# My daughter really wants to see RIPD.. **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [July 19, 2013, 2:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-daughter-really-wants-to-see-ripd/663934 "2013-07-19T14:22:10Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![pancakes3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ba9def/32.png) [@pancakes3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pancakes3)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2013, 3:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-daughter-really-wants-to-see-ripd/663934/21 "2013-07-19T15:39:14Z")
I kind of want to watch it. Is there any sort of Doper surrogate-by-the-hour program we can register for? Plus, the reviewer rating is at 67%, so chances are that your daughter will really like it even if the critics hate it. In other movie news, how disappointing is it that Red 2 is sporting a 35% rating? I really liked Red and was looking forward to this. ---
**Author:** ![Shark\_Sandwich](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f04885/32.png) [@Shark\_Sandwich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shark_Sandwich)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2013, 3:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-daughter-really-wants-to-see-ripd/663934/22 "2013-07-19T15:40:38Z")
My daughters and I have had MUCH more memorable and fun discussions laughing and making fun of awful movies we’ve seen than we’ve had discussing good movies. Sharknado was a freakin’ side-splitter when we watched it. ---
**Author:** ![Chicagojeff](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/b19c9b/32.png) [@Chicagojeff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chicagojeff)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2013, 3:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-daughter-really-wants-to-see-ripd/663934/23 "2013-07-19T15:40:45Z")
> [@muldoonthief](#): > > But it’s at 10% at rottentomatoes. And even the good review, which was giving a hometown discount since it’s a Boston website reviewing a movie set in Boston, couldn’t give it more praise than this: > Now how to break her little heart? On her birthday no less? Begged my dad to go see “Weekend Pass”. He knew it was gonna suck.. he went along for it..even bought me a hot dog afterwards.. he told me he knew it was gonna suck.. in response I started watching better movies picked by him.. ---
**Author:** ![obfusciatrist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/4af34b/32.png) [@obfusciatrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/obfusciatrist)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2013, 3:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-daughter-really-wants-to-see-ripd/663934/24 "2013-07-19T15:44:33Z")
Whether a movie is good or bad has very little to do with whether a kid will like it. This, for example, explains the success of John Hughes. How old is she? If watching what does appear to be a really bad movie is the worst suffering she ever puts you through, it’ll be fine. Besides, it is important to have movies you loved as a kid but realize as an adult were awful. I’d be a very different person without my shameful attachment to License to Drive and Can’t Buy Me Love. ---
**Author:** ![IvoryTowerDenizen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ivorytowerdenizen/32/17937_2.png) [@IvoryTowerDenizen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IvoryTowerDenizen)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2013, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-daughter-really-wants-to-see-ripd/663934/25 "2013-07-19T15:46:12Z")
> [@muldoonthief](#): > > This isn’t _all_ she’s asking for on her birthday BTW, so it’s not like her day will be completely ruined if she misses the movie. > > And I’m as much concerned that she’d be sad that she wasted 2 hours of her birthday watching a horrible movie as that she’d be sad that she didn’t get to see the movie. > > This is my third daughter, so trust me, I’ve seen many, many movies that I didn’t want to see. Her disappointment would be my concern as well. Snarking on bad movies is fun, but only if you’re not horribly disappointed. However, most kids tolerate bad movies waaaaayyyyy better than adults do! You could tell her " some reviews say it’s not a terrific movie, but it could be silly fun. Will you be really disappointed if it’s kind of a dopey movie or will it be fun anyway?" ---
**Author:** ![Hakuna\_Matata](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a88e4f/32.png) [@Hakuna\_Matata](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hakuna_Matata)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2013, 3:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-daughter-really-wants-to-see-ripd/663934/26 "2013-07-19T15:50:02Z")
Take her to see the movie is my suggestion as well. I remember my wife and I taking my daughter to see Garfield–and if I can live through that, then you can survive this. Good luck. ---
**Author:** ![muldoonthief](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muldoonthief/32/3188_2.png) [@muldoonthief](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/muldoonthief)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2013, 3:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-daughter-really-wants-to-see-ripd/663934/27 "2013-07-19T15:52:57Z")
To defend myself a bit. I’ve sat through hundreds of horrible kids movies. I’ve even watched direct-to-video [Barbie movies](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0426955/?ref_=sr_3) with my daughters. We saw the Smurfs twice! So it’s not that I refuse to watch terrible movies with them. But RIPD is something I was actually interested in until the bad reviews came in. Modern action movie with Jeff Bridges as a dead Rooster Cogburn, with a Men in Black plot? That could have been a great movie. And for some reason, I can tolerate things I don’t like better than I can tolerate bad examples of things I do like. For example, I can drink any sort of terrible cheap wine, because I don’t really get wine. But I’d rather go thirsty than drink bad whiskey, because I really enjoy good whiskey. So sitting through a terrible kids movie that has nothing in it for me is easier than sitting through a terrible action movie that I wish was better. But yeah, if she really really wants to see it, I’ll take her and her sisters. And remind her of it when it’s time to pick out my home. ---
**Author:** ![Alley\_Dweller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alley_dweller/32/430_2.png) [@Alley\_Dweller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alley_Dweller)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2013, 4:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-daughter-really-wants-to-see-ripd/663934/28 "2013-07-19T16:01:16Z")
First, I have to agree with other posters: If this is her birthday wish and she actually wants to be seen in public with you, this is a precious opportunity. No matter how good or bad the movie, you will treasure this time together. Next, after you get home from the movies, get a copy of the TV series [Dead Like Me](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GM3BTBuevmw). (There is also a movie by that name, but I don’t know anything about it.) I don’t know anything about RIPD except all the ads I keep seeing. But it sounds like a ripoff of Dead Like Me with added violence and without the warmth and humor. But I could be wrong. Dead Like Me was produced by Bryan Fuller. It’s got charm, subtle (and overt) humor, and pathos. You’ll like it. After the movie bombs, suggest maybe watching a couple of episodes at home with your daughter. I think you’ll have a good time. ---
**Author:** ![pancakes3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ba9def/32.png) [@pancakes3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pancakes3)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2013, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-daughter-really-wants-to-see-ripd/663934/29 "2013-07-19T16:15:04Z")
> [@Shark\_Sandwich](#): > > Sharknado was a freakin’ side-splitter when we watched it. lulz @ username/post combo. ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2013, 4:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-daughter-really-wants-to-see-ripd/663934/30 "2013-07-19T16:18:06Z")
Dude, it’s not like movie reviews are gospel. You said you had wanted to see it originally. So she loses two hours on her birthday. Big deal. Hey, you might end -gasp! - liking it! ---
**Author:** ![johnspartan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/a183cd/32.png) [@johnspartan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/johnspartan)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2013, 4:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-daughter-really-wants-to-see-ripd/663934/31 "2013-07-19T16:21:56Z")
Marisa Miller. If you’re gonna have to grin and bear it, just tell yourself it’s (presumably about 15 minutes of) her surrounded by some blowy uppyness. ---
**Author:** ![DCnDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dcndc/32/2842_2.png) [@DCnDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DCnDC)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2013, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-daughter-really-wants-to-see-ripd/663934/32 "2013-07-19T16:34:49Z")
> [@pancakes3](#): > > Plus, the reviewer rating is at 67%, so chances are that your daughter will really like it even if the critics hate it. There are the the opposite examples, like [_Killing Them Softly_](http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/killing_them_softly/). For some reason, critics loved it. Apparently it was supposed to be a “black comedy” but I didn’t get that at all; I found it to be a colossal piece of tired, derivative shit. ---
**Author:** ![Quimby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/22d042/32.png) [@Quimby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quimby)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2013, 4:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-daughter-really-wants-to-see-ripd/663934/33 "2013-07-19T16:43:40Z")
It looks bad in that “This has all been done before already” way not the painfully awful Manos the Hands of Fate way. Enjoy the company and see the movie. ---
**Author:** ![muldoonthief](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muldoonthief/32/3188_2.png) [@muldoonthief](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/muldoonthief)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2013, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-daughter-really-wants-to-see-ripd/663934/34 "2013-07-19T16:49:27Z")
Oh, and to address the “At least she wants to be seen in public with you” - once we get to the movies, and I’ve bought the tickets and snacks, the girls generally request that I sit on the opposite side of the theater from them. After picking my heart up from the ground and cleaning the footprints off it, I usually agree to sit one row behind them. ---
**Author:** ![InternetLegend](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/internetlegend/32/13154_2.png) [@InternetLegend](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/InternetLegend)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2013, 4:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-daughter-really-wants-to-see-ripd/663934/35 "2013-07-19T16:56:06Z")
Speaking as someone who had to sit through the first two “Twilight” movies before her daughter outgrew them, I feel your pain. The hardest thing for me was trying not to be snarky about the movie to her when I knew she loved them to pieces and _she_ knew her adored older sister thought they were stupid. My only real regret is that she started feeling ashamed of her own preteen taste once she got into her middle teens. So if you go, and you hate it, try to keep from letting that override her opinion if she loves it. And, God willing, in a few years when she outgrows it, you can watch the DVD with Rifftrax, like we did with Twilight. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2013, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-daughter-really-wants-to-see-ripd/663934/36 "2013-07-19T16:59:56Z")
> [@muldoonthief](#): > > Oh, and to address the “At least she wants to be seen in public with you” - once we get to the movies, and I’ve bought the tickets and snacks, the girls generally request that I sit on the opposite side of the theater from them. After picking my heart up from the ground and cleaning the footprints off it, I usually agree to sit one row behind them. [Are they hinting?](http://www.gas-x.com/) ETA: 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Grrr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grrr/32/146_2.png) [@Grrr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grrr)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2013, 5:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-daughter-really-wants-to-see-ripd/663934/37 "2013-07-19T17:01:05Z")
If she loves MIB, I can’t imagine her NOT liking this movie. To hell with Rotten Tomatoes. (At least,far as your daughter is concerned.) ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2013, 5:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-daughter-really-wants-to-see-ripd/663934/38 "2013-07-19T17:10:40Z")
> [@obfusciatrist](#): > > \I’d be a very different person without my shameful attachment to License to Drive and Can’t Buy Me Love. My friends and I watched “Flashdance” just about every weekend in high school. ---
**Author:** ![Learjeff](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/94ad74/32.png) [@Learjeff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Learjeff)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2013, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-daughter-really-wants-to-see-ripd/663934/39 "2013-07-19T17:17:45Z")
I’ve enjoyed a lot of really bad movies in my life. I wouldn’t mind enjoying another. The easiest way to be pleasantly surprised is to have low expectations. ---
**Author:** ![Drunky\_Smurf](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drunky_smurf/32/449_2.png) [@Drunky\_Smurf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drunky_Smurf)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2013, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-daughter-really-wants-to-see-ripd/663934/40 "2013-07-19T17:44:53Z")
> [@Alley\_Dweller](#): > > Next, after you get home from the movies, get a copy of the TV series [Dead Like Me](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GM3BTBuevmw). (There is also a movie by that name, but I don’t know anything about it.) They made a movie as a way for them to end the series since it got cancelled after the second season. The movie was ok, some of the characters did things I thought was out of character, but I think they got the ending right. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-daughter-really-wants-to-see-ripd/663934.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-daughter-really-wants-to-see-ripd/663934.md?page=3)