Movies We're Embarrassed to Admit We Love
Every once in while I'm asked for my top five movies. It's fairly easy to come up with the likes of Spinal Tap and The Holy Grail or, if I'm feeling pretentious, Bunuel's The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie. However, there's another list that I rarely share with anyone - the guilty pleasures. These are the ones I can watch over and over and dip into at any point. Most for me are Brit rom-coms, especially those featuring either Hugh Grant and Colin Firth, or both. But top of the list is the 1989 Patrick Swayze vehicle "Roadhouse." Hear me out. I think I love Roadhouse for the same reason that I love watching MTV's "Jackass" or "Punk'd" late at night. Even when my brain is buzzing with a million things, it'll put me to sleep in less than half an hour tops. It's probably the sheer absurdity of the plot, which features Swayze as a "celebrity bouncer" and Travolta's main squeeze Kelly Lynch as a improbably foxy backwater doctor who's comfortable both in the ER and on the dancefloor of the "Double Deuce." The grizzled Sam Elliott even shows up to do some line dancing in the local Waffle House. What's not to love?So what are your guilty pleasures?
posted by The Blue Devil @ 12:54 PM
13 Comments:
1. Valley Girl - Nick Cage & Deborah Foreman
2. Starstruck - Jo Kennedy
3. The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension - Peter Weller, Jeff Goldblum, Christopher Lloyd
Oh, and 4. Broken Arrow - John Travolta/Christian Slater
You are looking for cheese in this thread, yes?
Oh, for me there are sooooo many... but if the criteria are embarassing movies I can watch over and over and dip into anytime, the top 3 would have to be:
1. The Cutting Edge
2. Footloose
3. Officer and a Gentleman
Great choices all round from both of you.
Funny that you mention "The Cutting Edge." I've been reading a book by Rolling Stone's Rob Sheffield and he mentioned that one as the one movie he and his wife Renee could watch over and over.
"Valley Girl" and "An Officer and a Gentlemen" would be on my list too.
Oh, and Karen's choice is the Russell Crowe swashbuckler "Master and Commander."
And I'm waiting for Davey to put in a nomination for "The Dambusters."
What's the dog's name?
Naughty! Mustn't say that. Have to say it ruins that picture for me.
I have to add that "Footloose" is one that I can watch over and over as well, mainly because the anti-Christian theme in it. I'd also have to add "Fame" and pretty much any other school or teen related picture, especially those 80s films by John Hughes with the Brat Pack in them (e.g. Breakfast Club, St. Elmo's Fire, etc.)
Ooooh, St. Elmo's Fire! Almost forgot about that one. I wasn't so much of a fan of Breakfast Club and Pretty in Pink, though. I'm definitely not a Molly Ringwald fan.
I'd add Fast Times at Ridgemont High to the list, except that liking that movie is considered cool, it's not an embarassing guilty pleasure.
C'mon! you two are confessing to love good films. Master & Commander, Fast Times, the John Hughes oeuvre? How brave.
What's next, the Godfather 1-3?
I gave you complete cheese. Betsy started ok with her 3. Let's have some more real Gorganzola here.
What, "Fame" wasn't cheesy enough for you, Gooner? How about "Kitty Foyle" or "That Hamilton Woman"? Or even "How to Marry a Millionaire"?
What, "Roadhouse" wasn't good enough for you, Gooner? And I don't exactly remember John Hughes earning any Oscars back in the 80s, do you?
Speaking of the "Godfather" trilogy, though, one of my favorite film memories stems from the sleepovers at the Nocitos. As I remember, in a time when VCRs and videotapes were still pretty novel, Dave and family had half a dozen classics that we'd watch over and over, including "The Godfather, Part 1," "Butch Cassidy," "Day of the Jackal" and "The Great Escape," all still favorites for me.
Roadhouse-check
Fame-check
John Hughes movies-oh no you didn't!
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