# Movies you thought were awesome when you were a kid but now cringe at **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [April 6, 2009, 1:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-you-thought-were-awesome-when-you-were-a-kid-but-now-cringe-at/492123 "2009-04-06T13:24:30Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 8
**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:** [April 13, 2009, 10:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-you-thought-were-awesome-when-you-were-a-kid-but-now-cringe-at/492123/141 "2009-04-13T22:51:41Z")
I’ve never liked **It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World**. Even as a kid I was severely disappointed in it. I thought that it _ought_ to be funny, but I never felt that it was. A seriously missed opportunity. (Want to see a funny movie with a lot of comedians in it? Watch **WEho’s Minding the Mint?** ) And **Megaforce** has always been on my list of “Really Good BAD movies”. I’ve sown it at my annual Bad Films Festival. And it fits right in. **Mac and Me** was so obviously a commercial for MacDoland’s (which hyped it shamelessly) that I never even bothered seeing it. ---
**Author:** ![lizardling](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f4b2a3/32.png) [@lizardling](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lizardling)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2009, 11:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-you-thought-were-awesome-when-you-were-a-kid-but-now-cringe-at/492123/142 "2009-04-13T23:40:49Z")
> [@MOIDALIZE](#): > > [House](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0091223/), which is about a Vietnam vet, trying to forget his past, who moves into a spooky house to write a novel when all kinds of evil, monstrous hijinks ensue. I actually saw this movie in a theater with my mother when I was 7. Hee! I re-rented House 2: The Second Story a while back, after remembering seeing it as a small child and being frightened by various bits, like the evilbad rising out of the dinner platter. Turns out that it was actually a lot of fun to MST3K over IM to a friend who’d never seen it. Aztecs in California! Dinosaurs! Random zombie grandpas! Western gunslingers! Ratzenberger cameo! Lots of gags thrown in because they’re COOL, why not, who cares if it makes sense? Cringeworthy movie: **The Goonies**. _sigh_ I spent most of it cringing at the 80s fashions, stereotypes, and – and horrific acting and horrific everything. And fast-forwarding a lot to minimize the twitching in my eye. ---
**Author:** ![Ronald\_C.Semone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/cc9497/32.png) [@Ronald\_C.Semone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ronald_C.Semone)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2009, 11:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-you-thought-were-awesome-when-you-were-a-kid-but-now-cringe-at/492123/143 "2009-04-13T23:45:13Z")
The opening scene of _Gladiator_ was so incredible that the first time I saw it, it colored my view of the rest of the picture and I left the theater thinking it was one of the best pictures I had ever seen ( in 60-plus years of going to the movies). I was so taken by it that when it was released on video I immediately bought a copy, something I rarely do. After watching it two more times I have to say that except for a couple of impressive scenes there is really nothing special about it. No other picture has fallen so far so fast in my ratings. ---
**Author:** ![Baal\_Houtham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baal_houtham/32/13604_2.png) [@Baal\_Houtham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baal_Houtham)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2009, 12:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-you-thought-were-awesome-when-you-were-a-kid-but-now-cringe-at/492123/144 "2009-04-14T00:21:07Z")
> [@Ximenean](#): > > For me it’s _Local Hero_. Not that it’s a bad film, but I remember at the time walking out of the cinema and declaring to anyone who would listen that it was the best film ever made. It’s not, it’s just a smart little comedy with maybe a small amount of social commentary to it. I watched it for the first time last year, and you’re right, it’s a smart little comedy. And it had a cute mermaid. ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2009, 1:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-you-thought-were-awesome-when-you-were-a-kid-but-now-cringe-at/492123/145 "2009-04-15T01:44:57Z")
> [@MyFootsZZZ](#): > > Wow,\*\* E.T.\*\* scared me too, specifically the part where he was sick, and all pail and stuff. :eek: Yeah, for a while there, it _did_ seem like he’d kick the bucket. You know, I wasn’t too scared of anything that happened in **E.T**. when it came out, but now it seems creepier. Shouldn’t it have bothered me more when I was five?😕 ---
**Author:** ![bmoak](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/9dc877/32.png) [@bmoak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bmoak)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2009, 2:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-you-thought-were-awesome-when-you-were-a-kid-but-now-cringe-at/492123/146 "2009-04-15T02:22:00Z")
I’m going to add Escape From New York to the list of movies that just didn’t hold up very well. ---
**Author:** ![Enright3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/enright3/32/2897_2.png) [@Enright3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enright3)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2009, 2:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-you-thought-were-awesome-when-you-were-a-kid-but-now-cringe-at/492123/147 "2009-04-15T14:28:40Z")
This thread reinforces my belief that there should be a new Academy Award for how well movies hold up over time. Sort of a “Best Picture for movies at least ten years old” category. There would be a lot of former Best Picture films that wouldn’t make the cut. ---
**Author:** ![Freudian\_Slit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@Freudian\_Slit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freudian_Slit)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2009, 2:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-you-thought-were-awesome-when-you-were-a-kid-but-now-cringe-at/492123/148 "2009-04-15T14:30:14Z")
> [@elfkin477](#): > > Yeah, for a while there, it _did_ seem like he’d kick the bucket. > > You know, I wasn’t too scared of anything that happened in **E.T**. when it came out, but now it seems creepier. Shouldn’t it have bothered me more when I was five?😕 ET being pale and sick creeped me out as a kid. I never really liked him, though. That movie is SO manipulative. “I’ll be right here…” “NO, you won’t, thank the Lord, you’re going to space, you incompetent plant gathering wuss.” (Isn’t there a Robot Chicken where it turns out they left him there as a joke?) ---
**Author:** ![Jettboy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/85e7bf/32.png) [@Jettboy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jettboy)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2009, 2:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-you-thought-were-awesome-when-you-were-a-kid-but-now-cringe-at/492123/149 "2009-04-15T14:52:43Z")
When I was about 19-20ish I saw that Jim Henson flick “The Dark Crystal” while tripping on some especially potent Orange Sunshine. ZOW! I was floored…and a little freaked out. Now 43, I spotted a DVD of it and picked it up for my 5-year-old thinking it would be amazing (even without the benefit of strong psychotropic drugs…besides, 5-year-olds are 'kinda naturally tripping anyway). What a disappointment. The puppets looked…well, like _puppets_. The story was lame, the set design was goofy, the voice-acting was stilted. What a stinker. My boy got bored and went off to do something entertaining, like watch grass grow. I was torn between being glad I no longer did drugs, or wishing that I still did. ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2009, 3:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-you-thought-were-awesome-when-you-were-a-kid-but-now-cringe-at/492123/150 "2009-04-15T15:48:24Z")
> [@Aceospades](#): > > [The Shadow](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0111143/) > > Man, i loved this movie when it came out. i thought it was the coolest. i watched it again about a year ago and WOW. What was i thinking? Hey! The Shadow rocks!!! I know, I know. It sucks. But I loved that movie! ---
**Author:** ![Chimera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Chimera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chimera)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2009, 6:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-you-thought-were-awesome-when-you-were-a-kid-but-now-cringe-at/492123/151 "2009-04-15T18:53:39Z")
> [@Hampshire](#): > > Comcast on Demand free movies had “Breakin’ 2 Electric Boogaloo” available a bit ago. I started watching it for old times sake. It was soooo cringe worthy I felt embarassed for the people on screen. Pastel and neon clothed people smiling and dancing in the streets with jerky movements. I will never show it to my kids and admit I grew up with that generation. [Dana Carvey Old Man Voice] Dammit! When I was a kid, these were the kind of movies we had, AND WE LIKED IT! [/dcomv] [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-you-thought-were-awesome-when-you-were-a-kid-but-now-cringe-at/492123.md?page=7)