# Most misleadingly titled movies **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [August 18, 2009, 6:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-misleadingly-titled-movies/506870 "2009-08-18T18:37:25Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tapioca_Dextrin)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2009, 12:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-misleadingly-titled-movies/506870/21 "2009-08-19T00:27:04Z")
Where was the sword wielding jogger in _Blade Runner_? ---
**Author:** ![TBG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c89c15/32.png) [@TBG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TBG)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2009, 12:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-misleadingly-titled-movies/506870/22 "2009-08-19T00:49:43Z")
[The Terminators](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1350512/), not a sequel/spinoff of the Arnold/Cameron franchise but rather some direct to Syfy shit that probably should result in the makers being sued for trademark infringement. ---
**Author:** ![Malleus\_Incus\_Stapes](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/malleus_incus_stapes/32/3293_2.png) [@Malleus\_Incus\_Stapes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malleus_Incus_Stapes)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2009, 1:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-misleadingly-titled-movies/506870/23 "2009-08-19T01:06:22Z")
_Seven Pounds_. I first saw it described as some sort of inspiring story of redemption, and I really thought it was about weight-loss issues. ---
**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:** [August 19, 2009, 1:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-misleadingly-titled-movies/506870/24 "2009-08-19T01:08:01Z")
I was somewhat surprised to learn that _Watership Down_ wasn’t a film about the brave men in serving aboard our nation’s submarine fleet. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2009, 1:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-misleadingly-titled-movies/506870/25 "2009-08-19T01:39:53Z")
> [@Liberal](#): > > **Ordinary People** > > This damnable fraud, perpetrated on innocent viewers, inexplicably winning Best Picture in a year with quite a few actually good movies, is about people so disfunctional that the mother hates the son, the son hates himself, the father hates his life, and the good guy in the whole boring, mind numbing fiasco is the psychiatrist, who is a smarmy dick. Yes, but in this case, the title is ironic. They are not ordinary people. For older films, there’s **[The Gay Falcon](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0033650/)**, which is not about a homosexual bird. ---
**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:** [August 19, 2009, 1:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-misleadingly-titled-movies/506870/26 "2009-08-19T01:41:27Z")
**Sorceror** – a great film, but it sounds like it’s some Carlos Castaneda thing. Even after seeing it, I still didn’t understand the title. It was YEARS before someone pointed out where it came from. **Visionquest** – sounds like it ought to be about Native American Spirituality, or a Fantasy Film. ---
**Author:** ![Rhythmdvl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/85f322/32.png) [@Rhythmdvl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhythmdvl)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2009, 3:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-misleadingly-titled-movies/506870/27 "2009-08-19T03:19:21Z")
**Fantasia**. Man, that sure wasn’t worth the arrest. ---
**Author:** ![whatami](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/85f322/32.png) [@whatami](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/whatami)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2009, 3:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-misleadingly-titled-movies/506870/28 "2009-08-19T03:23:43Z")
> [@Bryan\_Ekers](#): > > _28 Days Later_ was surprisingly not about Sandra Bullock going through rehab again. I don’t think I can count the number of times I’ve been flipping through the guide and seen _28 Days_ and thought to myself, this is a great time for a zombie movie. > [@CalMeachem](#): > > Visionquest – sounds like it ought to be about Native American Spirituality, or a Fantasy Film. I get what you’re saying, but at the same time the movie really did have a bit of a quest to it. Great movie! ---
**Author:** ![Happy\_Lendervedder](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/happy_lendervedder/32/8488_2.png) [@Happy\_Lendervedder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Happy_Lendervedder)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2009, 3:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-misleadingly-titled-movies/506870/29 "2009-08-19T03:39:11Z")
The Breakfast Club. There was no club. Or breakfast. It was just a bunch of kids in detention. I want my money back! ---
**Author:** ![fuzzypickles](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/9d8465/32.png) [@fuzzypickles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fuzzypickles)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2009, 4:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-misleadingly-titled-movies/506870/30 "2009-08-19T04:37:05Z")
… ---
**Author:** ![fuzzypickles](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/9d8465/32.png) [@fuzzypickles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fuzzypickles)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2009, 4:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-misleadingly-titled-movies/506870/31 "2009-08-19T04:38:30Z")
**Funny People** , starring Adam Sandler. A total contradiction in terms. Also, [Funny Games](http://us.imdb.com/title/tt0808279/) isn’t funny at all, unless you’re a homicidal sociopath. ---
**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:** [August 19, 2009, 5:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-misleadingly-titled-movies/506870/32 "2009-08-19T05:11:53Z")
How about _Reindeer Games_? I haven’t seen it, but I understand that it doesn’t even _visit_ the North Pole and Santa’s workshop. ---
**Author:** ![Liberal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/848f3c/32.png) [@Liberal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Liberal)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2009, 12:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-misleadingly-titled-movies/506870/33 "2009-08-19T12:17:47Z")
> [@RealityChuck](#): > > Yes, but in this case, the title is ironic. They are not ordinary people. > > For older films, there’s **[The Gay Falcon](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0033650/)**, which is not about a homosexual bird. Okay. Then let me try again. Three of them. **O** Surely, this was to be a biography or documentary about Oprah (who, for some reason, I thought owned the letter “O”.) Instead, it’s about gangsters and drug dealers and people who get shot, complete with bad acting by pretty boy Josh Hartnett. **L.I.E.** I thought this was going to be about a super-secret government agency complete with ticking time bomb down to 1 second until defusing and all that. Instead, it turned out to be about an ephebophile who picked up boys who were actually cruising for pick-ups along the Long Island Expressway. (Hence L.I.E.) Played exquistely by Brian Cox, the protagonist (?) is actually a sympathetic old fellow, portrayed as a sort of victim of the boys who take full advantage of every opportunity to rob from him, have him do their bidding, and eventually shoot and kill him. An amazing movie. (Great credit to director Michael Cuesta.) Turns out its “R” rating was for nothing more than the mere context of what the censors believed to be pedophila. (No such harrowing scenes actually occured.) **The Princess Bride** I thought this would be a “girly” film, and boring as hell. But it turned out to be one of the funniest, most entertaining, and most memorable films I’ve ever seen. Great movie elements, from acting to directing to photography to set and costumes. And, of course, that great script. ---
**Author:** ![joebuck20](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/74df32/32.png) [@joebuck20](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/joebuck20)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2009, 1:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-misleadingly-titled-movies/506870/34 "2009-08-19T13:06:34Z")
> [@Liberal](#): > > Okay. Then let me try again. Three of them. > > **O** > > Surely, this was to be a biography or documentary about Oprah (who, for some reason, I thought owned the letter “O”.) Instead, it’s about gangsters and drug dealers and people who get shot, complete with bad acting by pretty boy Josh Hartnett. In my mind I associated it with the Vodka “O,” which IIRC came out around the same time. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2009, 2:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-misleadingly-titled-movies/506870/35 "2009-08-19T14:37:55Z")
> [@Liberal](#): > > **L.I.E.** Of course, anyone who lives on Long Island would get the reference. In my own case, I was confused that **Freedomland** wasn’t about [an amusement park.](http://www.benros.com/images/Freedomland%20Images/freedomland.htm) ---
**Author:** ![Alka\_Seltzer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c89c15/32.png) [@Alka\_Seltzer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alka_Seltzer)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2009, 2:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-misleadingly-titled-movies/506870/36 "2009-08-19T14:40:37Z")
_The Pelican Brief_ - did not feature a terminally ill bird. _Rain Man_ - wasn’t about an Indian witchdoctor. _North by Northwest_ - wasn’t the orienteering epic I was expecting. _Saturday Night Fever_ - wasn’t the story of a virulent viral outbreak. _Gone With the Wind_ - was not the story of a lady suffering from room-clearing flatulence. _The Grapes of Wrath_ - not a sequel to _The Killer Tomatoes_. _All Quiet on the Western Front_ - hmm. _Trainspotting_ - also hmm. ---
**Author:** ![Argent\_Towers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e8c25b/32.png) [@Argent\_Towers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Argent_Towers)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2009, 3:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-misleadingly-titled-movies/506870/37 "2009-08-19T15:03:20Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > **Visionquest** – sounds like it ought to be about Native American Spirituality, or a Fantasy Film. I don’t think it’s really fair to say that that’s a misleading title; I mean, the idea of self-discovery and coming of age is the central theme of the movie so the title is an accurate reflection of that. I highly doubt anyone bought tickets to Vision Quest expecting a movie about Indian rituals. However, there is indeed an Indian character in the movie who does tell the protagonist about the ritual of the vision quest and how he needs to have his own version of it. (Ironically he turns out to not be a real Indian - he invented the whole identity to cope with his abusive father.) The book is better than the movie and TOTALLY different. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2009, 3:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-misleadingly-titled-movies/506870/38 "2009-08-19T15:15:51Z")
> [@RealityChuck](#): > > …For older films, there’s **[The Gay Falcon](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0033650/)**, which is not about a homosexual bird. Likewise _The Falcon and the Snowman_, which is not about the heartwarming friendship between a bird and a child’s wintery construction project. _George Washington_ is not really about the first President. _Brazil_ is not a travelogue. _Vanilla Sky_ is not about an all-the-ice-cream-you-can-eat airline. And sheesh, _Rebecca_ never appears in the movie named after her! ---
**Author:** ![Bill\_Door](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/50afbb/32.png) [@Bill\_Door](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bill_Door)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2009, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-misleadingly-titled-movies/506870/39 "2009-08-19T16:20:56Z")
_Looking for Mr. Goodbar_ has no confectioners in it. And I took a first date to see it. On Christmas Day. It did not end well. The date, not the movie. Oh, I guess the movie didn’t end well, either. Never mind. ---
**Author:** ![Arglefraster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3bc359/32.png) [@Arglefraster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arglefraster)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2009, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-misleadingly-titled-movies/506870/40 "2009-08-19T16:30:39Z")
[Chocolate](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1183252/) To be fair, the protagonist is rather fond of little chocolate candies, but I don’t think anyone would look at that title and think Thai kickboxing action flick. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-misleadingly-titled-movies/506870.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-misleadingly-titled-movies/506870.md?page=3)