# What is the most entertaining movie you've ever seen? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** movies\ **Created:** [May 25, 2021, 5:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-entertaining-movie-youve-ever-seen/942897 "2021-05-25T17:49:21Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![digs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/digs/32/14889_2.png) [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2021, 11:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-entertaining-movie-youve-ever-seen/942897/61 "2021-05-26T23:00:08Z")
> [@Akaj](#): > > Simply the one that gave you the most flat-out joy while you were watching it for the first time. That’d be _Rat Race._ Mostly because my kids just loved it soooo much. We’d checked it out of the library (on VHS!) on a Friday night, and they wanted to watch it a second time, then a third… but by then it was bedtime, so they had to wait til morning… so of course they silently got up at dawn while the parents slept through the third showing. Part of that “joy” was a couple of tasteless lines that they just knew Mom wouldn’t approve of… But Dad loved 'em. > But the OP is asking for _purely_ entertaining movies, which aren’t necessarily _great_ movies. Tou, ché. ---
**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2021, 11:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-entertaining-movie-youve-ever-seen/942897/62 "2021-05-26T23:19:58Z")
I second this. I was 10 when it was released and I remember begging my older brother (16) for weeks to take me. He finally relented. At the opening scene I was floored when the two ships pass overhead shooting at each other. I was hooked. The only other movie experience that came close to that was “The Matrix”. When Trinity jumps up, time slows and the camera spun around her I was as floored as 10-year-old me was in Star Wars. ---
**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2021, 11:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-entertaining-movie-youve-ever-seen/942897/63 "2021-05-26T23:22:59Z")
A sadly underrated movie. For those interested you can watch it for free (with ads but those are really infrequent and skippable) on YouTube. This is legit. Really YouTube. No tricks. The whole movie (YouTube actually has a lot of free movies available). [![]( " - YouTube") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vx5lkGS4w30) ---
**Author:** ![chela](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chela/32/21582_2.png) [@chela](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chela)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2021, 12:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-entertaining-movie-youve-ever-seen/942897/64 "2021-05-27T00:01:07Z")
**Jackie Brown** is the most entertaining movie for me right now I’m watching on HBOmax. The music, the coolness, the dramedy, the humanity. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2021, 12:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-entertaining-movie-youve-ever-seen/942897/65 "2021-05-27T00:07:18Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > Animal House. However, I saw it when it was first released and at the time it was something completely new and different and broke ground in movie comedies. Then it was imitated time and again, then new comedies broke more ground. And today, it would cross many lines, but yeah, in those days it was funny as all get out. I nominate _The Princess Bride._ Comedy, action, romance, fantasy… it has everything. ---
**Author:** ![lobotomyboy63](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobotomyboy63/32/2900_2.png) [@lobotomyboy63](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lobotomyboy63)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2021, 12:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-entertaining-movie-youve-ever-seen/942897/66 "2021-05-27T00:15:55Z")
I liked Grosse Point Blank. [![](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/omcQzPqeHJA/hqdefault.jpg?sqp=-oaymwEmCOADEOgC8quKqQMa8AEB-AHOBYACkAOKAgwIABABGGUgUShDMA8=&rs=AOn4CLCAeAvLGQw0OGaGLpsDLCjsLHpE0Q "Gross Point Blank Live or Let Die") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=omcQzPqeHJA) Also Gremlins was really good. [![]( " - YouTube") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dc4GVysbn3Q) And Raiders [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/XkkzKHCx154/maxresdefault.jpg "HD - Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981) Theatrical Trailer") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XkkzKHCx154) ---
**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:** [May 27, 2021, 12:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-entertaining-movie-youve-ever-seen/942897/67 "2021-05-27T00:22:15Z")
I saw _Raiders of the Lost Ark_ in a special pre-screening. I had no idea what to expect. I didn’t have any knowledge that the movie was even in production, so it was a total surprise. An experience that may never be repeated. I also rank _Animal House_ right up there - I saw it just before I went off to college, and the theater was filled with rowdy teenagers, who were laughing so hard that you couldn’t hear the dialog. Another once-in-a-lifetime experience. I saw the re-release (with 20 minutes of extra footage) of _Lawrence of Arabia_ on the huge Cinerama screen at the Ciné Capri. Even at 4+ hours long, I didn’t want it to end - it was that good. ---
**Author:** ![Eonwe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eonwe/32/240_2.png) [@Eonwe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eonwe)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2021, 12:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-entertaining-movie-youve-ever-seen/942897/68 "2021-05-27T00:49:28Z")
Lots of great options already listed that would be in contention for my “most entertaining” movie, so I’ll add a different one: _Willow_ ---
**Author:** ![DorkVader](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/73ab20/32.png) [@DorkVader](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DorkVader)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2021, 12:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-entertaining-movie-youve-ever-seen/942897/69 "2021-05-27T00:56:54Z")
“The Conqueror” with John Wayne starring as Genghis Khan. I was 8? 9? 10? sleeping out on the back deck for the first time ever unsupervised. I snuck inside and pilfered the old, small black and white tv from the kitchen to watch late night movies and that was what was playing. I loved that movie, in that context and time, it was a bit of “illicit magic” for a young kid. ---
**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2021, 1:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-entertaining-movie-youve-ever-seen/942897/70 "2021-05-27T01:02:00Z")
> [@beowulff](#): > > I also rank _Animal House_ right up there - I saw it just before I went off to college, and the theater was filled with rowdy teenagers, who were laughing so hard that you couldn’t hear the dialog. Another once-in-a-lifetime experience. Animal House was the first R-rated movie I ever saw. It was a double-feature with Caddyshack (I know they came out a couple years apart). My sister and cousin took me. One of the best times going to the movies ever. ---
**Author:** ![lissener](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lissener/32/6139_2.png) [@lissener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lissener)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2021, 1:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-entertaining-movie-youve-ever-seen/942897/71 "2021-05-27T01:10:33Z")
In the past, a lot of people here have thought of me as a movie snob. (Which of course I am; I will never be embarrassed about having very high standards regarding art and artists.) But to me the most entertaining movie ever made is also among the worst movies ever made: _Bad Boys II_. ---
**Author:** ![Ziberian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/919ad9/32.png) [@Ziberian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ziberian)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2021, 1:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-entertaining-movie-youve-ever-seen/942897/72 "2021-05-27T01:11:15Z")
Tin Men – Richard Dreyfuss & Danny DeVito as 1950s aluminum siding salesmen. They played brilliantly off one another & it was laugh-out-loud funny. ---
**Author:** ![Snarky\_Kong](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a183cd/32.png) [@Snarky\_Kong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snarky_Kong)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2021, 1:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-entertaining-movie-youve-ever-seen/942897/73 "2021-05-27T01:29:33Z")
Probably some stupid comedy when I was a teenager. Nothing specific comes to mind right now though. Fury Road is definitely a contender. The Matrix too. ---
**Author:** ![Dung\_Beetle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dung_beetle/32/7945_2.png) [@Dung\_Beetle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dung_Beetle)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2021, 1:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-entertaining-movie-youve-ever-seen/942897/74 "2021-05-27T01:32:52Z")
I’m embarrassed to say this, though I feel sometimes that I represent the simple and the lowbrow amongst us…but there was a movie I wanted to see, and it was gorgeous, and it was witty, and it lived up to my expectations: Disney’s Aladdin. ---
**Author:** ![ParallelLines](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/parallellines/32/3575_2.png) [@ParallelLines](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ParallelLines)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2021, 1:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-entertaining-movie-youve-ever-seen/942897/75 "2021-05-27T01:36:35Z")
> [@Akaj](#): > > **Simply the one that gave you the most flat-out joy while you were watching it for the first time**. I had to _force_ myself to keep coming back to this line. Because a lot of the movies in the thread are ones I’ve watched countless times (Galaxy Quest, Princess Bride, and a few others) and never get tired of. But again, it had to be something that I was utter absorbed in enjoying the first time. And so, perhaps a strange choice, but I’m going to go with _Sin City_ - not because it’s my best, or favorite, or most re-watched, but because I had read most of the graphic novels well before I saw the movie and the movie was arguable a _perfect_ realization of the graphic novel. I was blown away from minute one, image one and carried through to the end without making me feel I wasn’t watching a novel literally come to life. I have similar feelings about both the LotR movies (which were the first I _ever_ paid to see back to back twice in a row to the pain of my poor bladder) and to a lesser extent The 300, but in each case there was just enough changes to drag me out of that perfect moment of immersion. ---
**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2021, 1:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-entertaining-movie-youve-ever-seen/942897/76 "2021-05-27T01:42:37Z")
> [@Snarky\_Kong](#): > > Probably some stupid comedy when I was a teenager. Porky’s? ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2021, 1:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-entertaining-movie-youve-ever-seen/942897/77 "2021-05-27T01:44:21Z")
_Singin’ in the Rain_. A delight from start to finish. ---
**Author:** ![Snarky\_Kong](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a183cd/32.png) [@Snarky\_Kong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snarky_Kong)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2021, 3:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-entertaining-movie-youve-ever-seen/942897/78 "2021-05-27T03:02:07Z")
I was a teenager in the late 90s early 2000s. Looking through rotten tomatoes: Happy Gilmore, There’s Something about Mary, Ace Venture, and Dumb and Dumber were all things I found really funny when I saw them. Probably still the Matrix though. ---
**Author:** ![Enjoy\_Slurm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/enjoy_slurm/32/3937_2.png) [@Enjoy\_Slurm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enjoy_Slurm)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2021, 3:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-entertaining-movie-youve-ever-seen/942897/79 "2021-05-27T03:13:03Z")
> [@Dung\_Beetle](#): > > Disney’s Aladdin. Animated or live action? I liked both but thought the animated version was more entertaining. ---
**Author:** ![TreacherousCretin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treacherouscretin/32/476_2.png) [@TreacherousCretin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TreacherousCretin)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2021, 3:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-entertaining-movie-youve-ever-seen/942897/80 "2021-05-27T03:20:24Z")
> [@digs](#): > > Harvey. (My mom’s too old for a message board, so I posted that for her. But I love Elwood P. Dowd, too.) That’s my answer as well. Your mother has excellent taste. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-entertaining-movie-youve-ever-seen/942897.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-entertaining-movie-youve-ever-seen/942897.md?page=5)