# The travesties, the shams, and the mockeries-remakes **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [February 2, 2009, 7:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-travesties-the-shams-and-the-mockeries-remakes/484138 "2009-02-02T19:08:49Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![RachelChristine](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/7ab992/32.png) [@RachelChristine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RachelChristine)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2009, 12:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-travesties-the-shams-and-the-mockeries-remakes/484138/61 "2009-02-04T00:19:20Z")
No one mentioned the truly horrible “The Truth About Charlie”? I mean, “Charade” is one of my absolute favorite movies, and that remake was just a travesty. ---
**Author:** ![Terrifel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c68b51/32.png) [@Terrifel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Terrifel)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2009, 12:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-travesties-the-shams-and-the-mockeries-remakes/484138/62 "2009-02-04T00:27:31Z")
The 1999 version of “The Haunting” taught us that the antonym of “wisdom” is “bontness.” ---
**Author:** ![August\_West](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/august_west/32/18069_2.png) [@August\_West](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/August_West)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2009, 12:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-travesties-the-shams-and-the-mockeries-remakes/484138/63 "2009-02-04T00:59:38Z")
Just heard on the radio this morning that a remake of “Slap Shot” is going into production. Where are they going to find dopey-looking triplet hockey goons to play the Hansons? But more to the point, WHY?!?!? ---
**Author:** ![NDP](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ndp/32/55_2.png) [@NDP](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NDP)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2009, 1:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-travesties-the-shams-and-the-mockeries-remakes/484138/64 "2009-02-04T01:00:18Z")
> [@teela\_brown](#): > > Since I dearly loved the original _The Ladykillers_ and I dearly love Coen Brothers movies, I was sure that the CBs’ remake was a match made in heaven. > > I was oh, so wrong. It just plain old didn’t work. And Tom Hanks was the worst thing about it. The best thing about it was the Vietnamese ex-general and how he defended his doughnut shop. > > Whenever the original is shown, I have to watch it so that I continue to eradicate the memory of the second one. I usually don’t mind Hanks but I think **The Ladykillers** remake would’ve been considerably better if the CBs’ had cast Christopher Walken (or even Kevin Spacey) in that role. Having Steve Buscemi as one of the gang would not have hurt either. ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2009, 1:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-travesties-the-shams-and-the-mockeries-remakes/484138/65 "2009-02-04T01:03:27Z")
> [@August\_West](#): > > JWhere are they going to find dopey-looking triplet hockey goons to play the Hansons? The Hansons make a good living making appearances at hockey games even today. They could do it if necessary. ---
**Author:** ![Tuckerfan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/eada6e/32.png) [@Tuckerfan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tuckerfan)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2009, 1:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-travesties-the-shams-and-the-mockeries-remakes/484138/66 "2009-02-04T01:09:56Z")
> [@August\_West](#): > > Just heard on the radio this morning that a remake of “Slap Shot” is going into production. > > Where are they going to find dopey-looking triplet hockey goons to play the Hansons? > > But more to the point, WHY?!?!? They’ll probably rewrite the roles and give it to [the _other_ Hansons](http://www.hanson.net/) or the Jonas brothers. _twitch_ ---
**Author:** ![even\_sven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/dfb087/32.png) [@even\_sven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/even_sven)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2009, 2:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-travesties-the-shams-and-the-mockeries-remakes/484138/67 "2009-02-04T02:47:26Z")
The first **Imitation of Life** (1934) is an okay movie that is a little interesting for its era. Sirk’s 1959 **Imitation of Life** is a masterpiece and among the best movies ever made. ---
**Author:** ![Cumberdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8c91f0/32.png) [@Cumberdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cumberdale)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2009, 3:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-travesties-the-shams-and-the-mockeries-remakes/484138/68 "2009-02-04T03:44:18Z")
Generally, I really don’t have a problem with remakes. If the people involved have a good story or an interesting take on an existing story, I’d love to see it. Unfortunately, the powers that be, grab any name that is known and then build a half assed story around it. For example, Tim Burtons Planet of the Apes was dreadful. They could have done several things to make it better. They could have followed the book the story was based on which would have been one way. One idea I think could have worked is to take the story that Stalin had tried to create an army of ape/human hybrids during his rule. It didn’t create the army he wanted, but deep in Siberia, the few “successes” of the project were still around. Much later, the decedents of colonizers on another planet return to earth to find the ape hybrids in control then learn that it was humans playing in “gods domain” that caused the humans to lose their position as top dog on earth. I may not have explained that well, and the idea may suck, but it can’t be any worse that what we ended up seeing. As for the Pink Panther, when I see Martin do his Clouseau it looks to me, like some guy trying to do a cheesy french impression. I don’t by him as a “real” person. They should have introduced a completely new characters. I think they were on the right path with Revenge of the Pink Panther and having a totally new detective. Unfortunately, the story didn’t evolve, they basically did the Sellers character with someone else and the results were crap. ---
**Author:** ![Yookeroo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yookeroo/32/323_2.png) [@Yookeroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yookeroo)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2009, 7:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-travesties-the-shams-and-the-mockeries-remakes/484138/69 "2009-02-04T07:11:03Z")
> [@Cumberdale](#): > > As for the Pink Panther, when I see Martin do his Clouseau it looks to me, like some guy trying to do a cheesy french impression. And this differs from the original how? I have zero interest in the remake and the sequel, but Peter Sellers was pure Velveeta. Funny, but cheesy. ---
**Author:** ![Peter\_Morris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peter_morris/32/359_2.png) [@Peter\_Morris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peter_Morris)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2009, 7:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-travesties-the-shams-and-the-mockeries-remakes/484138/70 "2009-02-04T07:59:53Z")
> [@aldiboronti](#): > > I’ve seen both movies. Believe me, it’s a remake, and a particularly dire one at that. As the IMDB page you link says, Bedtime Story was \*Remade in 1988 as “Dirty Rotten Scoundrels.” > \* Yes, in fact I did notice what the IMDB page says. It also says that Khel is a remake of both BS and DRS. Khel Plot : [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0102200/plotsummary](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0102200/plotsummary) Movie connections : [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0102200/movieconnections](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0102200/movieconnections) Is this reliable information? I see almost no connection in the plot, except for a con man saying he hasn’t eaten for days. Other than that, no connection. I don’t find the supposed movie connections very plausible, sometimes. Quite often, in fact. This is one of them. ---
**Author:** ![deadindays](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ce73a5/32.png) [@deadindays](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/deadindays)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2009, 9:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-travesties-the-shams-and-the-mockeries-remakes/484138/71 "2009-02-04T09:12:41Z")
Am I the first to mention Woodstock? ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2009, 4:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-travesties-the-shams-and-the-mockeries-remakes/484138/72 "2009-02-04T16:05:58Z")
> [@August\_West](#): > > Where are they going to find dopey-looking triplet hockey goons to play the Hansons? Get the Phelps brothers from _Harry Potter_ to play hockey and find a lookalike. The original Hanson brothers weren’t played by real triplets, anyway. ---
**Author:** ![Ceejaytee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ceejaytee/32/2956_2.png) [@Ceejaytee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ceejaytee)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2009, 5:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-travesties-the-shams-and-the-mockeries-remakes/484138/73 "2009-02-04T17:07:30Z")
Scarily, they’re remaking Bonnie and Clyde with . . . [Hilary Duff](http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117999103.html?categoryid=13&cs=1). See the scathing article in the [Sun Times](http://www.suntimes.com/entertainment/zwecker/1400228,CST-FTR-zp28.article). ---
**Author:** ![Tuckerfan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/eada6e/32.png) [@Tuckerfan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tuckerfan)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2009, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-travesties-the-shams-and-the-mockeries-remakes/484138/74 "2009-02-04T17:14:27Z")
> [@Ceejaytee](#): > > Scarily, they’re remaking Bonnie and Clyde with . . . [Hilary Duff](http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117999103.html?categoryid=13&cs=1). See the scathing article in the [Sun Times](http://www.suntimes.com/entertainment/zwecker/1400228,CST-FTR-zp28.article). There. Is. No. God. ---
**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:** [February 4, 2009, 6:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-travesties-the-shams-and-the-mockeries-remakes/484138/75 "2009-02-04T18:03:50Z")
> [@Ceejaytee](#): > > Scarily, they’re remaking Bonnie and Clyde with . . . [Hilary Duff](http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117999103.html?categoryid=13&cs=1). See the scathing article in the [Sun Times](http://www.suntimes.com/entertainment/zwecker/1400228,CST-FTR-zp28.article). That article specificially says its not a remake. In fact, the whole blurb seems to be little more than an excuse to slam Hillary Duff and falsely credit the catty remark to Faye Dunaway. ---
**Author:** ![NDP](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ndp/32/55_2.png) [@NDP](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NDP)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2009, 8:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-travesties-the-shams-and-the-mockeries-remakes/484138/76 "2009-02-04T20:46:17Z")
> [@Cumberdale](#): > > Generally, I really don’t have a problem with remakes. If the people involved have a good story or an interesting take on an existing story, I’d love to see it. Unfortunately, the powers that be, grab any name that is known and then build a half assed story around it. > > For example, Tim Burtons Planet of the Apes was dreadful. They could have done several things to make it better. They could have followed the book the story was based on which would have been one way. I don’t necessarily give the entire blame to Burton for the pedestrian quality of the POTA “re-imagining.” A lot of it had to do with Fox’s executive meddling and the pressure to quickly produce a $100M+ action/sci-fi epic just before a seemingly-unavoidable combined writer & actor strike was going to shut down Hollywood for months. Of course, the dual strike ended up being averted so the rush job turned out to be for nothing. In any case, even going back to the first series, the POTA movies seem to have a tradition of not fully exploiting the possibilites offered in their central premise. [QUOTE-deadindays] Am I the first to mention Woodstock? [/QUOTE] Which one? Musically, I thought the 1994 one was pretty good. However, the one they did in 1999 was a fiasco. ---
**Author:** ![Cumberdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8c91f0/32.png) [@Cumberdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cumberdale)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2009, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-travesties-the-shams-and-the-mockeries-remakes/484138/77 "2009-02-04T21:39:00Z")
> [@Yookeroo](#): > > And this differs from the original how? I have zero interest in the remake and the sequel, but Peter Sellers was pure Velveeta. Funny, but cheesy. I probably didn’t explain it very well, but I do agree that Sellers was cheesy. I just wanted to say that in spite of that, when I watch him, I see Clouseau. With Martin, I see him “doing” Clouseau, rather than the character of Clouseau being performed by the actor. Not sure this makes any sense, but can’t think of another way to put it right now. ---
**Author:** ![Lumpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lumpy/32/446_2.png) [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2009, 10:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-travesties-the-shams-and-the-mockeries-remakes/484138/78 "2009-02-04T22:17:54Z")
> [@Fish](#): > > Is it too early to call [Ghostbusters III](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1289401/) a travesty? The question is, will it be Ghostbusters III or Ghostbusters II II? It could be done with an otherwise new crew if Bill Murray agreed to star in it as ghost. ---
**Author:** ![BwanaBob](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bwanabob/32/2985_2.png) [@BwanaBob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BwanaBob)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2009, 10:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-travesties-the-shams-and-the-mockeries-remakes/484138/79 "2009-02-04T22:37:24Z")
We may need a second thread to rip apart reboots of movies, such as “The Mummy” and the imminent “Wolfman”. I would have enjoyed the former much more if it had a different title. I’ll say the Dune mini-series was needless. It had a chance at expanding on the DeLaurentiis movie but they went cheap by filming in Prague and using nearly unwatchable costumes. Add William (Movie-Ruiner) Hurt and you got crap. I’m nervous about the new Dune movie. ---
**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:** [February 5, 2009, 12:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-travesties-the-shams-and-the-mockeries-remakes/484138/80 "2009-02-05T00:54:22Z")
Several of the ones I’d list have already been named – **The Pink Panther, Charade, Planet of the Apes, Psycho** I’ll add: **Flight of the Phoenix** – the original with Jimmy Stewart, Richard Attenborough, Peter Finch, and Ernest Borgnine was perfect. Why redo it? **The Day the Earth Stood Still** – haven’t seen the remake yet, but from what I’ve seen, I dont see the point. The original is a rare example of a good science fiction flick. **Manhunter** --Michael Mann’s first take on Thomas Harris’ novel was compelling and great. Did we need to remake it just so Anthon Hopkins could play Hannibal Lector in it? **The Day of the Jackal** – Fred Zinneman’s version was _perfect_. Why remake it and screw it up? I’ll disagree with the earlier post about **King Kong** – I loved Jackson’s film. It wasn’t pointless – it was a considerable re-imagining of the original, especially interesting for how it re-imagines Carl Denham, Ann Darrow, Captain Engelhorn, the _Venture_ itself, and Jack Driscoll – not to mention Kong himself. The special effects were gorgeous, but the screenplay was incredible itself. If you want to see a pointless remake, look at the 1976 travesty with its Lorenzo Semple script. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-travesties-the-shams-and-the-mockeries-remakes/484138.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-travesties-the-shams-and-the-mockeries-remakes/484138.md?page=5)