Guilty Pleasure Films

Ok so I’ve been reading some fabulous Blog Every Day (in May…it’s a thing) posts from Becky and Janet among others, and feeling quite left out of the party as it’s simply not feasible for me to blog every day this month of all months. But today’s prompt is too fun for me to resist, so I will try to scribble out something while my Mom snores off her jetlag in the next room (ahem, I mean, my Mother doesn’t snore…I CERTAINLY do not snore, it’s not genetic at ALL …*cough*).

Anyway today’s prompt is Guilty Pleasure Films. I mean, honestly, I feel like I watch so many films in this category that I can hardly pretend to be at all snooty on the subject. I suppose some people might consider “Pride and Prejudice” a guilty pleasure in amongst all their Truffaut and Von Trier. I am not one of those people.  I do like critically good movies, but oh how I love bad, occasionally very bad movies...

Save the Last Dance : To be honest, any film that involves dance and romance is a winner for me, I have seen EVERY Step Up film. But Save the Last Dance was one of the first to perfect the formula – well the modern formula of ballerina girl learns urban “street dance” moves, from boy from wrong side of the tracks, romance ensues. Julia Stiles is particularly good in this, the chemistry between the leads isn't over-egged, and I have only recently learned that Kerri Washington is in it too, which I never realized, which means I actually have not seen this film in far too long!

Step Brothers : I generally have an aversion to dumb, bloke-y comedies. But I love this one. Probably because I love John C.Reilly with a passion that dates back to his scene stealing turn in Georgia. And he and Will Ferrell just play together so well – it’s silly, it’s occasionally gross, but it’s never mean or nasty. It’s about two grown a** men who still live with their parents, who must then become step brothers when their parents marry. It’s smart about how stupid it’s being (I think!). Their rap parody “Boats N Hoes” cracks me up every time. And the friendship two of life’s rejects strike up is quite sweet. It reminds me a teensy bit of Napoleon Dynamite, in that these guys think they are awesome and give each other all the self -belief in the world, and I love that. Quality support from Mary Steenburgen and and a host of others helps.

Pretty in Pink : Ok this is maybe considered enough of an 80’s classic, I mean it is John Hughes and all, to not be a guilty pleasure? For me it is a guilty pleasure I think in that I can in no way justify watching it another time in my lifetime, but if it’s ever on telly, as Viva were showing it every Saturday there for a while, I cannot pass it by, even though I own the dvd. Especially if Andrew McCarthy is making those weirdly adorable googly eyes or James Spader is being awesomely smarmy. I don’t even think it’s as good as The Breakfast Club, but I can’t resist the soundtrack or Molly Ringwald’s vintage wardrobe or Harry Dean Stanton’s sad eyes. Another wrong side of the tracks (Molly's character literally lives near train tracks, and she works in a record shop called....TRAX...subtle, no?) romance, it’s just so fabulous-ly 80’s, in a good way. And while other films of the era and genre are maybe funnier, less heavy handed, none of them have Andrew McCarthy in a white tuxedo, mumbling lines so earnestly the way only he could to "If You Leave" playing in the background (seriously best soundtrack ever, The Smiths, Echo & the Bunnymen, New Order, Suzanne Vega - insane...I used to have the cassette! Yes I am old). If my prom had been held in 1985 and there were boys in white tuxedos, I totally would have gone, instead of sitting home brooding over my Heathers vhs video tape recorded off the t.v. by my awesome Aunt Megan for me. Simpler times...

Mannequin : Oh yes. We’re not even pretending this is good. There may be an Andrew McCarthy blind spot here. My roommate and I used to rent this movie regularly – we’d go into the video shop (remember those!) in hipster Brooklyn, intent on getting a new release, and somehow we’d just end up renting Mannequin again. It just ticks every box, somehow, despite not actually being a very good film. In short: Andrew McCarthy is a young shop worker at a fading dept. store (Sophia from the Golden Girls owns the shop!). Late one night a miracle occurs, Starship plays, and a mannequin comes to life in the form of young, beautiful Kim Cattrall to change Andrew - I mean, Jonathan's bad fortune with her mystic shop window decorating powers. It’s 80’s yuppie villain-tastic, cheesy and totally, ludicrously enjoyable. Did I mention it has Andrew McCarthy in it? ;-0 Fair warning though, you cannot watch this film and not get "Nothing's Gonna Stop Us Now" stuck in a loop in your head for dayyyys.

No Andrew, it's not creepy at allll!

Taken : I’ve mentioned my weakness for Liam Neeson revenge films before. I can’t explain it. It makes no sense. I know they are bad but I can’t stop watching them, in this case I’ve seen original Taken like three or four times (modest estimate not including times when I watch "just a few minutes"). What the hell is wrong with me?! I hate dumb action movies. But the formula is like crack to me. Liam Neeson is a one man rescue mission when his daughter is kidnapped by Algerians in Paris. Don’t kidnap Liam Neeson’s daughter, because HE WILL FIND YOU HE WILL KILL YOU! Mwahaha. I’m deranged. Unfortunately for me they keep churning them out. I have a couple lined up on my Amazon Prime list even as we speak. My shame is deep, but I am powerless. Growl your Irish grumpy growl and save the world Liam, you can do it!!

Turner & Hooch : Of all the slobbery dog movies, this one wins…until they go and give it the WORST ENDING EVER! Seriously, I sob if I make the mistake of watching it to the end, which I never do, I just the watch the happy, Tom Hanks playing tug of war in his pants with a 200lb French mastiff bits. I do like 80’s Tom Hanks films, I think they remind me of my childhood. In this classic, Hanks is a cop about to move when one last case pulls him back in, with the only witness to a murder being…Hooch the dog. I just love watching films with giant slobbery dogs, I don’t think I could handle one so big in real life though so it’s a bit of escapist dog porn…dog porn?! Sorry...um you know what I mean…hopefully!

I could go on and on, these probably aren’t even my worst contenders, so I may have to pick this up again at some point! What are your guilty pleasure films?