# Name a little-known movie that deserves more recognition **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** movies\ **Created:** [August 18, 2022, 11:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-a-little-known-movie-that-deserves-more-recognition/969922 "2022-08-18T23:52:05Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 11
**Author:** ![GWF\_Hefel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/898d66/32.png) [@GWF\_Hefel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GWF_Hefel)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2022, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-a-little-known-movie-that-deserves-more-recognition/969922/201 "2022-08-21T20:58:16Z")
> [@bmoak1](#): > > I’m convinced that Local Hero was a major influence on TV show Northern Exposure. Bill Forsythe’s other films from that era, Gregory’s Girl and Comfort & Joy, are also great quirky fun. And check out his first Hollywood film, _Housekeeping_. Unfortunately, misunderstood & mis-handled by the studio. Quirky, great, & funny look at alternate ways to live life. Not a comedy, except in the greater scheme of things. From Marilynne Robinson’s first novel. ---
**Author:** ![CaptMurdock](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/captmurdock/32/11736_2.png) [@CaptMurdock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CaptMurdock)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2022, 1:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-a-little-known-movie-that-deserves-more-recognition/969922/202 "2022-08-22T01:51:34Z")
Long before **Silence of the Lambs,** when she was Disney’s favorite tomboy-with-a-heart-of-gold, Jodi Foster starred in an offbeat thriller called **The Little Girl Who Lives Down the Lane.** A teen living on her own in a big house. Nobody has seen her parents in Og-Knows-how long. Various people, including a social worker and a _creepy af_ Martin Sheen, keep sniffing around, trying to prove that this girl is living on her own. Problem is, everybody who previously found out her secret has wound up dead. ---
**Author:** ![burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/burpo_the_wonder_mutt/32/365_2.png) [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burpo_the_wonder_mutt)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2022, 2:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-a-little-known-movie-that-deserves-more-recognition/969922/203 "2022-08-22T02:02:40Z")
Don’t know how popular this one was: Kevin Smith’s **Red State** is a truly scary tale about a fundamentalist cult that goes absolutely bat-shit, leading to The Gummint stepping in to handle the situation and _they_ go bat-shit. Semi-documentary feel enhances the tension. Smith didn’t have the money to film the ending he wanted, but there’s nothing wrong, story-wise, with the one he “settled” for. ---
**Author:** ![Superdude](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/superdude/32/13450_2.png) [@Superdude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superdude)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2022, 2:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-a-little-known-movie-that-deserves-more-recognition/969922/204 "2022-08-22T02:36:24Z")
> [@SunUp](#): > > But so far, not one nod for _Big Trouble In Little China_? > > Kurt Russell as a nincompoop in over his head, trying to John-Wayne his way through on sheer bravado. Kim Cattrall, brainy and tough as the love interest. A cast filled with Asians (appropriately enough) so no yellowface concerns, and old-style special effects for the mystical powers and fight scenes. A friend of mine summed it up as “Kurt Russell is the main character in the movie, but the sidekick in the story, only he doesn’t know it.” ---
**Author:** ![outlierrn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/outlierrn/32/3005_2.png) [@outlierrn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/outlierrn)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2022, 5:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-a-little-known-movie-that-deserves-more-recognition/969922/205 "2022-08-22T05:15:43Z")
> [@CaptMurdock](#): > > Jodi Foster starred in an offbeat thriller called **The Little Girl Who Lives Down the Lane** Speaking of Jodie Foster, how about **Little Man Tate** , her directorial debut. ---
**Author:** ![shunnedempath](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shunnedempath/32/11796_2.png) [@shunnedempath](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/shunnedempath)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2022, 5:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-a-little-known-movie-that-deserves-more-recognition/969922/206 "2022-08-22T17:09:28Z")
Yes, Brave. I think that Brave should be recognized more. It has a strong female lead, one who belongs to a group of people called tomboys. Categorically, they are not a component of the gender ideology phenomenon that is sweeping the nation. I am one of them and I happen to look like her; only reason why I suggest this movie is one that should be considered. I feel like it’s the story of my life and the lives of many others. ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2022, 11:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-a-little-known-movie-that-deserves-more-recognition/969922/207 "2022-08-22T23:47:04Z")
[Boy Meets Girl](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boy_Meets_Girl_(2014_film)) is a nice little film about being trans in Kentucky. Definitely “little-known”. ---
**Author:** ![beowulff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beowulff/32/542_2.png) [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2022, 1:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-a-little-known-movie-that-deserves-more-recognition/969922/208 "2022-08-23T01:08:22Z")
_[Starman](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0088172/)_. Should have received an Oscar for best use of “Yellow means go _very_ fast." ---
**Author:** ![bmoak1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/f4b2a3/32.png) [@bmoak1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bmoak1)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2022, 1:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-a-little-known-movie-that-deserves-more-recognition/969922/209 "2022-08-23T01:14:45Z")
I’ve seen Housekeeping many moons ago, but I had no idea it was a Bill Forsythe film. ---
**Author:** ![Kimstu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecd19e/32.png) [@Kimstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimstu)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2022, 3:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-a-little-known-movie-that-deserves-more-recognition/969922/210 "2022-08-23T03:08:23Z")
Hi shunnedempath, and welcome to the Straight Dope! > [@shunnedempath](#): > > Yes, Brave. I think that Brave should be recognized more. It has a strong female lead, one who belongs to a group of people called tomboys. Categorically, they are not a component of the gender ideology phenomenon that is sweeping the nation. Well, it seems to me that that’s because “tomboy” is not a gender identity? Tomboy-hood is about behavioral non-conformity with respect to stereotyped gender roles. Not about gender identity per se. Consequently, anybody who identifies as a “girl” but prefers stereotypically “boyish” over “girlish” activities, clothing, etc., can be a “tomboy”. There are cisgender-girl tomboys and transgender-girl tomboys, for example. > [@shunnedempath](#): > > I am one of them and I happen to look like her; only reason why I suggest this movie is one that should be considered. I feel like it’s the story of my life and the lives of many others. Wait a minute: you and many others accidentally turned your mother into a bear by means of an enchanted cake? I was quite the tomboy myself in many respects as a child, but I didn’t even know that that was a possibility! (Not that it would have been on my personal agenda even if I had, Mom and I mostly got along fine.) Anyway, it sounds like you’re arguing that the Pixar-Disney mega-blockbuster Brave qualifies as a “little-known movie” that gets insufficient “recognition”, as per the OP’s description? I… don’t think so, honestly. ---
**Author:** ![beowulff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beowulff/32/542_2.png) [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2022, 11:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-a-little-known-movie-that-deserves-more-recognition/969922/211 "2022-08-23T23:43:46Z")
Speaking of Starman, after 39 years in Arizona, I finally went: [[Album] imgur.com ![](https://i.imgur.com/rhoMvPE.jpeg?fb "imgur.com") ](https://imgur.com/a/I2CwMvy) ---
**Author:** ![kitap](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/b9e5f3/32.png) [@kitap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kitap)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2022, 12:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-a-little-known-movie-that-deserves-more-recognition/969922/212 "2022-08-24T00:14:06Z")
> [@beowulff](#): > > Speaking of Starman, after 39 years in Arizona, I finally went > [https://imgur.com/a/I2CwMvy](https://imgur.com/a/I2CwMvy) Did you like it? We went there in 2016; dad had been itching to see it for years. I thought it would be a quick but pricy 15 minute stop. Yeah, we were there about 2 hours. ---
**Author:** ![beowulff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beowulff/32/542_2.png) [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2022, 12:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-a-little-known-movie-that-deserves-more-recognition/969922/213 "2022-08-24T00:17:49Z")
Yes, I enjoyed it, but I’m a science geek. My wife, who is not, thought that it was “OK.” But, back on the movie topic. I asked her what she would add to this thread, and she said _[Harold and Maude](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0067185/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1)_, and I couldn’t agree more. ---
**Author:** ![carrps](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carrps/32/2957_2.png) [@carrps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carrps)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2022, 12:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-a-little-known-movie-that-deserves-more-recognition/969922/214 "2022-08-24T00:36:34Z")
I love _Harold and Maude_but I thought this was a cult film, so fairly well known. Or do the kidz these dayz not know about it? ---
**Author:** ![Zakalwe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zakalwe/32/270_2.png) [@Zakalwe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zakalwe)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2022, 12:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-a-little-known-movie-that-deserves-more-recognition/969922/215 "2022-08-24T00:49:45Z")
_[Jerry and Tom](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0120867/)_ Partial quote from the IMDB synopsis: “Tom and Jerry are two hit men, they work by day at a third-rate second-hand car dealership. Tom is a veteran and Jerry is a novice in their business, and their attitude toward their profession differs a lot.” Joe Mantegna Sam Rockwell Ted Danson Charles Durning Maury Chaykin William H Macy Peter Riegert ---
**Author:** ![rippingtons\_fan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rippingtons_fan/32/11767_2.png) [@rippingtons\_fan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rippingtons_fan)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2022, 1:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-a-little-known-movie-that-deserves-more-recognition/969922/216 "2022-08-24T01:03:53Z")
I watched a sci-fi movie on DVD called “Avalon” that seemed kinda’ neat. It starred Malgorzata Formeniak, and it involved playing an illegal, virtual reality computer war game. ---
**Author:** ![outlierrn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/outlierrn/32/3005_2.png) [@outlierrn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/outlierrn)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2022, 1:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-a-little-known-movie-that-deserves-more-recognition/969922/217 "2022-08-24T01:39:52Z")
> [@carrps](#): > > I love _Harold and Maude_but I thought this was a cult film, so fairly well known. Or do the kidz these dayz not know about it? Our local art deco theater used to run old classics once a month or so. I went and saw H&M about 10 years back, the venue was packed with people mostly younger than the film. ---
**Author:** ![ekedolphin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ekedolphin/32/10003_2.png) [@ekedolphin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ekedolphin)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2022, 1:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-a-little-known-movie-that-deserves-more-recognition/969922/218 "2022-08-24T01:48:58Z")
> [@Kimstu](#): > > Anyway, it sounds like you’re arguing that the Pixar-Disney mega-blockbuster Brave qualifies as a “little-known movie” that gets insufficient “recognition”, as per the OP’s description? I… don’t think so, honestly. Eh, when I think of Pixar movies, it takes me awhile to get to _Brave_. I think of _Toy Story_, _Monsters, Inc._, and _Cars_. I saw _Brave_ in theaters and haven’t seen it since, though I remember it being good. _Brave_ may be a Pixar movie that made a lot of money, but it didn’t become a franchise like the other three, and Merida isn’t often included among the Disney Princesses. In fact, there was a joke about that in _Ralph Breaks the Internet_. ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2022, 1:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-a-little-known-movie-that-deserves-more-recognition/969922/219 "2022-08-24T01:57:44Z")
Probably too well know, but everyone should watch Breaker Morant ---
**Author:** ![rippingtons\_fan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rippingtons_fan/32/11767_2.png) [@rippingtons\_fan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rippingtons_fan)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2022, 2:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-a-little-known-movie-that-deserves-more-recognition/969922/220 "2022-08-24T02:17:08Z")
Another movie I watched on DVD was “Coraline”, a stop-motion animated feature that came out in 2009 I believe. I enjoyed this movie quite a bit. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-a-little-known-movie-that-deserves-more-recognition/969922.md?page=10) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-a-little-known-movie-that-deserves-more-recognition/969922.md?page=12)