From previews I had always assumed Super Troopers would be a bad comedy. Enough people told me they enjoyed it I decided to give it a shot when I had some hours I could donate to the Bottomless Pit of Bad Decisions. Surprise, surprise, I laughed through most of the movie. I just watched its sequel yesterday and still laughed at the jokes and pranks, both verbal and visual. Somehow they’ve managed to recreate the gonzo schlock humor of the likes of Animal House and Caddyshack and make it work today.
I knew very little of The Witcher lore other than a smattering of playing the video games. While I like Henry Cavill, I was wary because of the latest round of Superman movies, so I went in cautiously. I didn’t actually care too much for the first episode… it seemed “monster of the week” and the story presented as disjointed. I decided to watch one more to make sure, and there I found my hook. Loved the first season greatly. Cavill nailed Geralt and the Witcher world felt big, mysterious, and exciting.
This reminded me about the Jumanji reboot in 2017. It looked like a stupid kids’ movie that would crap all over Robin William’s legacy, but I ended up watching it on a long plane flight when there was nothing else. And it was actually a funny, well-paced movie. Dwayne Johnson, Karen Gillen, and Jack Black all are great playing against character.
Were we on the same plane? Because that is where I saw it too. I actually did not really like the original that much and just kind of decided to check this one out due to the cast and really enjoyed it. I recently watched the sequel Jumanji: The Next Level with trepidation that it might be bad, but it turned out to be quite enjoyable as well.
Emperor’s New Groove and Cougar Town for me too, but the one that surprised me the most was We’re the Millers. Not my taste, genre-wise (I’ve probably seen fewer than 12 post-2k English-language films) and I’m lukewarm on Jennifer Anniston’s acting even at the best of times, but this hooked me from the word ‘go’ and quickly became my go-to whenever I have an hour or two to kill. I’ve probably watched it more often than films I rate as all-time faves and I still laugh as hard as I did on first viewing. I’m still puzzled by this, to be honest.
Clueless – I thought it was going to be mean-spirited and smutty and typical of teen movies of the time. As if. Boy was I wrong. Alicia Silverstone was precious and I quite enjoyed it; sassy.
I’m pretty sure the entire planet felt that way about Private Parts. Expecting Howard Stern to (mostly) curb his baser impulses and deliver a really solid movie was not something a lot of people really thought would happen.
That kinda goes for Mean Girls as well.
Cracked After Hours (which is a really, really good series from a while back) included Clueless in their video called ““Stupid” Movies That Are Surprisingly Progressive” (The Clueless discussion starts right at 5:05 mark, if you want to see it.)
I thought I had posted in this thread already, but apparently not…
Agreed about Battleship. Also the first Transformers movie. For both of them, I went in expecting a train wreck. But for both of them, what I got was genuinely fun action movie. I didn’t think either of them were pinnacles even for big, dumb action movies, but they were actually pretty good.
Going back a ways, I’ll also add Adventures in Babysitting (the 1987 original - there was apparently a re-make in 2016, still unseen by me). It was my sister’s choice for a VHS rental for family movie night, and I really didn’t want to watch a “girly” movie - we only got one movie, and family movie night was just an occasional thing, so for the unusual treat I really wanted an action movie, but I got to choose last time, so…I was forced to watch it. And wound up really enjoying it. On the one hand, I was starting to realize that I actually enjoyed a lot of “girly” entertainment, and on the other hand, it wasn’t actually a “girly” movie anyway. It even had a whole sub-plot involving the Mighty Thor, waaay before the MCU revolution, back when he was a pretty obscure super-hero that only a comics geek like me would have ever heard of.
I saw EuroTrip on cable a year or two ago and was surprised that I liked it as much as I did, especially given that it was a teenage sex comedy, which are usually awful.
And Dick, a comedic reimagining of the Watergate scandal, is actually really great. (I particularly liked the portrayal of Woodward and Bernstein.)
I wasn’t expecting much from The Lone Ranger but it quickly dawned on me that they were going for an absurdist video game version of the wild west. The sequence with the Gatling gun cemented it for me as Ranger Reid visiting the Red Dead Redemption universe.
Funnily enough, I had pretty much the opposite reaction. Gore Verbinsky + Johnny Depp? I was expecting an absurdly goofy movie ala Pirates of the Caribbean, which I thought was a ton of fun. The Lone Ranger on the other hand…it did have that bravura train-top action set piece, but other than that, it seemed…oddly dull. I think I went in with overly-high expectations - I wanted to like it, but it just never really clicked with me.
On the other hand, I definitely went into the aforementioned Pirates with a low opinion. I mean, a movie based on an amusement park ride? How would that even work? But I thought it was actually a really good movie - not even “good considering the basis” or “good for what it is”, but just a genuinely good, rollicking swashbuckler. The sequels, on the other hand…
This was mine. Not then, or never, have I been a part of the stoner/slacker demographic. I had never heard of George Carlin. The movie looked all sorts of dumb. But I happened to catch part of it at a party and holy cow what a clever and funny movie! I’m so glad it broke through my preconceived notions.
We watched Home Alone for family movie night (classic), followed by Home Alone 2 (fine, but even the kids noticed what a carbon copy of the original it was). The little guy couldn’t get enough and begged to watch Home Alone 3 next. None of the same stars, none of the same characters, new director, a plot with spies going after a microchip, only recognizable actor is a 13 year old ScarJo in a bit part… I expected Ed Wood levels of awful. I was pleasantly surprised. It was a solid 3.5/10.
The Stand, the mini series from the 90s. I hadn’t really liked anything by Stephen King, not even caring much about the “good ones” like Carries or Christine.
Rented the 2 3 hour tapes intending to watch one part. Was so hooked at that at 2:30am, I unpacked the second one intending to go till 5:30am.
They’d packed the wrong tape in the second box. I had to wait for the next night to see the end.
