Some stuff that hasn’t been mentioned yet:
“Galaxy Quest” (movie)
“Aqua Teen Hunger Force” (television show)
“Venture Brothers” (television show)
“Donnie Darko” (movie)
“Yor: Hunter from the Future” (movie–okay it was really just my ex and I who were obsessed with this movie, but I think it really has cult potential)
“Transformers: The Movie” (as well as the show)
This stuff all gets quoted or referenced from time to time among people I know, most of whom would be considered geeks. I’m including TV shows because they’re kinda like movies. I’m really more of a book person but I don’t want to get this thread off topic too much.
Oh! I almost forgot! All Kevin Smith movies (except <u>Jersey Girl</u>) and Coen Brothers movies (especially <u>The Big Lebowski</u>) are total Geek Staples.
That’s a guy movie?!?! Why is that my wife is the only one in the house that has been able to sit through the wretched thing!!
It doesn’t qualify as anything – maybe it should be nominated for worst unknown cast in a big budget movie or just movies that should never have been made – but it definitely doesn’t qualify as Geek!!!
I feel your pain. Not only have I seen every one of them - I own most of them.
I would like to submit The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy both the book and the original TV series.
A movie with that name last year? No. That must be your imagination. Never happened.
I’d have to add the Joss Whedon canon: Buffy, Angel, Firefly, and the Serenity movie, for providing countless hours of discussion, debate, and quotable dialogue, and occasionally uniting geeks with pretty girls in their love for these shows.
Evidently, I am not a geek. I rented two of the movies regularly raved about here, The Princess Bride and Napoleon Dynamite, and found both only mildly amusing.
Where are these geeks who won’t admit to liking Princess Bride? Everyone I’ve ever met who self-describes as a geek loves and quotes the film at length. It’s up there with Monty Python in terms of how often it gets quoted. On this board alone, at least 75% of all threads in all forums will have at least one mention of, “That word you keep using? I do not think it means what you think it means.”
Do not fight it. Embrace your inner geekness. Then true happines you will find.
I think that is part of the anti-canon - you increase your cred by not watching it.
The Hitchhiker’s Guide, as noted above, and the rest of Mr. Adams novels are essential.
Other authors:
Robert A. Heinlein - Stranger in a Strange Land; The Moon is a Harsh Mistress; Have Space Suit - Will Travel; Starship Troopers; heck, everything.
H.P. Lovecraft - All of 'em, there ain’t that many.
J.R.R. Tolkien - read before the films, of course. Bonus points for the Simarillion.
Isaac A. Asimov - The Foundation Trilogy and the Robot novels at minimum
Arthur C. Clarke - Rendevous with Rama; The Nine Billion Names of God; Childhood’s End
This will be a long list in itself.
A movie I think will enter the canon - The Core, 100% cheesy goodness.
I’ll make a quick detour to examine the canonical geek music collection (which is not at all the same as a music geek’s collection).
They Might Be Giants - Flood
Weird Al Yankovic - [I don’t know any albums, but my guess is that most geeks just have loads of mp3s on their computer]
Weezer - Blue Album
Weezer - Pinkerton
Radiohead - OK Computer
Ween - The Pod
Nine Inch Nails - The Downward Spiral
Fountains Of Wayne - Utopia Parkway
The X Files (Soundtrack)
Frank Zappa - Weasels Ripped My Flesh
Pink Floyd - The Wall
Pink Floyd - Dark Side of the Moon
That’s all I’ve got for now. I don’t think this is as definitive as the movies, though, since music isn’t one of the entertainment choices that primarily defines geekdom. However, I do find that geeks often gravitate toward music with novelty humor (i.e. quotability), geek themes or more “intellectual” composition (Radiohead, Pink Floyd).
Wow, I’ve only got the barest of memories of starting this thread.
While we’re on the subject of TV shows, how about Freaks and Geeks? (I’m not sure about quotability here, but the show seemed targetted towards and beloved by geeks, myself included, which, of course, meant that it had to be axed.)
I too must protest. Showgirls is far from a “guy movie.” It’s hardly an anyone movie. As a female geek-ish type who has seen (or at least recognizes references & quotes from) nearly all of the movies on this list, I feel the nomination of Showgirls is justified by the fact that it is, without question, the greatest postmodern comedy of our age. However, I don’t think enough geeks appreciate it enough to consider it canon. Certainly it’s not on the level of Star Wars, Monty Python, et. al., but the quotable lines…oh my, there are so many!
I also second/third whatever the Fight Club nomination.
Has anyone corrected the spelling to “Buckaroo Banzai” yet? That’s one I haven’t seen, but I bet I’ve heard every line from it at some point or another.
