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Guilty Pleasures Review
at Too Many Colors
A guilty pleasure movie is one that you like, but you don't go around saying that. You know you shouldn't, you know it's all beneath you, yet you can't help watching them again and again. |
Guilty Pleasures
Movies about Rag-Tag Kids
by Erik Swedlund
I, like most decent, childless adults, do not watch children's
movies.
Or at least that's what I tell my friends.
In reality, I love those rag-tag kids. You know the ones--that
rag-tag group of misfits, the nerdy but loveable ones. They're
shunned and laughed at by the "in" crowd, forced to band
together for protection. They don't have a chance at winning
the big competition. . . OR DO THEY? That contraption
of theirs is crazy. . . BUT IT'S SO CRAZY IT JUST MIGHT
WORK! That little one standing at the back is quiet. . .
A LITTLE TOO QUIET!
Most movies like this are made for a young audience. It's an
audience that enjoys seeing images of themselves on the big
screen, and never tires of the formulaic underdog plot. Then
again, that pretty well describes all audiences. The
real distinguishing point is the squeaky clean rating given by
the MPAA. You could argue that this basic plot outline fits
The Rocky Horror Picture Show, but you ain't seeing that
at the free noon matinee. |
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But it's so crazy it just
might work!
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The Rating System
- Guilt
from 1-5
How bad you feel about watching the movie. Inversely
proportional to the chance you will tell your friends you've
seen it.
Pleasure from 1-5
The amount of perverse enjoyment you receive while holed up
in a dark, locked room, watching the flick.
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So, then, here are my favorites from
this guilty-pleasure-laden genre (title links take you to the
film's page on the Internet Movie Database):
Technically, not a guilty pleasure. It's not guilty
because it's an excellent movie and everyone says so--I'm not
at all ashamed to admit I like it. Plus, it's loaded with
street cred: story by Stephen King, starring River Phoenix,
Cory Feldman, Wil Wheaton, and
Jerry "Sliders" O'Connel. Not at the top of their
professions, maybe, but recognizable names at least. It's on
this list to give a baseline for the ratings system.
Guilt: 0
Pleasure: 4
Again with River Phoenix, this time joined by Ethan Hawke. A
group of three rag-tag kids build a spaceship out of an old
tilt-a-whirl seat and a bizarre, computer generated bubble.
It gets rather silly at the end. Still, it touches the geek
in all of us. A low guilt score, because most people have
never heard of it--hence I'm not too ashamed to admit I
like it.
Guilt: 2
Pleasure: 3
A group of rag-tag kids play baseball and horse around. If you
thought Walter Matthau ruined The Bad News Bears, then
this is for you. If, like a sane person, you recognize Mr.
Matthau's comic genius as a baseball coach, then The
Sandlot can only provide some low-rent chuckles based on
some very broad stereotypes.
Guilt: 3
Pleasure: 2
A group of rag-tag highschoolers from Hawaii (including Casey
Affleck), led by their teachers (Halle Berry and James
Belushi), head to Australia to race their solar car in the
international competition (against German bad guy Steve Zahn).
Lots of solar-powered fun as their crazy contraption careens
through the Outback.
Guilt: 4
Pleasure: 4
Only one kid; a rag-tag gaggle of geese star in this
super-sappy tearjerker. I can't help but love it, it's so
adorable. Anna Paquin and her father, Jeff Daniels, use their
ultralight airplanes to teach orphaned geese how to migrate.
Awwwwwww!
Guilt: 5
Pleasure: 5 |
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