# Dumbest reasons to dislike a movie **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 11, 2009, 3:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dumbest-reasons-to-dislike-a-movie/496041 "2009-05-11T15:59:03Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Cisco](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ccd318/32.png) [@Cisco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cisco)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2009, 7:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dumbest-reasons-to-dislike-a-movie/496041/41 "2009-05-11T19:26:19Z")
> [@middleman](#): > > I am annoyed when people demand slavish devotion to source material. > [@Marley23](#): > > I agree. Movies and books (or comics) are different media. Changes need to be made sometimes, and if you can’t deal with it, you should just stick with the original version. I agree with you, but with perhaps a different result of my feelings: I believe books and comics should _almost_ never be made into movies. All my acquintances know I love books, comics, and movies, and thus except me to love movies based on books and comics. Their eyes usually glaze over when I try to explain to them why I don’t. > [@BrainGlutton](#): > > No, _Forrest Gump_ sends a message far more seductive and far more pernicious: That virtue is more important than intelligence, not on any abstract scale of values but in terms of achieving material success. Forrest Gump gets rich just because he always does the right thing and does what he’s told and works hard and deserves it and has God on his side (which obviously is why his is the only shrimping boat spared by the hurricane), while all around him more intelligent persons destroy their own lives and others’ by running after kicks and causes. The latter part of that is plausible, but not the former. Real-life Forrest Gumps never get rich save through connections or inheritance. See, that’s just a bizarre interpretation of the movie, to me. And still a strange reason to hate it, regardless. > [@Robot\_Arm](#): > > The movie is a chronicle of some of the most singular and special opportunites of the last few decades, wasted on someone who can’t appreciate them. This is much closer to what I got out of Forrest Gump. ---
**Author:** ![Labrador\_Deceiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7c8e57/32.png) [@Labrador\_Deceiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Labrador_Deceiver)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2009, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dumbest-reasons-to-dislike-a-movie/496041/42 "2009-05-11T19:27:05Z")
> [@KneadToKnow](#): > > My touchstone for emotional manipulation in movies is _Mississippi Burning_. Mine is _The Green Mile_. Talk about ham-fisted. ---
**Author:** ![Cisco](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ccd318/32.png) [@Cisco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cisco)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2009, 7:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dumbest-reasons-to-dislike-a-movie/496041/43 "2009-05-11T19:39:39Z")
> [@Labrador\_Deceiver](#): > > Mine is _The Green Mile_. Talk about ham-fisted. Next to ham-fisted in the dictionary should be the poster for _Crash_. ---
**Author:** ![smiling\_bandit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9a140/32.png) [@smiling\_bandit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/smiling_bandit)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2009, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dumbest-reasons-to-dislike-a-movie/496041/44 "2009-05-11T19:42:04Z")
> [@Cisco](#): > > See, that’s just a bizarre interpretation of the movie, to me. And still a strange reason to hate it, regardless. > > This is much closer to what I got out of Forrest Gump. I think you’re both overthinking it. It’s just a fun story, nothing more. Had Forrest not gotten lucky, he would simply have kept plowing along, doing his thing. He was poor, he was rich, he never really knew or cared about the difference - and that’s part of the reason people liked the character. ---
**Author:** ![Labrador\_Deceiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7c8e57/32.png) [@Labrador\_Deceiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Labrador_Deceiver)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2009, 7:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dumbest-reasons-to-dislike-a-movie/496041/45 "2009-05-11T19:43:06Z")
> [@Cisco](#): > > Next to ham-fisted in the dictionary should be the poster for _Crash_. Good one. ---
**Author:** ![Cisco](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ccd318/32.png) [@Cisco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cisco)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2009, 7:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dumbest-reasons-to-dislike-a-movie/496041/46 "2009-05-11T19:46:27Z")
> [@smiling\_bandit](#): > > I think you’re both overthinking it. It’s just a fun story, nothing more. Had Forrest not gotten lucky, he would simply have kept plowing along, doing his thing. He was poor, he was rich, he never really knew or cared about the difference - and that’s part of the reason people liked the character. That’s also a lot of what I got out of it. I also felt like it was largely a vehicle for reminiscence about the era. ---
**Author:** ![WOOKINPANUB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wookinpanub/32/132_2.png) [@WOOKINPANUB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WOOKINPANUB)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2009, 7:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dumbest-reasons-to-dislike-a-movie/496041/47 "2009-05-11T19:49:07Z")
> [@Tengu](#): > > Which is all well and good, but calling a movie ‘pretentious’ because you didn’t like it is rather prattish. > > If you didn’t like the movie, you didn’t like the movie, that’s that. Not if the reason I don’t like it is because I do indeed find it pretentious. 'Tis a perfetly cromulent word, y’know:p Seriously, is there some preapproved list of adjectives that one is allowed to use? For the record, it’s very seldom that I don’t enjoy a movie, and I see a lot of them, but if my opinion is that a movie is pretentious then I’m not sure why that judgement should be challenged. Would you (general you) doubt someone’s motivations if they deemed a given film sophomoric? ---
**Author:** ![DudleyGarrett](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d9b06d/32.png) [@DudleyGarrett](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DudleyGarrett)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2009, 7:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dumbest-reasons-to-dislike-a-movie/496041/48 "2009-05-11T19:58:50Z")
A reason for me: If Ben Affleck is in it, the movie is shit. ---
**Author:** ![Gangster\_Octopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a8b319/32.png) [@Gangster\_Octopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gangster_Octopus)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2009, 8:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dumbest-reasons-to-dislike-a-movie/496041/49 "2009-05-11T20:00:57Z")
> [@DudleyGarrett](#): > > A reason for me: If Ben Affleck is in it, the movie is shit. The Subject title is “Dumbest reasons to dislike a movie”, not “Perfectly rational reasons to dislike a movie”. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2009, 8:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dumbest-reasons-to-dislike-a-movie/496041/50 "2009-05-11T20:02:36Z")
> [@WOOKINPANUB](#): > > Not if the reason I don’t like it is because I do indeed find it pretentious. 'Tis a perfetly cromulent word, y’know:p Seriously, is there some preapproved list of adjectives that one is allowed to use? For the record, it’s very seldom that I don’t enjoy a movie, and I see a lot of them, but if my opinion is that a movie is pretentious then I’m not sure why that judgement should be challenged. Would you (general you) doubt someone’s motivations if they deemed a given film sophomoric? Perhaps it would help if you gave us a few examples of movies you consider “pretentious,” and how and why they are pretentious. For bonus points: What do wine snobs mean when they call a wine “amusingly pretentious”? I’m sure I’ve read that somewhere. ---
**Author:** ![Cisco](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ccd318/32.png) [@Cisco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cisco)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2009, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dumbest-reasons-to-dislike-a-movie/496041/51 "2009-05-11T20:07:40Z")
Affleck was the bomb in Phantoms. ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2009, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dumbest-reasons-to-dislike-a-movie/496041/52 "2009-05-11T20:17:20Z")
> [@Speaker\_for\_the\_Dead](#): > > That’s fair. It seems, then, that documentaries are much more likely to abuse one’s emotions than fiction. Does that make sense? Totally, and I agree 100%. In my experience, documentarians are true believers about whatever subject matter they’re documenting and thus much more prone than other storytellers to be of the “I believe this to be true _and so should everyone else!_” persuasion. ---
**Author:** ![WOOKINPANUB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wookinpanub/32/132_2.png) [@WOOKINPANUB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WOOKINPANUB)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2009, 8:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dumbest-reasons-to-dislike-a-movie/496041/53 "2009-05-11T20:33:28Z")
> [@BrainGlutton](#): > > Perhaps it would help if you gave us a few examples of movies you consider “pretentious,” and how and why they are pretentious. > > For bonus points: What do wine snobs mean when they call a wine “amusingly pretentious”? I’m sure I’ve read that somewhere. In anticipation of this very good and reasonable question, I tried to think of some examples but I’m at work and a wee bit distracted (I hate when work takes me away from the Dope!). If I think of something in the next few minutes I’ll post, otherwise I’ll see if this is still alive tomorrow. To be honest, I’m usually the one who \*likes \*a movie that is being \*called \*pretentious and I it always chaps my hide a little when I hear someone else say that the person “just didn’t get it”. ---
**Author:** ![Cisco](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ccd318/32.png) [@Cisco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cisco)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2009, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dumbest-reasons-to-dislike-a-movie/496041/54 "2009-05-11T20:45:03Z")
Most of the really pretentious films I see are shorts. If someone (err, actually a very large team of people) is going to invest their time and money in a feature, they typically want it to have some manner of broad appeal. Even the David Lynches and Jim Jarmusches of the world. That said, I found the recent _Doubt_ a bit pretentious. I felt the point of the movie was essentially, “look how good Phillip Seymour Hoffman and Meryl Streep can act.” ---
**Author:** ![Reno\_Nevada](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/6f9a4e/32.png) [@Reno\_Nevada](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reno_Nevada)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2009, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dumbest-reasons-to-dislike-a-movie/496041/55 "2009-05-11T20:45:51Z")
> [@BrainGlutton](#): > > For bonus points: What do wine snobs mean when they call a wine “amusingly pretentious”? I’m sure I’ve read that somewhere. You have read this in a cartoon by James Thurber, or in a reference to it. Either the snob in question is joking or utterly clueless. ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2009, 8:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dumbest-reasons-to-dislike-a-movie/496041/56 "2009-05-11T20:48:13Z")
> [@Cisco](#): > > Affleck was the bomb in Phantoms. 😃 Oh, and I liked Daredevil. I know this is a TV show, but I can’t stand it when people say, "I don’t want to watch Battlestar Galactica. I don’t like SciFi. " :mad: ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2009, 8:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dumbest-reasons-to-dislike-a-movie/496041/57 "2009-05-11T20:50:34Z")
> [@BrainGlutton](#): > > Some critics panned _Trainspotting_ for “glorifying” drug use, even though the junkies are shown as living in utterly squalid conditions and wrecking their lives. Yabbut, they got to be in a MOVIE! When’s the last time anybody thought your life was important enough to make a MOVIE out of it? ---
**Author:** ![well\_he\_s\_back](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/3ab097/32.png) [@well\_he\_s\_back](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/well_he_s_back)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2009, 8:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dumbest-reasons-to-dislike-a-movie/496041/58 "2009-05-11T20:57:16Z")
Some of my Dumb reasons why I’ll dislike a movie: -it has John Wayne in it and its not a Western. -someone must explain it to me afterwards (or feels the need to over and over) - in the media, in the car on the way home, wherever. Example - “Eyes Wide Shut” -the casting is all wrong, at least according to my imaginary casting. For example, one of the many reasons I dislike the movie version of “South Pacific” is that Doris Day is not the female lead. Similarly for “West Side Story”, “Fiddler”(Zero Mostel should have been up on that screen is all I can think), and “Camelot”. If they had only gone along with _my_ casting preferences, I could have liked the movies. ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2009, 9:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dumbest-reasons-to-dislike-a-movie/496041/59 "2009-05-11T21:00:14Z")
> [@Mahaloth](#): > > I know this is a TV show, but I can’t stand it when people say, "I don’t want to watch Battlestar Galactica. I don’t like SciFi. " > > :mad: How about when I say “Cylons are supposed to [del]be boxy and shiny[/del] look like they’re made out of toasters.”? But I do like science fiction. ---
**Author:** ![De\_La\_Rue](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d07c76/32.png) [@De\_La\_Rue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/De_La_Rue)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2009, 10:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dumbest-reasons-to-dislike-a-movie/496041/60 "2009-05-11T22:48:54Z")
I refuse to watch movies with (in my opinion) stupid titles. But I saw _Kill Bill_ anyway. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dumbest-reasons-to-dislike-a-movie/496041.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dumbest-reasons-to-dislike-a-movie/496041.md?page=4)