# Not-the-greatest movies you watch over and over **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [December 18, 2011, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/not-the-greatest-movies-you-watch-over-and-over/606654 "2011-12-18T18:35:35Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![salinqmind](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3ec8ea/32.png) [@salinqmind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/salinqmind)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2011, 2:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/not-the-greatest-movies-you-watch-over-and-over/606654/21 "2011-12-19T02:12:43Z")
Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House - an oldie (1948) with Cary Grant and Myrna Loy, two of my all-time favorite ever actors. This is about the building of the dream house in the 'burbs, which has been done to death, but this post-war rendering is so charming because of the lead actors. I love hearing Myrna Loy’s descriptions of the paint colors she wants the workmen to buy. ‘Not just yellow, mind you, but a bright, clear yellow, the color of the best butter!’ Ace Ventura - When Nature Calls. Really stupid, but I can’t help laughing the stupider it gets. That scene in the tent still cracks me up! Anything with Vincent Price. I just love Vincent Price. For an example, I’ll pick Masque of the Red Death - the whole movie is just a gaudy, uneasy trip, Vinnie is luridly evil, and it also has in it Paul McCartney’s beautiful ex-girlfriend, Jane Asher. Watching MotRD brings me back to younger, happier times (though the movie IS a downer). Sitting Pretty - another post-war oldie starring the snippy, waspish, middle aged Clifton Webb, hired as a nanny. It’s perfectly logical as Mr. Belvedere is an absolute Expert on EVERYTHING. And he cures the food flinging baby in the high chair with a little taste of his own medicine, which is cruel and would not work IRL - but it IS hilarious! Roll, Bounce - a really cute after-school-specialish tale of dancing roller-skating teams facing off in The Big Competition. With astonishing stunts, great 80’s music, a nice family background drama, and glimpsing Paris Hilton as a preening extra. ---
**Author:** ![j666](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/9de0a6/32.png) [@j666](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/j666)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2011, 2:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/not-the-greatest-movies-you-watch-over-and-over/606654/22 "2011-12-19T02:46:00Z")
> [@CanvasShoes](#): > > Can it be a bad movie? I adore “Night of the Comet”. 1980s cult movie. What’s not to love about a movie with lines like “see? That’s the problem with these things (gun jamming). Daddy would have gotten us Uzis”? The car didn’t know the difference. ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2011, 3:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/not-the-greatest-movies-you-watch-over-and-over/606654/23 "2011-12-19T03:42:41Z")
Wow, I almost started a thread just like this yesterday. For me: The Covenant The Haunting of Molly Hartley Timeline Nature Unleashed: Avalanche Into the Blue Yeah…the explanation for all of them is the same. Hot actor, hot actor… Ever After? That’s got a 6.8 rating on IMDB. Who doesn’t like it? ---
**Author:** ![Unauthorized\_Cinnamon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/bc8723/32.png) [@Unauthorized\_Cinnamon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Unauthorized_Cinnamon)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2011, 3:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/not-the-greatest-movies-you-watch-over-and-over/606654/24 "2011-12-19T03:52:46Z")
> [@Marconi\_N.Cheese](#): > > [_My Blue Heaven_](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0100212/) with Steve Martin, Rick Moranis, and Joan Cusack. It’s a silly little movie, but it makes me feel good. “Have a nice day!” “It was the shoes, right?” I love many of these. \*\*Overboard \*\*was what I thought of when I read the OP. So bad, especially when you consider the real-life implications of deceiving someone like that. And yet, " . . . eat your checkers!" is part of our family lexicon. I love **L.A. Story** and in no way concede that it’s a not-the-greatest movie. Sincerely, CinNamOn\<3 ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2011, 4:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/not-the-greatest-movies-you-watch-over-and-over/606654/25 "2011-12-19T04:30:23Z")
> [@elfkin477](#): > > Ever After? That’s got a 6.8 rating on IMDB. Who doesn’t like it? It’s not that they don’t like it, it’s just not brought up very often as a popular movie, and is often considered “Meh.” Also 6.8 is well within “average” parameters. ---
**Author:** ![koeeoaddi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/koeeoaddi/32/408_2.png) [@koeeoaddi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/koeeoaddi)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2011, 4:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/not-the-greatest-movies-you-watch-over-and-over/606654/26 "2011-12-19T04:48:39Z")
> [@CanvasShoes](#): > > “Daddy would have gotten us Uzis”? “…don’t I get an Egg McMuffin or anything?” I love that movie! ---
**Author:** ![Washoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/ecae2f/32.png) [@Washoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Washoe)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2011, 5:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/not-the-greatest-movies-you-watch-over-and-over/606654/27 "2011-12-19T05:18:27Z")
The one where Natalie Portman plays the pregnant girl who lives in the Walmart. I’ve watched it a zillion times. Chasing Amy is another one. ---
**Author:** ![MacCat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/maccat/32/216_2.png) [@MacCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MacCat)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2011, 5:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/not-the-greatest-movies-you-watch-over-and-over/606654/28 "2011-12-19T05:39:16Z")
> [@choie](#): > > _You’ve Got Mail_, the Tom Hanks/Meg Ryan rom-com. It’s not a great movie, but I think it’s been unfairly dismissed as an unofficial remake to _Sleepless in Seattle_. This is _much_ better than that glurgy crapfest, where the hero/heroine didn’t even meet until the very end of the film. Agree totally, and with the remainder of your post, that I didn’t quote. I’ll add for me, it’s the reminder of the early internet. As an aside, when I first got AOL, possibly the first night I was on, I received a very suggestive IM out of the blue. I thought Wow! So this is how it is! It was a lot of fun for a few weeks, couple of months but I did not follow through on it for reasons I won’t go into here. I only mention it for the irony of it being the ONLY time I ever received a (real) IM like that in the twenty years or so I’ve been online. ---
**Author:** ![Miss\_Woodhouse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/838e76/32.png) [@Miss\_Woodhouse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miss_Woodhouse)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2011, 5:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/not-the-greatest-movies-you-watch-over-and-over/606654/29 "2011-12-19T05:58:40Z")
Mine is _How to Steal a Million_. It’s not one of Audrey Hepburn’s best films, but I adore it. Her completely over the top, chewing the scenery father, the crazy not anywhere close to actually possible plan for stealing the statue she actually owns, her fabulous 1960’s wardrobe, that convertible! Such wonderful campy fun. _I Was a Male War Bride_ is another favorite. Of course it’s Cary Grant, so how can it be bad? but it’s so silly and he’s so adorable. Love that movie. ---
**Author:** ![Greg\_Charles](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/839c29/32.png) [@Greg\_Charles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Greg_Charles)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2011, 6:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/not-the-greatest-movies-you-watch-over-and-over/606654/30 "2011-12-19T06:03:04Z")
_Rock ‘n’ Roll High School_ – Roger Corman at his schlockiest, but, hey, the Ramones! (Or rather, Gabba Gabba Hey!) ---
**Author:** ![Argent\_Towers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e8c25b/32.png) [@Argent\_Towers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Argent_Towers)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2011, 6:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/not-the-greatest-movies-you-watch-over-and-over/606654/31 "2011-12-19T06:09:31Z")
> [@WhyNot](#): > > [Bring It On](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0204946/) > > Gods help me, I don’t know why. It’s got everything I usually hate in tween movies - objectification of women, Could you explain how _Bring It On,_ and “tween” movies in general, objectify women? Because I’m not seeing it. ---
**Author:** ![JpnDude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/838e76/32.png) [@JpnDude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JpnDude)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2011, 6:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/not-the-greatest-movies-you-watch-over-and-over/606654/32 "2011-12-19T06:12:54Z")
**Clue** A comedy with Tim Curry, Martin Mull, Madeline Khan and others, based on the mystery board game. **Mr. Baseball** A comedy with Tom Selleck as a twilight-of-his-career Major Leaguer who is traded to a Japanese baseball team. **Lethal Weapon 2** The cop drama sequel with Mel Gibson and Danny Glover. Great end credits music by George Harrison. ---
**Author:** ![MOIDALIZE](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e274bd/32.png) [@MOIDALIZE](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MOIDALIZE)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2011, 6:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/not-the-greatest-movies-you-watch-over-and-over/606654/33 "2011-12-19T06:14:38Z")
_Rising Sun_ _U.S. Marshals_ _The Matrix Reloaded_ _Striking Distance_ If I’m flipping channels and any of those movies are on, I’m watching the rest of the damn movie. It’s a curse, really. ---
**Author:** ![Janetda](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/46a35a/32.png) [@Janetda](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Janetda)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2011, 6:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/not-the-greatest-movies-you-watch-over-and-over/606654/34 "2011-12-19T06:25:06Z")
I’m guilty of several already mentioned, but I’ll add Breakfast Club and Big Trouble in Little China. ---
**Author:** ![Knorf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/58956e/32.png) [@Knorf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Knorf)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2011, 7:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/not-the-greatest-movies-you-watch-over-and-over/606654/35 "2011-12-19T07:28:51Z")
**Monty Python and the Holy Grail** ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2011, 8:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/not-the-greatest-movies-you-watch-over-and-over/606654/36 "2011-12-19T08:06:42Z")
> [@Argent\_Towers](#): > > Could you explain how _Bring It On,_ and “tween” movies in general, objectify women? Because I’m not seeing it. Sorry. It’s one of the Iron Laws of Filmmaking. Any movie with a [bikini car wash](http://www.hulu.com/watch/12560/bring-it-on-bikini-car-wash) scene objectifies women. ---
**Author:** ![Justin\_Bailey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/justin_bailey/32/8792_2.png) [@Justin\_Bailey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Justin_Bailey)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2011, 8:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/not-the-greatest-movies-you-watch-over-and-over/606654/37 "2011-12-19T08:23:40Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > Sorry. It’s one of the Iron Laws of Filmmaking. Any movie with a [bikini car wash](http://www.hulu.com/watch/12560/bring-it-on-bikini-car-wash) scene objectifies women. Meh. While they’re not typically wearing bikinis, teen girls in tight t-shirts and short-shorts doing a car wash to raise money for some school activity is super common in real life. Also, there are several shirtless guys in the background of that clip. > [@koeeoaddi](#): > > _The Ninth Gate_, _Thunderheart_ and [_Vertical Limit_](http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/vertical_limit/). :rolleyes: Be proud of liking Vertical Limit! It’s way better than it has any right to be! Of course, I liked Cliffhanger, so take that into consideration. ---
**Author:** ![DirkGntly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d9b06d/32.png) [@DirkGntly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DirkGntly)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2011, 3:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/not-the-greatest-movies-you-watch-over-and-over/606654/38 "2011-12-19T15:03:03Z")
Mine is “Always” with Holly Hunter and Richard Dreyfus. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2011, 3:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/not-the-greatest-movies-you-watch-over-and-over/606654/39 "2011-12-19T15:53:05Z")
> [@Justin\_Bailey](#): > > Meh. While they’re not typically wearing bikinis, teen girls in tight t-shirts and short-shorts doing a car wash to raise money for some school activity is super common in real life. Also, there are several shirtless guys in the background of that clip. Movies are not life. Movies are a few minutes excerpted from a lifetime lasting decades. So the minutes you choose to show indicate intent. Everyone has farted loudly at some point in their life. But if you see a character fart loudly in a movie, you know the movie is a low-brow comedy. Why? Because the filmmaker wouldn’t have chosen to show a character farting loudly in a serious drama. Similarly, if the filmmaker showed his female characters having a bikini carwash, it wasn’t because he wanted to realistically depict a random activity that young women engage in. His intent was to show off their bodies. Shirtless male characters just show that you can also objectify men. Besides, I’ll just put out the obvious challenge. If the Iron Law of Filmmaking I mentioned isn’t true, show me the proof. Give me an example of a movie that has a bikini car wash scene that doesn’t either objectify women or parody the objectification of women. ---
**Author:** ![Philster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/13edae/32.png) [@Philster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Philster)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2011, 3:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/not-the-greatest-movies-you-watch-over-and-over/606654/40 "2011-12-19T15:58:05Z")
Top Gun I know… I know… [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/not-the-greatest-movies-you-watch-over-and-over/606654.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/not-the-greatest-movies-you-watch-over-and-over/606654.md?page=3)