# 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:** 25
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2026, 10:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-movie-we-all-would-agree-is-good-if-not-great/1026271/481 "2026-01-12T22:32:54Z")
> [@Cheesesteak](#): > > It’s a gorgeous cinematic masterpiece that spends 40 minutes showing us guys in ape costumes to convey a plot point that could be explained in 40 seconds. I know that’s why I go to movies, to have things explained to me. ---
**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 12, 2026, 11:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-movie-we-all-would-agree-is-good-if-not-great/1026271/482 "2026-01-12T23:12:10Z")
> [@Cheesesteak](#): > > It’s a gorgeous cinematic masterpiece that spends 40 minutes showing us guys in ape costumes to convey a plot point that could be explained in 40 seconds It also ends with several minutes of abstract visuals, made mechanically with oil and lighting gels or something, images that today look rather dull but we’re presumably hard to make and interesting at the time. (Or maybe not.) ---
**Author:** ![Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/q.q.switcheroo/32/5713_2.png) [@Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.Q.Switcheroo)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2026, 11:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-movie-we-all-would-agree-is-good-if-not-great/1026271/483 "2026-01-12T23:54:04Z")
Like much of the movie, they’re more impressive on a big screen. ---
**Author:** ![Cheesesteak](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cheesesteak/32/3694_2.png) [@Cheesesteak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cheesesteak)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2026, 10:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-movie-we-all-would-agree-is-good-if-not-great/1026271/484 "2026-01-13T10:43:41Z")
> [@Fear\_Itself](#): > > I know that’s why I go to movies, to have things explained to me. It’s 40 minutes of apes. My memory had compressed that down to a few minutes because it’s 40 minutes of nothing happens, and when I rewatched it recently I was baffled at why the ape story wasn’t getting tied up. Of course, it was followed up with 30 slow moving minutes to tell us there’s a coverup on the Moon. The movie is gorgeous and glacially, painfully, slow. ---
**Author:** ![XOldiesJock](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/ec9cab/32.png) [@XOldiesJock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/XOldiesJock)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2026, 2:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-movie-we-all-would-agree-is-good-if-not-great/1026271/485 "2026-01-13T14:04:04Z")
I might nominate **The Producers** (original version). Not for everyone’s taste, but a perfect comedy, perfectly cast, in my opinion. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Winston\_OBoogie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr.winston_oboogie/32/2945_2.png) [@Dr.Winston\_OBoogie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Winston_OBoogie)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2026, 2:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-movie-we-all-would-agree-is-good-if-not-great/1026271/486 "2026-01-13T14:38:50Z")
I describe The Producers as a Mel Brooks movie for people who don’t like Mel Brooks movies. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2026, 7:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-movie-we-all-would-agree-is-good-if-not-great/1026271/487 "2026-01-13T19:41:50Z")
> [@XOldiesJock](#): > > I might nominate **The Producers** (original version). Not for everyone’s taste, but a perfect comedy, perfectly cast, in my opinion. Zero Mostel could do more with just his facial expressions than most actors with a page of dialog. See “A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum”. ---
**Author:** ![iamatractorboy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iamatractorboy/32/21261_2.png) [@iamatractorboy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iamatractorboy)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2026, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-movie-we-all-would-agree-is-good-if-not-great/1026271/488 "2026-01-13T20:03:08Z")
> [@Gordon\_G](#): > > My favorite musicals include _Amadeus, Across the Universe, South Pacific, Flower Drum Song, Mary Poppins._ Some that aren’t top favorites but which I prefer to _Singin’ in the Rain_ are _Fiddler on the Roof, The Wizard of Oz, The Blues Brothers, Cabaret, Bye Bye Birdie, Music Man_ I’ve only seen a few of those, so can’t comment on all of them… _South Pacific_ must’ve seen this 25 years ago minimum, remember very little apart from a couple of the songs which are catchy. _Mary Poppins_ saw this Xmas 2024 for the first time in maybe 30 years and enjoyed it a lot. It’s a very good film. _The Wizard of Oz_ a stone cold classic, still as good as ever _The Blues Brothers_ enjoyable with some great songs but pretty daft _Cabaret_ I really like this one but not so much for the songs, more for how successfully atmospheric it feels, with the 1930s Berlin setting, which is obviously historically very significant I still prefer _Singin in the Rain_ to the above but I’d say _Wizard_ runs it close. ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2026, 8:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-movie-we-all-would-agree-is-good-if-not-great/1026271/489 "2026-01-13T20:14:57Z")
Zero Mostel was very expressive, yes. Maybe a little bit too expressive. He’s like a guy who’s a very good speaker but won’t shut up. The Producers is a good film, but has two major problems: the first is the aforementioned Mostel constantly mugging at the camera, and the second is that it thinks that the fact that women over 60s have libidos is inherently funny, and keeps going back to that well. (And the homophobia, of course). ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2026, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-movie-we-all-would-agree-is-good-if-not-great/1026271/490 "2026-01-13T20:17:17Z")
> [@Alessan](#): > > The Producers is a good film, but has two major problems: the first is the aforementioned Mostel constantly mugging at the camera, To me, this is a feature, not a bug. ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2026, 11:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-movie-we-all-would-agree-is-good-if-not-great/1026271/491 "2026-01-13T23:49:16Z")
> [@Cheesesteak](#): > > It’s 40 minutes of apes. My memory had compressed that down to a few minutes because it’s 40 minutes of nothing happens, and when I rewatched it recently I was baffled at why the ape story wasn’t getting tied up. Of course, it was followed up with 30 slow moving minutes to tell us there’s a coverup on the Moon. > > The movie is gorgeous and glacially, painfully, slow. I saw 2001 on a big screen when I was about 9 and was bored to tears, but I also never forgot it. I grew up, saw it on TV, read the book, and came to appreciate it as a classic. I had a chance to see it again on a big screen when I was about 30. Turned out to be the same theater; I even tried to sit in the same seat. I found some details in it that I’d never picked up before. That was one of the best movie experiences of my life. ---
**Author:** ![E-DUB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/e-dub/32/403_2.png) [@E-DUB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/E-DUB)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2026, 12:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-movie-we-all-would-agree-is-good-if-not-great/1026271/492 "2026-01-14T00:46:07Z")
I’m partial to Key Largo myself. ---
**Author:** ![SCAdian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scadian/32/3292_2.png) [@SCAdian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SCAdian)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2026, 3:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-movie-we-all-would-agree-is-good-if-not-great/1026271/493 "2026-01-14T03:52:57Z")
> [@RivkahChaya](#): > > Any love for the old screwball comedies? _The Awful Truth_ is one of my favorites, _Bringing Up Baby_ ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2026, 4:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-movie-we-all-would-agree-is-good-if-not-great/1026271/494 "2026-01-14T04:46:56Z")
> [@RivkahChaya](#): > > Any love for the old screwball comedies? _The Awful Truth_ is one of my favorites, I love The Thin Man, and “Its a Mad, Mad, Mad World” altho that one only partly applies. Also Mr Hobbs takes a vacation. (Incidentally, when they drive into the swamp, looking forbBirds, I could swear Jimmy Stewart says in a quiet, doleful voice “their bodies were later found”, but no quotes I have found verify this) ---
**Author:** ![RivkahChaya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rivkahchaya/32/8919_2.png) [@RivkahChaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RivkahChaya)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2026, 9:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-movie-we-all-would-agree-is-good-if-not-great/1026271/495 "2026-01-14T09:36:29Z")
> [@SCAdian](#): > > Bringing Up Baby While not my all-time favorite, highly enjoyable, and I would readily agree that it is good, and never turn down a free show on a big screen. Also, gets the award for best ad lib that made it to the final cut for Katharine Hepburn’s accidental break of her shoe, and the improv that follows (“I was born on the side of a hill!”) Points to Cary Grant for playing along and not cracking up. ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2026, 12:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-movie-we-all-would-agree-is-good-if-not-great/1026271/496 "2026-01-14T12:20:09Z")
For old comedies, I nominate “The Court Jester” (no willow-willow wailing!) And who doesn’t like “The Quiet Man”? ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2026, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-movie-we-all-would-agree-is-good-if-not-great/1026271/497 "2026-01-14T15:43:58Z")
> [@Fear\_Itself](#): > > And who doesn’t like “The Quiet Man”? The lead actor was a noted bigot and the #3 billed character openly supported terrorism. ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2026, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-movie-we-all-would-agree-is-good-if-not-great/1026271/498 "2026-01-14T16:32:21Z")
> [@SenorBeef](#): > > One interesting difference I find is that almost no one listens popular music from before 1950 or so, or thinks a lot of the best pop songs of all time were written in the 30s and 40s. Hah! I was thinking almost exactly the opposite: we have plenty of people on this board who insist that the sixties and seventies produced the best pop music of all time (coincidentally they were teenagers in one of these eras). And we have people in science fiction threads who only recommend books from the Heinlein/Asimov era (coincidentally that’s when they were teens and young adults). The bias toward cultural artifacts produced during our youth is really strong, and it’s very tempting to externalize our appreciation for them to say that that’s when the best stuff was produced. I rarely hear people saying that, sure, the rock music from the sixties was good, but it’s been refined and improved since then. Why would we think the same thing has happened to movies? ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2026, 8:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-movie-we-all-would-agree-is-good-if-not-great/1026271/499 "2026-01-14T20:08:14Z")
> [@Fear\_Itself](#): > > For old comedies, I nominate “The Court Jester” Good Choice. Get it? ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2026, 9:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-movie-we-all-would-agree-is-good-if-not-great/1026271/500 "2026-01-14T21:14:07Z")
What does that have to do with the quality of the film? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-movie-we-all-would-agree-is-good-if-not-great/1026271.md?page=24) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-movie-we-all-would-agree-is-good-if-not-great/1026271.md?page=26)