’t know that.

I’ve never seen **They Still Call Me Bruce**. Probably a good thing.

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**Author:** ![Kaitlyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/73ab20/32.png) [@Kaitlyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kaitlyn)\
**Post date:** [July 23, 2001, 11:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bad-movies-you-still-love/73122/71 "2001-07-23T23:17:26Z")

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Ah, Bruce Lee. There was a bunch of movies made with Bruce Lee look-alikes, and which starred actors with names like Bruce Li and Bruce Le, but as far as I know, there was only one feature length theatrical release made out of left-over footage. **Tower of Death** was made by using footage left over from **Game of Death** , which itself was incomplete when Lee died. In Tower, the Lee character is killed early on, and the protaganist has to avenge his death. In **Game of Death** , prinicpal photography was done, but several scenes needed to be reshot. Due to Lee’s death, a lookalike was used and filmed from the back.

Bruce Lee’s legend is so vast that people forget he only made three good movies. I’m going to add the two bad ones to my list:

**The Big Boss** (NA title: Fists of Fury): Bruce says and does very little for the first half of the move. His character is just plain dumb. The fight scenes are for the most part poorly staged. The only thing that redeems it is that when he is fighting, Bruce Lee is magnetic.

**Game of Death** : Just horrible from start to finish. Ok, the fight with Kareem is pretty cool, but the rest of the film is a dead zone.

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**Author:** ![Linear\_Crack](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Linear\_Crack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Linear_Crack)\
**Post date:** [July 24, 2001, 2:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bad-movies-you-still-love/73122/72 "2001-07-24T02:08:41Z")

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**JOHNNY SAKO and his FLYING ROBOT!**

[“COME BACK, GIANT ROBOT, COME BACK”](http://expage.com/page/johnnysokko)

Brings a tear to my eye.

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**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\
**Post date:** [July 24, 2001, 4:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bad-movies-you-still-love/73122/73 "2001-07-24T04:53:38Z")

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Labryinth and Don’t Tell Mom The Babysiter is Dead are good movies 🙂

Ice Pirates  
Transalvania 6 5000  
Tank Girl  
Death Becomes Her

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**Author:** ![Odesio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/odesio/32/20003_2.png) [@Odesio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Odesio)\
**Post date:** [July 24, 2001, 8:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bad-movies-you-still-love/73122/74 "2001-07-24T08:26:17Z")

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> [@](#):
>
> \*Originally posted by R3nergy8 \*  
> \*\*
> 
> \*\* Harley Davidson & The Marlboro Man\*\*: Y’know, I have yet to meet another person who claims to have heard of this movie let alone even _liked_ it. Guess I’m the only one \<_shrugs shoulders\>_ oh well…  
> \*\*

Oh yeah, I remember that one! What about ICE PIRATES!! That movie rocked.

Marc

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**Author:** ![JustAskAnyone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/b4bc9f/32.png) [@JustAskAnyone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JustAskAnyone)\
**Post date:** [July 24, 2001, 8:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bad-movies-you-still-love/73122/75 "2001-07-24T08:59:24Z")

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**The Gods Must Be Crazy** It has everything: Women, Africans, Exotic animals…

Also for consideration, **A Gnome Named Gnorm**.

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**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 24, 2001, 11:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bad-movies-you-still-love/73122/76 "2001-07-24T11:20:06Z")

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> [@](#):
>
> A movie that everyone tells me was bad that I thought was hilarious - A Funny Thing Happened On The Way To The Forum - Zero Mostel, Phil Silvers, Jack Gilford, Buster Keaton, lots of slapstick and cheesy songs, with a few ladies of negotiable virtue thrown in. What more could you want?

Who says AFTHOTWTTF is bad? The show has been revived endless times on Broadway. It was a successful flick. I LOVE it and, while I love bad flicks, this one in no way qualifies. Damn – look at the cast – Zero Mostel, Jack Gilford, a way pre-Phantom Michael Crawford, Michael Hordern, Phil Silvers, and BUSTER KEATON! John Pertwee (one of the Doctors Who) rewrote the “book” of the stage play, taking out most of the songs, giving Phil Silvers’ Marcus Licus a bigger part, and upping the slapstick, but I actually think the filmed version is better. (Pertwee even gave himself a cameo in the film, talking with Silvers in a tavern).

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**Author:** ![woodstockbirdybird](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/woodstockbirdybird/32/7905_2.png) [@woodstockbirdybird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/woodstockbirdybird)\
**Post date:** [July 24, 2001, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bad-movies-you-still-love/73122/77 "2001-07-24T18:54:24Z")

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Man, I used to _love_ **They Call Me Bruce**. Is it out on DVD?  
I’ll second **Americathon** , **Plan 9** and **Kentucky Fried Movie**. I just bought **The Last Dragon** on DVD, which is horrible, and I love it. Bruce Leroy? Sho Nuff? How could you miss?  
Others I’ve enjoyed:  
**Beyond The Valley Of The Dolls  
The Switchblade Sisters  
Cabin Boy  
The Fish That Saved Pittsburgh  
Re-Animator  
Beat Girl  
Over The Edge**(Matt Dillon’s first movie)  
**The Jerk**

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**Author:** ![Cyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a88e4f/32.png) [@Cyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cyn)\
**Post date:** [July 24, 2001, 9:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bad-movies-you-still-love/73122/78 "2001-07-24T21:07:11Z")

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**Westward the Women** ----mail order brides endure a wagon train trip across America led by a man who doesn’t like them. Very 50’s.  
**Earth Girls Are Easy** —Geena Davis is visited upon by Jeff Goldblum, Damon Wayans and Jim Carrey in 80’s LA.  
The before mentioned **Dr. Detroit** and **Howard the Duck.**

( God help me, I’m developing a crush on **Superdude** )

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**Author:** ![Baker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bb73d2/32.png) [@Baker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baker)\
**Post date:** [July 24, 2001, 9:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bad-movies-you-still-love/73122/79 "2001-07-24T21:34:13Z")

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I guess I’m the first one to nominate the 1980 film version of Flash Gordon. I saw it on a day that had been really rotten and came out feeling fine. Don’t care that it’s a living comic book, it’s FUN.

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**Author:** ![detop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/bcef8e/32.png) [@detop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/detop)\
**Post date:** [July 25, 2001, 12:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bad-movies-you-still-love/73122/80 "2001-07-25T00:14:12Z")

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> [@](#):
>
> \*Originally posted by MGibson \*  
> \*\*\<snip\> What about ICE PIRATES!! That movie rocked.
> 
> Marc \*\*

[sub]mumble, space herpes, mumble :D[/sub]

And **Baker** , if you liked the Flash Gordon movie, try for **_Flesh_ Gordon**.

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