The Joy of Bad Movies

Okay, this is going to sound entirely perverse, if not slightly kinky; but there are sometimes pleasures that might occur for watching a movie that critics panned.

I find that Rotten_Tomatoes is a good source for obtaining information as to how a potential movie was received by large numbers of critics and everyday audience members.  I fall in the latter category; I claim no critical distinction as to being a discerning viewer.

Some things just hit me right, or they don't.  Consider The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoise; the critics practically unanimously loved it; it got 98% positive rating.  On the other hand, The Sweetest Thing garnered only a 26% positive rating.  Yet I found the first to be a pretentious bore, but the second one I loved.

Why did I love it?  Maybe it was the felicitous combination of Cameron Diaz, Selma Blair, and Christina Applegate in a raunchy comedy that I needed for a pick-me-up.  Certainly, anything that would include the S.F. restaurant scene when the crowd did "The Penis Song" merits at least a look.

Or that cultish The Boondock Saints.  Having William DeVane playing a gay F.B.I. agent, the cartoonish gunplay, and other reasons made it memorable despite a mere 20% Rotten Tomatoes rating.

And, as crass as I might sound, I liked Paris Hilton in House of Wax (25% rating).  Partly, it's a swimming-against-the-current thing when everyone seemed so down on her; it was a willingness to give her a chance.

So, whatever heck the rating is, I plan to see We're the Millers soon. 

The Germans have a word: scheissenbedaurn to refer to the disappointment that occurs when things are not as bad as they were expected to be.  Some people actually watch some movies with the expectation that they will be truly bad.  And they're disappointed when they're not.

I prefer to approach movies with an optimistic attitude.