# When a great cast rescues a cheesy movie **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [January 25, 2009, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-a-great-cast-rescues-a-cheesy-movie/482959 "2009-01-25T21:16:58Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2009, 4:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-a-great-cast-rescues-a-cheesy-movie/482959/41 "2009-01-26T16:53:26Z")
I just saw Inkheart, which IMHO was made from a fairly tepid YA fantasy, but they had the genius to cast Brendan Frasier- same with the most recent Journey to the Center of the Earth. Even so, Brendan couldn’t save Dudley Do-right.:eek:☹ **choie** , I agree with Zorro, tGB, but there’s also the fact that the film works on several levels- action, parody, etc. As to Casino Royale, the first one, I rather like the David Neiven scenes, but once Allen gets in there, the film goes horribly wrong. ---
**Author:** ![MadTheSwine](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9fc29f/32.png) [@MadTheSwine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MadTheSwine)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2009, 5:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-a-great-cast-rescues-a-cheesy-movie/482959/42 "2009-01-26T17:05:48Z")
I was gonna say Short Cuts but even Julianne Moore Matthew Modine Anne Archer Fred Ward Jennifer Jason Leigh Chris Penn Robert Downey Jr. Madeleine Stowe Tim Robbins Lily Tomlin Tom Waits Frances McDormand Peter Gallagher Lori Singer Jack Lemmon Lyle Lovett Buck Henry and Huey Lewis Could not save it,so nevermind. ---
**Author:** ![Cervaise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cervaise/32/16693_2.png) [@Cervaise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cervaise)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2009, 5:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-a-great-cast-rescues-a-cheesy-movie/482959/43 "2009-01-26T17:09:11Z")
> [@Bosstone](#): > > And although he doesn’t make up a great cast by himself, John Turturro saved **Transformers**. If there’s room for “single performance redeems a movie” in this thread, then I nominate Reese Witherspoon in _Legally Blond._ Without her, it’s a C-minus programmer at best. Witherspoon, however, gives an A, maybe A-minus, performance, and the movie is worth watching just for her. I’ve heard similar things about Anna Faris in _House Bunny._ ---
**Author:** ![Hampshire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hampshire/32/4887_2.png) [@Hampshire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hampshire)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2009, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-a-great-cast-rescues-a-cheesy-movie/482959/44 "2009-01-26T17:26:59Z")
**Sneakers** was probably a below average film but was a lot of fun watching becasue of it’s great cast: Robert Redford Sydney Poitier River Phoenix Ben Kingsley James Earl Jones ---
**Author:** ![Kizarvexius](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/da6949/32.png) [@Kizarvexius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kizarvexius)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2009, 6:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-a-great-cast-rescues-a-cheesy-movie/482959/45 "2009-01-26T18:31:55Z")
> [@Robot\_Arm](#): > > Dora Charleston: I don’t understand. Why would anybody want to steal a dead, naked body? > Dick Charleston: Well, dear, there are people who, um… > [whispers rest into her ear] > Dora Charleston: Oh, that’s tacky! That’s REALLY tacky! And no transcript can possibly do justice to Dame Maggie’s delivery of “that’s tacky”. She utterly slays me with those two words every time. Comic artistry at its very finest. ---
**Author:** ![control-z](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/eada6e/32.png) [@control-z](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/control-z)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2009, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-a-great-cast-rescues-a-cheesy-movie/482959/46 "2009-01-26T19:38:23Z")
[Mars Attacks!](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0116996/) You’ve got Jack Nicholson, Glenn Close, Annette Bening, Pierce Brosnan, Danny DeVito, Martin Short, Sarah Jessica Parker, Michael J. Fox, Natalie Portman, Pam Grier, and more, all in a cheesy movie. As one reviewer says: “It’s ‘Independence Day’ meets ‘Pee Wee’s Big Adventure’ with Tim Burton again at the helm.” ---
**Author:** ![BlinkingDuck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/eada6e/32.png) [@BlinkingDuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BlinkingDuck)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2009, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-a-great-cast-rescues-a-cheesy-movie/482959/47 "2009-01-26T20:01:14Z")
Not a movie…but the original Adam’s Family ‘sitcom’ was completely sucky…except the actors which made it a fun show to watch. ---
**Author:** ![Chum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/3ab097/32.png) [@Chum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chum)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2009, 8:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-a-great-cast-rescues-a-cheesy-movie/482959/48 "2009-01-26T20:37:54Z")
> [@control-z](#): > > [Mars Attacks!](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0116996/) > > You’ve got Jack Nicholson, Glenn Close, Annette Bening, Pierce Brosnan, Danny DeVito, Martin Short, Sarah Jessica Parker, Michael J. Fox, Natalie Portman, Pam Grier, and more, all in a cheesy movie. As one reviewer says: “It’s ‘Independence Day’ meets ‘Pee Wee’s Big Adventure’ with Tim Burton again at the helm.” Oh, but they _don’t_ rescue it. It remains not merely a cheesy movie, but a profoundly awful one. ---
**Author:** ![control-z](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/eada6e/32.png) [@control-z](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/control-z)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2009, 8:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-a-great-cast-rescues-a-cheesy-movie/482959/49 "2009-01-26T20:51:39Z")
> [@Chum](#): > > Oh, but they _don’t_ rescue it. It remains not merely a cheesy movie, but a profoundly awful one. Yeah, but they weren’t trying to be Oscar material. It’s a cheesy fun movie. ---
**Author:** ![GargoyleWB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gargoylewb/32/199_2.png) [@GargoyleWB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GargoyleWB)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2009, 10:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-a-great-cast-rescues-a-cheesy-movie/482959/50 "2009-01-26T22:47:52Z")
**Frankenstein Unbound** , a B sci-fi movie with superb performances by John Hurt and Raul Julia, who gave the movie infinitely more class and credibility than it deserved. ---
**Author:** ![garygnu](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/garygnu/32/2924_2.png) [@garygnu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/garygnu)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2009, 11:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-a-great-cast-rescues-a-cheesy-movie/482959/51 "2009-01-26T23:28:06Z")
It’s OK for people to have different opinions about movies, **gary**. \ It’s OK for people to have different opinions about movies, **gary**. \ It’s OK for people to have different opinions about movies, **gary** … ---
**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:** [January 26, 2009, 11:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-a-great-cast-rescues-a-cheesy-movie/482959/52 "2009-01-26T23:52:05Z")
> [@Hampshire](#): > > **Sneakers** was probably a below average film but was a lot of fun watching becasue of it’s great cast: > > Robert Redford > Sydney Poitier > River Phoenix > Ben Kingsley > James Earl Jones AHEM! You forgot Mary McDonnell Who also helped save **Independence Day** , IMHO. Cheesy, silly, horrible script, played well enough by her and: Wil Smith Jeff Goldblum Bill Pullman Robert Loggia Randy Quaid Brent Spiner and of course, my boyfriend, Adam Baldwin that it was a fun ride if you just turned your brain off and went with it. ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2009, 1:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-a-great-cast-rescues-a-cheesy-movie/482959/53 "2009-01-27T01:38:03Z")
**Troy**. Hardly a miscast. It wasn’t good enough to recommend to friends, although I enjoyed seeing it, but I hesitate to think how much it would have sucked if it have the cast it did. ---
**Author:** ![Green\_Bean](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/green_bean/32/1760_2.png) [@Green\_Bean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Green_Bean)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2009, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-a-great-cast-rescues-a-cheesy-movie/482959/54 "2009-01-27T18:19:03Z")
Ah, thought of another one… **Along Came Polly**. I guess it’s more of a case of a great supporting cast, though. Ben Stiller and Jennifer Aniston are pretty meh in it, but I’ll still watch it because I get such a giggle out of the performances of Philip Seymour Hoffman, Bryan Brown, Alec Baldwin, Debra Messing, Michelle Lee, and Hank “Are you for scooobah?” Azaria. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Superhero](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/73ab20/32.png) [@The\_Superhero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Superhero)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2009, 12:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-a-great-cast-rescues-a-cheesy-movie/482959/55 "2009-01-28T00:27:16Z")
Imagine the 1980 “Flash Gordon” without Max von Sydow, Topol, Brian Blessed and Timothy Dalton. It goes instantly from “fun camp” to “utterly unwatchable.” No amount of Brian May rocking out could have saved it without the cast hamming it up shamelessly. To me, that’s the hallmark of what the OP is asking. “The Princess Bride” would probably still be pretty good with other actors (save Andre the Giant; lots of actors out there can do “Bland Hero/Heroine,” “Crotchety Old Jew” or “Spanish Swordsman,” but Andre is Fezzik). The cast is very good, but they don’t make or break the movie. But in the case of “Flash Gordon,” I think the whole thing would fall apart without von Sydow’s Ming and Blessed’s Vultan. ---
**Author:** ![Valgard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/7feea3/32.png) [@Valgard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Valgard)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2009, 12:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-a-great-cast-rescues-a-cheesy-movie/482959/56 "2009-01-28T00:52:08Z")
> [@Unauthorized\_Cinnamon](#): > > AHEM! > > You forgot Mary McDonnell And you forgot Dan Akroyd. “I want a Winnebago.” “That’s the same kind of camera NASA used when they faked the moon landings.” Another agreement on “Murder By Death”. “I am not a Frenchy! I am a Belgy!” “Theory has only one problem. Is stupid! Is most stupid thing I ever hear!” I came in to say “Bubba Ho-Tep”, a thoroughly cheap Q-grade mummy film which looks like it had a budget of about $12.97. It is saved by Bruce Campbell as Elvis and Ossie Davis as John F. Kennedy. ---
**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:** [January 28, 2009, 6:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-a-great-cast-rescues-a-cheesy-movie/482959/57 "2009-01-28T06:25:17Z")
> [@Hampshire](#): > > **Sneakers** was probably a below average film but was a lot of fun watching becasue of it’s great cast: > > Robert Redford > Sydney Poitier > River Phoenix > Ben Kingsley > James Earl Jones I think it would have been an average film (the script really is quite good) but yes, the fantastic cast makes this film one of my faves. The end scene alone is worth the price of admission. “All right…_Tahiti!_” ---
**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:** [January 29, 2009, 5:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-a-great-cast-rescues-a-cheesy-movie/482959/58 "2009-01-29T05:04:52Z")
> [@well\_he\_s\_back](#): > > “What’s Up Doc?” was a good homage to screwball comedies but it worked well because of its supporting cast. Yes. With Madeline Kahn, it’s a comic masterpiece. Without her, it woulda been a vaguely interesting piece of cinefile homework. ---
**Author:** ![Spoke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e57/32.png) [@Spoke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoke)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2009, 5:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-a-great-cast-rescues-a-cheesy-movie/482959/59 "2009-01-29T05:45:56Z")
I’m gonna say **Midnight Run**. I think if you read the script without having seen the movie, it would seem like a pretty run-of-the mill buddy picture. De Niro and Grodin elevate it to the sublime (with the help of a terrific supporting cast). ---
**Author:** ![Rick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/9f8e36/32.png) [@Rick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2009, 6:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-a-great-cast-rescues-a-cheesy-movie/482959/60 "2009-01-29T06:19:44Z")
I just bought and watched the blu-ray disk of Bullet. Beautiful transfer. Incredible chase scene. (worth the price of the disc) A plot that makes no sense. If it had not been for McQueen and cast, it would have sank like a stone. Instead it is iconic. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-a-great-cast-rescues-a-cheesy-movie/482959.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-a-great-cast-rescues-a-cheesy-movie/482959.md?page=4)