# Is there any movie we ALL would agree is good (if not great)? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** movies\ **Created:** [January 2, 2026, 2:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-movie-we-all-would-agree-is-good-if-not-great/1026271 "2026-01-02T14:18:31Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 11
**Author:** ![N9IWP](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/n9iwp/32/3154_2.png) [@N9IWP](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/N9IWP)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2026, 12:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-movie-we-all-would-agree-is-good-if-not-great/1026271/201 "2026-01-03T00:40:03Z")
IMHO there can be movies which are “good” but I don’t like – some folks can’t separate. For example, I never want to see **Shindler’s List** again, and I can see folks not liking it (or even hating it) not thinking it a **good** movie – that is harder I don’t like horror movies in general, but acknowledge some may be good. **Seven Samurai** is long and slowly paced for modern tastes, but was a pioneer in motion pictures. I lost track how many times Lawrence went insane in **Lawrence of Arabia** and have no real desire to see again but have a hard time not calling it good. **Bridge over the River Kwai** is many history (and other) problems, but not good? Again, I feel folks should separate “movies I like” vs “movies that are good”, but I acknowledge some think they are the same thing. Brian ---
**Author:** ![XOldiesJock](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/ec9cab/32.png) [@XOldiesJock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/XOldiesJock)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2026, 12:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-movie-we-all-would-agree-is-good-if-not-great/1026271/202 "2026-01-03T00:52:10Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > _Maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow._ But soon, and for the rest of your life. (Mine too.) ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2026, 12:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-movie-we-all-would-agree-is-good-if-not-great/1026271/203 "2026-01-03T00:55:47Z")
> [@F.U.Shakespeare](#): > > Nitpick: _misinformed_. _facepalm_ You are correct, of course. ---
**Author:** ![ricepad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b38774/32.png) [@ricepad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ricepad)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2026, 1:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-movie-we-all-would-agree-is-good-if-not-great/1026271/204 "2026-01-03T01:12:14Z")
**Seven Samurai** is one of my favorite movies, but I doubt it’ll survive scrutiny. On the other hand, if **Chariots of Fire** is on, I have something else to do. Anything else. (That’s a “no” on **CoF.** ) ---
**Author:** ![Dung\_Beetle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dung_beetle/32/7945_2.png) [@Dung\_Beetle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dung_Beetle)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2026, 1:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-movie-we-all-would-agree-is-good-if-not-great/1026271/205 "2026-01-03T01:16:51Z")
I’d say Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory, but it would be automatically disqualified if people won’t watch musicals. ---
**Author:** ![XOldiesJock](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/ec9cab/32.png) [@XOldiesJock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/XOldiesJock)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2026, 2:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-movie-we-all-would-agree-is-good-if-not-great/1026271/206 "2026-01-03T02:23:44Z")
Let’s mention one of the most insanely popular movies of all time. Everyone I’ve ever met absolutely loooooves **“The Sound of Music.”** Not me. I hate it. Always have. So does my wife. It’s one of the ties that bind us. ---
**Author:** ![Wendell\_Wagner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8491ac/32.png) [@Wendell\_Wagner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wendell_Wagner)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2026, 3:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-movie-we-all-would-agree-is-good-if-not-great/1026271/207 "2026-01-03T03:08:18Z")
> [@F.U.Shakespeare](#): > > He was trying to stay sober, after having his heart broken in Paris, presumably after he’d left the U.S. At that point in the movie, he just comes across as a jerk. You might conclude, after seeing the rest of the film, that he didn’t want to be hurt again. Still, a lot of people can get hurt once and yet keep themselves from hurting other people. The point of the movie is that he learns from his experience. Rick realizes that Victor loves Ilsa as much as he loves her. He learns that one of them has to be disappointed. He decides that the best thing for everyone is to let Ilsa and Victor leave on the airplane. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2026, 3:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-movie-we-all-would-agree-is-good-if-not-great/1026271/208 "2026-01-03T03:41:04Z")
> [@N9IWP](#): > > Again, I feel folks should separate “movies I like” vs “movies that are good”, but I acknowledge some think they are the same thing. I agree. I don’t like horror. I don’t watch horror movies. I won’t watch _Silence of the Lambs_. But if y’all tell me it’s a good movie, I’m not going to disagree, either. And i watched, but didn’t enjoy, _Psycho_. But i think it was a good movie, too, just not the kind of movie i like. I think _The Sound Of Music_ and _Mary Poppins_ are good movies, too, even if there are some people who don’t enjoy musicals. ---
**Author:** ![Jaycat.again](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jaycat.again/32/11525_2.png) [@Jaycat.again](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jaycat.again)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2026, 4:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-movie-we-all-would-agree-is-good-if-not-great/1026271/209 "2026-01-03T04:14:09Z")
> [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](#): > > Ooh, good one. I saw it for the first time last year (I think), and made my whole family watch it as soon as I could. So fun! But I don’t know if everyone will love it, because people are people. I had a girl friend from Alabama. She thought the film was demeaning and stereotypical of southerners. ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2026, 4:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-movie-we-all-would-agree-is-good-if-not-great/1026271/210 "2026-01-03T04:53:27Z")
> [@Zoobi](#): > > There will always be a group of people who dislike something specifically because so many other people do like it. People say this when they’re dismayed to find out that not everybody likes the same things that they do. Movies that I nominate that I didn’t notice were named already : **The Wrong Trousers** (Wallace and Gromet) if short films count **The Miracle Worker** (the original with Anne Bancroft and Patty Duke) **To Kill a Mockingbird** ---
**Author:** ![Zoobi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/13edae/32.png) [@Zoobi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zoobi)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2026, 5:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-movie-we-all-would-agree-is-good-if-not-great/1026271/211 "2026-01-03T05:13:59Z")
> [@needscoffee](#): > > People say this when they’re dismayed to find out that not everybody likes the same things that they do. Nah, I am perfectly fine with people liking different stuff. I think a lot of people don’t understand that honestly. But it is true that there will always, always be a significant subset of people who dislike things just because they are popular. ---
**Author:** ![EllisDee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellisdee/32/4531_2.png) [@EllisDee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EllisDee)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2026, 5:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-movie-we-all-would-agree-is-good-if-not-great/1026271/212 "2026-01-03T05:23:16Z")
Count me as not liking virtually anything from the Hays Code era (1934-1968). Generally, people refer to these as black and white movies, but I can only think of them as Hays Code movies. I feel pretty much the same about them as I do primetime network television: having to be creative to get around heavy-handed censorship is not a virtue, and I do not grade on a curve. It is no coincidence that the golden age of great films started immediately after the code was abolished. Speaking of, that reminds me, regarding Pulp Fiction: > [@themapleleaf](#): > > And the movie did a poor job of trying to make gangsters seem affable. I like movies where mobsters have to pay for their crimes. Bad guys having to pay for their crimes was one of the tenets of the Hays Code. I am quite happy that movies no longer have to abide by this kind of puritanical ethic. All that said, I think I agree that genre films are pretty much right out. Name a genre and there will be people who don’t like virtually anything in that genre. Horror, fantasy, sci-fi, musicals, westerns, superheroes, etc… Although, to be fair, I do like some movies from genres I do not like. I don’t like musicals but I do love Blues Brothers; I don’t like westerns but I loved the True Grit remake and really liked the 3:10 to Yuma remake quite a bit. (Plus I consider Deadwood one of the greatest TV shows ever.) I don’t like animation but I liked the South Park movie, which is actually a two-fer for me since it’s also a musical. So that basically leaves drama, romance and comedy. I guess for those three styles I would nominate or second: Drama: Network Romance: Ghost Comedy: My Cousin Vinny EDIT: Also, maybe Fargo? ---
**Author:** ![robby](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robby/32/11048_2.png) [@robby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robby)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2026, 5:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-movie-we-all-would-agree-is-good-if-not-great/1026271/213 "2026-01-03T05:28:47Z")
> [@Procrustus](#): > > I’ll nominate **My Cousin Vinny**. I haven’t heard of anyone who doesn’t like it. > [@Jaycat.again](#): > > > [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](#): > > > > Ooh, good one. I saw it for the first time last year (I think), and made my whole family watch it as soon as I could. So fun! But I don’t know if everyone will love it, because people are people. > > I had a girl friend from Alabama. She thought the film was demeaning and stereotypical of southerners. Which I find a little odd because the southerners depicted in the film are depicted very respectfully overall, IMHO, especially the judge. Nobody was demeaned, not even the prosecutor or the prosecution’s witness. Yes, the film abounded in stereotypes—especially with the accents and mannerisms—but not just of the southerners, but the people from NYC as well. But I don’t think it was demeaning to anyone. ---
**Author:** ![Stanislaus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stanislaus/32/3391_2.png) [@Stanislaus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stanislaus)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2026, 11:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-movie-we-all-would-agree-is-good-if-not-great/1026271/214 "2026-01-03T11:47:59Z")
I saw a bluesky thread recently abo I t films which are much better than they need to be, which seems to be a necessary if not sufficient criteria for this thread. Regrettably, the only two I can remember are Galaxy Quest and Arthur Christmas but l think they’re contenders. Genre us a stumbling block, as pointed out. Some people dont like musicals, some dont like melodrama, I personally dont l ike horror. A film that everyone likes is necessarily going to have to transcend its genre. For example I loved Get Out. But generally I think if any film is going to get close to universal appeal it will have to be something which even peope disinclined to the genre can find something in. ---
**Author:** ![Author\_Balk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e0b2c6/32.png) [@Author\_Balk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Author_Balk)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2026, 1:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-movie-we-all-would-agree-is-good-if-not-great/1026271/215 "2026-01-03T13:37:30Z")
I have Harvey and Charade as a 2 disk set. Harvey has been mentioned. What about Charade? ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2026, 1:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-movie-we-all-would-agree-is-good-if-not-great/1026271/216 "2026-01-03T13:54:15Z")
> [@Dinsdale](#): > > Personally, I’m not sure what would make me feel, “That was a good movie, but I didn’t like it.” I can imagine someone saying/feeling that, if it wasn’t the _kind_ of movie they like, but they recognize that it’s a good movie of that kind. “That was a good movie, but I didn’t like it… because it was too violent.” Or “…because it was too depressing.” It’s possible to not like musicals, or animated movies, or kids’ movies, while fully admitting that that doesn’t make such movies objectively bad, and that it’s possible for a musical or an animated movie or a kids’ movie to be a very good movie, well-made and very enjoyable for those who _do_ like that kind of movie. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2026, 1:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-movie-we-all-would-agree-is-good-if-not-great/1026271/217 "2026-01-03T13:57:31Z")
> [@ricepad](#): > > I hated Groundhog Day. Bill Murray’s character is too misogynistic and manipulative. Isn’t that the point? ---
**Author:** ![I\_Love\_Me\_Vol.I](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/i_love_me_vol.i/32/521_2.png) [@I\_Love\_Me\_Vol.I](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/I_Love_Me_Vol.I)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2026, 2:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-movie-we-all-would-agree-is-good-if-not-great/1026271/218 "2026-01-03T14:21:25Z")
> [@wolfpup](#): > > FTR, Rotten Tomatoes critics’ reviews aren’t especially reliable, IMHO. They use a wide assortment of critics from a number of media outlets large and small. That’s pretty reliable for what it is. > [@wolfpup](#): > > _Leave No Trace_ may get 100% on RT, but on IMDb it gets a respectable but far from extraordinary 7.1. The IMDB ratings are from random people. Any member of the site can vote. I consider professional critics’ ratings to give a better guage of a film’s worth. ---
**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:** [January 3, 2026, 2:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-movie-we-all-would-agree-is-good-if-not-great/1026271/219 "2026-01-03T14:38:53Z")
I’ve watched Casablanca a few times. I have tried to like it. But I just can’t get past Bogart’s “wooded” acting style. He sounds (to me) like he’s just quickly blurting out words he memorized from the script. Gary Cooper did the same thing in his movies. ---
**Author:** ![Toxylon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f05b48/32.png) [@Toxylon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Toxylon)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2026, 2:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-movie-we-all-would-agree-is-good-if-not-great/1026271/220 "2026-01-03T14:47:39Z")
> [@Pardel-Lux](#): > > I firmly oppose the _Wizzard of Oz_. I think it is weird for non US-Americans. I saw it as a child and was badly repelled. I only saw Wizard of Oz a couple years ago, but was blown away how great it was. Easily one of the best movies of all time, and must’ve been unbelievable in 1939. I’m non-US-American, and haven’t read the book. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-movie-we-all-would-agree-is-good-if-not-great/1026271.md?page=10) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-movie-we-all-would-agree-is-good-if-not-great/1026271.md?page=12)