# Movies that can't possibly be real
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-cant-possibly-be-real/929289
**Category:** Cafe Society
**Tags:** movies
**Created:** [December 30, 2020, 7:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-cant-possibly-be-real/929289 "2020-12-30T19:22:10Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 3
### Author:  [@Alpha\_Twit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alpha_Twit)
#### Post date: [January 1, 2021, 7:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-cant-possibly-be-real/929289/42 "2021-01-01T19:01:01Z")
I will concede that movies that freely admit to not even pretending to take themselves seriously have their place. At some point though, dumb is simply dumb. It’s not clever, there’s no deeper message, it’s not even that original.
[EXHIBIT A: Wang Pulse](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G8Ifaeff0mA)
You find whatever value in that film you deem appropriate. I just don’t see it, IMHO.
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### Author:  [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)
#### Post date: [January 1, 2021, 8:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-cant-possibly-be-real/929289/43 "2021-01-01T20:08:22Z")
> [@Alpha\_Twit](#):
>
> I will concede that movies that freely admit to not even pretending to take themselves seriously have their place.
Foir example,. Dude Where’s My Car.
OTOH, Snowpiercer, I admit I don’t understand why people like it.
In the middle, The Matrix. Espeically the last two.
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### Author:  [@Alpha\_Twit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alpha_Twit)
#### Post date: [January 1, 2021, 8:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-cant-possibly-be-real/929289/44 "2021-01-01T20:21:15Z")
> [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](#):
>
> Foir example,. Dude Where’s My Car.
Better example: LIFE OF BRIAN - Anyone (including the people who made it) trying to take that movie seriously is missing the point. That doesn’t mean the movie isn’t brilliant.
As for the Matrix: The first was a solid and original thriller with a thought provoking concept and a fantastic execution. The second. …was a bit like reading the menu in a Scottish restaurant. Over boiled and under seasoned, just nothing clever or interesting about it and probably helped by alcohol. I think the third one gave me cancer. As always, YMMV.
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### Author:  [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)
#### Post date: [January 1, 2021, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-cant-possibly-be-real/929289/45 "2021-01-01T20:32:34Z")
> [@lissener](#):
>
> Or _Tiptoes,_ in which Matthew Mcconaughey and Gary Oldman play twin brothers, with Oldman as a dwarf. Performing the part on his knees. Even though Peter Dinklage was right there on the same set, as a leather jacketed biker with a bad French accent. Whose girlfriend is Patricia Arquette.
The first sentence in the Wikipedia article for this film reads " _Tiptoes_ (also known as Tiny _Tiptoes_ ) is a 2003 American comedy-drama film _written and directed by Matthew Bright, in what is, to date, his last film._" I can’t imagine why.
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### Author:  [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)
#### Post date: [January 1, 2021, 8:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-cant-possibly-be-real/929289/46 "2021-01-01T20:39:42Z")
> [@Larry\_Borgia](#):
>
> Loqueesha takes the cake. How this flick got greenlit is beyond me. It has to be seen to be believed.
Allow me to explain how it got greenlit:
| Directed by | Jeremy Saville |
| --- | --- |
| Produced by | Jeremy Saville |
| Written by | Jeremy Saville |
| Starring | \* Jeremy Saville |
Basically, Jeremy Saville greenlit the movie because Jeremy Saville paid for it to be made.
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### Author:  [@DSeid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSeid)
#### Post date: [January 1, 2021, 8:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-cant-possibly-be-real/929289/47 "2021-01-01T20:47:58Z")
What are more of the _good_ or at least successful movies that thinking about it you’d wonder how anyone took the chance on it?
Especially ones that don’t have the track record of the projects driving forces, be it the writer, the star’s draw power, or the director’s successes previously, to explain the willingness.
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### Author:  [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)
#### Post date: [January 1, 2021, 9:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-cant-possibly-be-real/929289/48 "2021-01-01T21:18:31Z")
> [@DSeid](#):
>
> Especially ones that don’t have the track record of the projects driving forces, be it the writer, the star’s draw power, or the director’s successes previously, to explain the willingness.
_Star Wars_. I win. 😃
I mean, really? The original script was even more hackneyed than the one they shot. _American Graffiti_ wasn’t that big a hit.
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### Author:  [@lissener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lissener)
#### Post date: [January 1, 2021, 9:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-cant-possibly-be-real/929289/49 "2021-01-01T21:38:18Z")
My original examples were. movies with such ludicrous scenarios that they only got made BECAUSE OF those attached to it. Here’s the pitch for _Frankie & Alice_: “Blah blah blah Halle Berry blah stripper bl–” And for _Tiptoes_: Yadda yadda Gary Oldman yadda Matthew Mcconaughey ya–"
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### Author:  [@DSeid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSeid)
#### Post date: [January 1, 2021, 10:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-cant-possibly-be-real/929289/50 "2021-01-01T22:05:56Z")
Uh no?
Specifically looking for ones that DON’T have that reason of being “only got made BECAUSE OF those attached to it” … that got made _without_ that obvious explanation of Halle Barry or whoever.
> [@silenus](#):
>
> _American Graffiti_ wasn’t that big a hit.
It was nominated for Best Picture. [It](https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/American-Graffiti-(1973)#tab=summary) cost only $777K to make and returned $115 **M** at the domestic box. Pretty dang good profit margin. Lucas had enough cred to get a space fantasy harking back to the old SF movie serials lit. Wouldn’t have without American Graffiti just before.
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### Author:  [@chela](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chela)
#### Post date: [January 2, 2021, 12:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-cant-possibly-be-real/929289/51 "2021-01-02T00:21:06Z")
10 min video, can’t be real right?
[ ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=32I0Qso4sDg)
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### Author:  [@Reno\_Nevada\_Jr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reno_Nevada_Jr)
#### Post date: [January 2, 2021, 12:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-cant-possibly-be-real/929289/52 "2021-01-02T00:42:10Z")
> [@DSeid](#):
>
> What are more of the _good_ or at least successful movies that thinking about it you’d wonder how anyone took the chance on it?
When I heard they were making a movie based on a Disneyland ride I certainly wondered who would have put up real money. _Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl_? Who is going to see **that**?
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### Author:  [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)
#### Post date: [January 2, 2021, 2:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-cant-possibly-be-real/929289/53 "2021-01-02T02:04:12Z")
But you were right about _The Haunted Mansion…_
…
eta: hmmm, Jordan Peele, horror movie, _It’s A Small World…_
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### Author:  [@The\_Stainless\_Steel\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Stainless_Steel_Rat)
#### Post date: [January 2, 2021, 4:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-cant-possibly-be-real/929289/54 "2021-01-02T04:14:34Z")
[quote="chela]
10 min video, can’t be real right?[/quote]
Oh, it’s real alright. Expertly filmed and directed, of course, but yeah, there is a breed of drivers that have been doing those things for some time. Best example I can cite is this clip from the BBC _Top Gear_ show with Ken Block (who is referenced in your film): [Top Gear S23 Extended Cut | Matt LeBlanc, Ken Block, & the Hoonicorn - YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pqbs6HC4P5A)
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### Author:  [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)
#### Post date: [January 2, 2021, 5:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-cant-possibly-be-real/929289/55 "2021-01-02T05:34:09Z")
Yeah, those videos don’t make me say “That CAN’T possibly be real!” They’re amazing, but pretty standard “hooning”.
Great word. I was looking at sporty cars, and there was one cool VW GTI… but it soon became obvious it’d been owned by a young, irresponsible driver. Mechanic friend said "Yeah, you don’t want to put money into a car that’s been _pre-hooned…"_
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### Author:  [@DorkVader](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DorkVader)
#### Post date: [January 2, 2021, 6:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-cant-possibly-be-real/929289/56 "2021-01-02T06:40:32Z")
> [@Alpha\_Twit](#):
>
> It’s not clever, there’s no deeper message, it’s not even that original.
That’s the point sometimes. Not everything has to be deep smart clever original to be enjoyed.
If you don’t like entertainment without some philosophical message hidden deep within the witty dialogue, that’s fine. Just understand that just because _you_ don’t like something, that doesn’t negate the value or merit of it.
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### Author:  [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)
#### Post date: [January 2, 2021, 3:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-cant-possibly-be-real/929289/57 "2021-01-02T15:37:29Z")
> [@DSeid](#):
>
> What are more of the _good_ or at least successful movies that thinking about it you’d wonder how anyone took the chance on it?
>
> Especially ones that don’t have the track record of the projects driving forces, be it the writer, the star’s draw power, or the director’s successes previously, to explain the willingness.
One I’ve wondered about: THE PRODUCERS. “Hi, I’m Mel Brooks; I’ve never directed before. And this is Gene Wilder; he’s never been in a movie before. I’ve now written my first-ever movie screenplay; my pitch is this: someone like you gives someone like me money to pay a director and an actor and a writer, and pay for costumes and publicity and all that other stuff; except it’s all meant as a _scam_, where you — sorry, _someone like you_ — will lose money if it flops as quickly as expected; for that to make sense, the production has to be so awful that audiences would plausibly walk out during the musical number, thus parting a fool and his money. I take checks made out to ‘cash’.”
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### Author:  [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)
#### Post date: [January 2, 2021, 4:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-cant-possibly-be-real/929289/58 "2021-01-02T16:01:11Z")
I was going to say **Brown Bunny** , but like another film above it was written, produced and directed by one person: Vincent Gallo. And it starred. . .Vincent Gallo. Roger Ebert called it the worst film to ever be shown at Cannes.
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### Author:  [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)
#### Post date: [January 2, 2021, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-cant-possibly-be-real/929289/59 "2021-01-02T16:13:55Z")
> [@chela](#):
>
> 10 min video, can’t be real right?
This is why this guy is on my Death Pool list. And this is some of the safer shit he does.
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### Author:  [@DPRK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DPRK)
#### Post date: [January 2, 2021, 4:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-cant-possibly-be-real/929289/60 "2021-01-02T16:36:51Z")
Who approved [the stunts in] “Steamboat Bill”, for that matter? A house collapses on a guy? What were they planning to do if the first take didn’t work quite right?
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### Author:  [@DSeid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSeid)
#### Post date: [January 2, 2021, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-cant-possibly-be-real/929289/61 "2021-01-02T16:50:10Z")
I know that comment is made in the spirit of the meta funny of it, and it is, but from what I can find out it was indeed a tough sell. Brooks at that point was well established, from Show of Shows to Get Smart to a successful show on Broadway. He had connections even if his only movie directorial experience was an award winning animated short. [Per wiki](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Producers_(1967_film))
> [@](#):
>
> As Brooks sought backers for his 30-page [film treatment](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Film_treatment), both [major film studios](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Major_film_studios) and independent filmmakers rejected _Springtime for Hitler,_ finding the idea of using Hitler for comedy outrageous and tasteless (with some even stating that they would consider the script if Brooks changed it to _Springtime for [Mussolini](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benito_Mussolini)_ ).[[13]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Producers_(1967_film)#cite_note-vf-13) This changed as Brooks’s agent arranged him to have a meeting with a friend of his, New York producer [Sidney Glazier](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sidney_Glazier). Glazier laughed so much at Brooks’ performance of the script, he accepted the project by saying, “We’re gonna make it! I don’t know how, but we’re gonna make this movie!”[[20]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Producers_(1967_film)#cite_note-billboard-20)
>
> Glazier budgeted the film at $1 million, and sought financiers. Half the money came from philanthropist [Louis Wolfson](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louis_Wolfson), who liked the idea of laughing at a dictator,[[6]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Producers_(1967_film)#cite_note-guardian-6) and the remainder, along with the distribution, was arranged by [Joseph E. Levine](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_E._Levine) of [Embassy Pictures](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Embassy_Pictures). Levine’s only condition was to change the title, as he felt many distributors would not carry a picture named _Springtime for Hitler._ [[20]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Producers_(1967_film)#cite_note-billboard-20) Brooks renamed it _The Producers,_ considering it [ironic](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ironic) as “these guys are anything but producers.”[[18]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Producers_(1967_film)#cite_note-makingof-18) As Brooks “couldn’t think of anybody to direct it,” eventually he decided to take the task for himself, even though he himself had only directed one play before.[[14]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Producers_(1967_film)#cite_note-pb75-14) While Levine was insecure in having an inexperienced director, Brooks convinced him by saying it would be cost-effective, and he knew how to do physical comedy after being a [stage manager](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stage_manager) in _[Your Show of Shows](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Your_Show_of_Shows)._ [[18]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Producers_(1967_film)#cite_note-makingof-18)[[20]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Producers_(1967_film)#cite_note-billboard-20)
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