# What movies do you think are misnamed? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [August 12, 2003, 9:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-movies-do-you-think-are-misnamed/194733 "2003-08-12T21:30:12Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**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 13, 2003, 3:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-movies-do-you-think-are-misnamed/194733/21 "2003-08-13T15:57:03Z")
**The Blair Witch Project** should have been called **The “Let’s see how many idiots we can dupe into paying good money to see this crap while we sit in the projection booth and laugh till the pee runs down our legs” Project**. I’m still pissed about this. Dammit, give me my money back! * * * A Gay Bishop? Can’t beat that! ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2003, 4:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-movies-do-you-think-are-misnamed/194733/22 "2003-08-13T16:53:57Z")
Two movies that came out at around the same time were _Falling Down_ (about Michael Douglas playing an engineer who snaps one day) and _Point of No Return_ (with Bridget Fonda as a trained assassin, in a remake of _La Femme Nikita_). Interestingly, in _Falling Down_, Robert Duvall comments that Douglas’s character has “passed the point of no return” and in _Point of No Return_, Fonda at one point hums “London Bridge is falling down…” These two movies could easily have swapped titles and still worked. ---
**Author:** ![MovieMogul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f08c70/32.png) [@MovieMogul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MovieMogul)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2003, 5:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-movies-do-you-think-are-misnamed/194733/23 "2003-08-13T17:15:59Z")
> [@](#): > > The Naked Lunch [Nelson]I can think of at least two things wrong with that title.[/Nelson] ---
**Author:** ![Spoke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e57/32.png) [@Spoke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoke)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2003, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-movies-do-you-think-are-misnamed/194733/24 "2003-08-13T17:58:07Z")
One that always bugged me is [Primal Fear](http://us.imdb.com/Title?0117381), the Richard Gere / Edward Norton movie from a few years back. This was a fine film done a real disservice by its title. The title was obviously created by the same pinheads who changed “Cop Tips Waitress.” It tells you nothing about the movie, and it is eminently forgettable. It’s like one of those parodies of Hollywood movie titles they used to come up with on Seinfeld. ---
**Author:** ![greck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/7ab992/32.png) [@greck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/greck)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2003, 6:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-movies-do-you-think-are-misnamed/194733/25 "2003-08-13T18:01:32Z")
Yeah, I think when you have a psychological thriller, it has to be two powerful words like “fatal Attraction” “Basic Instinct” “prognosis negative” ---
**Author:** ![Grasshopper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/f19dbf/32.png) [@Grasshopper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grasshopper)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2003, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-movies-do-you-think-are-misnamed/194733/26 "2003-08-13T18:05:25Z")
**Waiting for Guffman** I love the movie, but the title annoys me. I know it’s a spin on Waiting for Godot, but Guffman wasn’t a major plot point. ---
**Author:** ![Edward\_The\_Head](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ce73a5/32.png) [@Edward\_The\_Head](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Edward_The_Head)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2003, 7:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-movies-do-you-think-are-misnamed/194733/27 "2003-08-13T19:18:18Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Wendell Wagner \* > \*\*The only case where I came out of a movie saying, “That was a great film. Somebody should have picked a better name” was _Chungking Express_: > > [http://us.imdb.com/Title?0109424](http://us.imdb.com/Title?0109424) > > I would have called it _California Dreaming_, even though that would have only applied to the last half of the film. \*\* You would pull something strange out of your hat. BTW I keep seeing you on that game show you were on. I know I’ve seen it on at least three times in the last couple of weeks. I could only watch once though. ---
**Author:** ![Wendell\_Wagner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8491ac/32.png) [@Wendell\_Wagner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wendell_Wagner)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2003, 1:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-movies-do-you-think-are-misnamed/194733/28 "2003-08-14T01:59:35Z")
Uh, say what? I have never been on a game show. Have you got me confused with someone else? ---
**Author:** ![MyFootsZZZ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/myfootszzz/32/12580_2.png) [@MyFootsZZZ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MyFootsZZZ)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2003, 2:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-movies-do-you-think-are-misnamed/194733/29 "2003-08-14T02:03:32Z")
I think “Do The Right Thing” and “You Can Count On Me”, sound sort of stupid. ---
**Author:** ![Treviathan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/838e76/32.png) [@Treviathan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Treviathan)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2003, 2:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-movies-do-you-think-are-misnamed/194733/30 "2003-08-14T02:09:26Z")
Not necessarily misnamed, but unless I missed it I can’t fathom why Paul Thomas Anderson named his three-hour pathos fest “Magnolia.” ---
**Author:** ![Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/earl_snake-hips_tucker/32/3269_2.png) [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earl_Snake-Hips_Tucker)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2003, 2:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-movies-do-you-think-are-misnamed/194733/31 "2003-08-14T02:41:00Z")
By the time the “Amos ‘n’ Andy” TV show came on, Amos (as the result of the radio series) had been relegated to a secondary character. By then it was really the (mis)adventures of Kingfish and Andy. Amos did not have many noteworthy appearances, serving mainly to introduce the programs. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2003, 3:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-movies-do-you-think-are-misnamed/194733/32 "2003-08-14T03:05:42Z")
Actually, the REALLY confusing P.T. Anderson film title is “Punch-Drunk Love.” A better title would’ve been “Two Hours of Little Pianos and Awkward Pauses, Occasionally Punctuated by Adam Sandler Yelling. And Pudding.” The remake of The Italian Job barely took place in Italy. 😛 And also sucked. Soul Survivors should’ve been called “Why Did You Rent Me, Jackass?” ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2003, 3:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-movies-do-you-think-are-misnamed/194733/33 "2003-08-14T03:33:33Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by dantheman \* > \*\*A sequel isn’t a continuation of the same story, Miller. It’s a new story. The only way “Neverending Story” would have been an accurate tale would be if the movie never ended. “Neverending Story” was a whole new movie, whole new story, whole new characters. \*\* Well, I’m still right. If it’s a whole new character in a whole new movie with a whole new story, then it’s simply a second story that’s _also_ neverending. So nyah. ---
**Author:** ![dantheman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dantheman/32/9421_2.png) [@dantheman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dantheman)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2003, 3:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-movies-do-you-think-are-misnamed/194733/34 "2003-08-14T03:38:54Z")
No, it’s simply a new movie piggybacking on the old name. A second movie that is indeed neverending. Which makes it a misnomer in the same sense that the first one was. Which is what I said. Neener neener, neener neener. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2003, 3:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-movies-do-you-think-are-misnamed/194733/35 "2003-08-14T03:42:03Z")
At this point, the only way I can save face is to bring up the ten plus Final Fantasy video games. What’s up with that? ---
**Author:** ![benthames](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/58f4c7/32.png) [@benthames](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/benthames)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2003, 5:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-movies-do-you-think-are-misnamed/194733/36 "2003-08-14T05:24:41Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Treviathan \* > \*\*Not necessarily misnamed, but unless I missed it I can’t fathom why Paul Thomas Anderson named his three-hour pathos fest “Magnolia.” \*\* I think it’s on IMDb…It’s named Magnolia because that’s the street Julianne Moore is driving down at the beginning of the movie. ---
**Author:** ![Sternvogel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bc79bd/32.png) [@Sternvogel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sternvogel)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2003, 5:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-movies-do-you-think-are-misnamed/194733/37 "2003-08-14T05:39:23Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Fiver \* > \*\*The movie about a cop and a waitress winning the lottery had an excellent title, taken from a real New York Post headline: _Cop Gives Waitress $2 Million Tip._ > > But some pinhead at the studio had to change it to _It Could Happen to You._ \*\* Similarly, the film _About Last Night_ was based on David Mamet’s Sexual Perversity in Chicago, but the title of the play was deemed too risque for a mainstream movie. Of course, that was all the way back in 1986… ---
**Author:** ![middleman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e9a140/32.png) [@middleman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/middleman)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2003, 2:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-movies-do-you-think-are-misnamed/194733/38 "2003-08-14T14:04:49Z")
I always thought that if Shawshank Redemption had a better title it would have done better at the box office. Fortunately, thanks to Video and TNT, it has become a smash hit after market. ---
**Author:** ![seriousart](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ebca7d/32.png) [@seriousart](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/seriousart)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2003, 3:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-movies-do-you-think-are-misnamed/194733/39 "2003-08-14T15:18:01Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by watsonwil \* > \*\*I always thought that if Shawshank Redemption had a better title it would have done better at the box office. > > Fortunately, thanks to Video and TNT, it has become a smash hit after market. \*\* Not too unlike Road To Perdition. I also agree that You Can Count on Me sounds a lot more like a sappy aftershool special than the fine indy flick it was. But my all time favorite bad title has to be Rambo: First Blood Part II. Um, wouldn’t that be _Second_ Blood? That one’s been bugging me for almost twenty years. Glad that’s finally off my chest. Incidentally, did anyone see the Dennis Leary Roast? Dr Dre and Ed Lover listed all of Dennis’ movies on a blackboard and retitled them, accordingly. IE: Operation Dumbo Drop became Operation Piece of Shit (IIRC). ---
**Author:** ![Snooooopy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ee7513/32.png) [@Snooooopy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snooooopy)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2003, 3:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-movies-do-you-think-are-misnamed/194733/40 "2003-08-14T15:22:21Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by FriarTed \* > \*\*godzillatemple, you took mine! _G_ > > So I will offer instead A CLOCKWORK ORANGE- no clocks, no oranges! > > Yeah yeah, I know… _L_ \*\* Grape-Nuts – no grapes, no nuts! [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-movies-do-you-think-are-misnamed/194733.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-movies-do-you-think-are-misnamed/194733.md?page=3)