I have been listening to a podcast called "Breaking Kayfabe" while working out and one of the topics that comes up frequently are movie discussions. One discussion about bad movies from the 80s got me thinking about a topic.
Everyone has their "favorite movie list"- the quotable go to where you actively pop at key scenes while watching the movie for the 200th time. However, we also all have those mediocre movies- movies that we would never bring up, but on a quiet day where you are flipping through the television, you always stop and watch. This thread is devoted to sharing some of those movies.
I won't list many, but here are a couple.
My Fellow Americans- the odd buddy comedy pairing James Garner as a philander former Democratic president and Jack Lemmon as a tight ass former Republican president have a Planes, Trains, and Automobiles cross country escape from the NSA as the current president attempts to cover up a Watergate type of scandal. The premise is absurd, yet the cast is incredibly endearing. James Garner is fantastic.
The Rocker- This box office bomb white Dwight Schrute is a former drummer who got kicked out of a terrible 80s hairband before they hit it big is a very easy watch. Every character is likable, the music is decent, and it makes for a quick and easy watch.
The Ladies Man- I have never found anyone who doesn't like this movie yet nobody talks about it. Tim Meadows, who has basically been awful in every other SNL skit and movie he has been a part of, finds his voice in this movie. It is inappropriate, has Billy Dee Williams, and honestly I can watch Hillary Banks all day (the best smile in sitcom history.) However, I do have to fast forward through the Julianne Moore clown scene.
Major Payne- Again, no budget, yet the fish out of water thing works thanks to Damon Wayans. And, Hillary Banks again makes an appearance.
Comments
Don't you ever dare calling Major Payne a mediocre movie again.
It is a terrific mediocre movie.
"The ABC's Of Being A Positive Male Role Model"
Major Payne gets bonus points for being filmed a stone's throw from my HS and b/c I had friends who got parts as extras in it (students).
Every time I'm playing with trains with my 3.5 year old son, I think of this scene.
Every. Time.
What's that one called? The Room?
I DID NAAAAAAAHT.
"Oh hai mark"
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The Room is easily the worst movie I've ever watched in my life, and yet it was like a train wreck and I couldn't look away. The Franco brothers made a mockumentary on the making of The Room, which is also well worth the watch. After watching the original, of course.
The room isn't a mediocre must watch movie...the room is a TERRIBLE must watch movie. I mean its easily one of the best experiences ever to watch in a group, but judged as an actual movie it is far from mediocre
So.Much.This.
The Ladies Man is the 2nd best SNL movie ever made. Just a tick behind Waynes World for me.
Please tell me you just honestly forgot about this one.
this will cause some outrage, but I have never watched Blues Brothers straight through.
One I did miss, Flash Gordon. Glorious. "NOT THE BOAR WORMS!"
plus a theme song by queen...
and oh my god the scene where his football skills save the day. Incredible
Honestly? I've never seen it, and also forgot that it was an SNL sketch
Not just a sketch, it grew into its own entity. Have you listened to the albums?
I have not
I actually have a couple of the albums on vinyl. They put together a real band with very good musicians.
I think Dan Akroyd still hosts a radio program from the House of Blues as Elwood.
Definitely agree, if you haven't heard the band or seen the movie both worth checking out.
The original band was top notch and the cameos in the movie are amazing- John Lee Hooker, Aretha, Pine Top Perkins etc.
Akroyd and Jim Belushi still tour, I don't know hows in the band now
Also Ray Charles, James Brown and Cab Calloway.
The band is awesome and the soundtrack is great.
Samurai Cop (or any Amir Shirvan movie)
Deathrace 2000
Literally any Roland Emmerich movieNVM those are all badBlade series
You all can share some of your picks. I didn't include some low budget favorites because they are so so so good. For example, PCU.
Tommy Lee Jones makes Under Siege a must watch.
1st, PCU is awesome.
2nd, there was a specific scene in Under Siege that made that it a favorite, being 13 when it came out and all...
Ah yes, cake. Who could forget cake?
All the pie lovers in here would admit that cake won that day
Cake can't win the day if it's fake. Pie wins again.
Yes. They say "cake." I say box that looks like a cake, containing a stripper.
So you don't want...a fish sandwich?
Fatback gristled lumps!
About my car....um...it does not exist....so we will be taking the bus....
It's not a yacht if you get mail there.
Ernest Goes to Jail
Ernest Scared Stupid
Ernest Saves Christmas
Ernest Goes to Camp
Ernest Goes to Africa
Ernest Goes to School
Ernest in the Army
Ernest Rides Again
A Christmas Story
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Since you mentioned it, Anger Management is on the list too.
Most quotable, I'd have to go with Coming to America. Hunt for Red October would run a distant second.
Apropos of nothing, but 'Hunt for Prescottober' is one of my better fantasy team names and incidently one of the most dominant teams ever assembled
Most quotable for me is Die Hard.
Big Lebowski
DC Cab: Adam Baldwin, Gary Busey, Mr. T, and others are taxi drivers in a comedy movie that doesn't really have a plot until the last 30 minutes.
I'm not sure if this quite meets the mediocre criteria (I sense it has some cult-classic appeal, but I'm not sure), but your Dwight Shrute reference got me thinking: I'm always impressed with how much of a low-key all-star cast Galaxy Quest had. Tim Allen, Sigourney Weaver, Tony Shallhoub, Alan Rickman, Justin Long, Sam Rockwell, and I like to think Lahnk was the role that launched Rainn Wilson's career. It actually works pretty well as a cheesy stand-alone sci-fi flick even though it doesn't try to be anything more than an overt (and pretty funny) Star Trek parody. I wouldn't put it my top 10 list, but I definitely wouldn't change the channel if it was on.
That is a strong pull.
Galaxy Quest is one of the most underrated comedies of all time, in my opinion.
But since it's so far under most people's radar, I think it has to qualify in this discussion.
Also one of the best Star Trek movies of all time.
I'm going to share a movie that was worse than mediocre that I probably won't ever watch again (which isn't the point of the thread, I just want to crap on it):
The Greatest Showman.
Conversely, I watched Darkest Hour on Sunday, and it is amazing (and the theater was packed.) Strong recommend.
Agreed. I approve of the movie and Winston's daily Brandy intake.
This kind of surprises me. I've heard several positive reviews, and I haven't seen it yet, but I'm starting to read through "The Last Lion", and the idea that Churchill would ride around on the tube to muster inspiration for a speech seems egregiously ahistorical.
It probably is. That does nothing to shame the incredible performance.
Also, the film making $70 million already gives me hope that history is at least a topic people want to talk about more critically. I don't think Darkest Hour was on par with Lincoln, but it was very impressive.
And Lily James... good lord.
Fair enough. I guess the Hollywood embellishment to true stories and real historical people is kind of a pet peeve of mine. I tend to think the actual events and people are much more interesting than the embellished versions, but that certainly doesn't mean the performances aren't impressive. I didn't care at all for The Revenant for the same reason, but Leo got an Oscar out of it [shrugs]
That and "Dunkirk" were easily the best films I watched last year.
Agreed. Thanks to moviepass I've seen all but three of the best picture nominees. Gary Oldman deserves immense praise for his role. I loved it but it won't win best picture. That'll be between Shape of Water and Three Billboards.
I watched this, and while it fit the timeline of Dunkirk perfectly and was very entertaining having seen Dunkirk already, I was annoyed that The Darkest Hour left out the damn climax of the whole story. We didn't see any soldiers get out of Dunkirk, it was three lines of text after the closing shot that told us that they got out. For sh*t's sake, show us that they made it, don't make us read it at a motion picture.
Just pause darkest hour then turn on Dunkirk then go back to darkest hour. See them the way they were meant to be seen.
Walking Tall... enough said
The Rock should have his own category for movies like The Rundown, Walking Tall, Pain & Gain, Faster.... as much as I love the F&tF franchise, he's not the lead there.
Awesomely watchable, quotable, (bad?), movies-
Pure Luck, Tremors, Captain Ron, Rhinestone, 3000 Miles to Graceland, Over the Top, Armageddon and (deep breath for courage) What Women Want.
I consider Point Break, Roadhouse and White Men Can't Jump genuinely good movies, thus listing them separately, and will fight anyone who disagrees.
3000 Miles to Graceland gets my vote. Tin Cup is in the conversation as well, although I would argue that it was great, where the others aren't great yet you watch and like it anyway.
I don't think anyone would argue Tin Cup is an eminently bad movie, in the way, say, Gymkata was. Some (and I hate to even say it, but like Bill Simmons) argue it's one of the beter sports movies ever made. People rag on it for being more chick flick / romantic comedy than sports, and thus say it's a bad movie, but that's more indicative of them not liking chick flicks, as opposed to saying Tin Cup is a bad movie on its own.
Also, give me Bloodsport and Hard Target in "awesomely terrible action movies" for $800 please
I think it is great.
Tin Cup has one of the best quotes of all time...
I have watched Tin Cup a lot of times. Costner and Russo have chemistry, and who doesn't like Cheech as the mexican sidekick. Don Johnson as the heel.
Where the movie goes off the tracks is to believe that Roy McCavoy shoots like -12 par in a single round in a U.S. Open.
Other then that moment, the movie stands up.
More painful- Roy putting all those shots in the water, or Mikey calling the girl he met in the bar the same night and leaving awkward messages over and over on her machine in Swingers?
I think the Swingers scene rings truer for me because it is so relatable, for those old enough to remember having to leave messages for people. It is such a great tight shot of him just imploding on the phone and when she finally pics up on the end. The first time you see it you are just like "please stop digging, Mikey", and it just goes on. Plus who doesn't like socially awkward Favrau.
Putting the balls in the water was rough, but after the second one, he is out of the running and just hurting his bottom line in terms of take home pay.
That's the one thing that always seemed to blow my mind in Happy Gilmore. When Happy "learned to putt", he should have been blowing people away. If he was consistently getting on the green in one stroke even on a par 4, he should have easily been making birdies and eagles. Yet the scores were always -5, or -7 across all 4 rounds.
They didn't film the holes where he had a wicked slice.
Captain Ron all day
The Edge of Tomorrow, with Tom Cruise. So mediocre, nothing special about it, but still fun to watch.
That movie is the definition of entertaining. It's so hard to explain it to people but I've never met anyone that didn't like it.
I love that movie. Even my wife enjoyed it. Good story, and honestly the plot is pretty solid given the subject matter.
I'll go with The Marine starring John Cena. It's so incredibly bad that it's actually entertaining. Cena plays a marine (what a reach) who must rescue his highly qualified wife (Kelly Carlson) from a group of diamond thieves in the South Carolina wilderness. It's got B-movie written all over it; I mean, the bad guys are led by T-1000 himself, Robert Patrick. There are plenty of questionable plot points. For example, one of the bad guys spends most of the film complaining about rock candy ("I hate cops...and rock candy"). There are numerous "tracking" scenes where Cena stops moving, listens for clues in the woods and then takes off in a sprint to jump over a log. There's also some misplaced banjo music and a couple of references to The Terminator; because, you know...T-1000 is the bad guy. All in all, it's the perfect choice for a bad movie night.
Golden Eye
Which has the unique honor of making this movie list and being the best drinking video game ever made. If you picked OddJob or proximity mines, you are a jerk as well.
Proximity mines
Throw mine on ammo box
Immediately pick up ammo
Ammo box reappears as an explody trap with a mine hidden inside
Stand back and wait
Or... Remote mines
Throw mine at opponent
Press A&B together when mine reaches opponent
Watch friend get pissed for your cheating
Slappers only, OddJob, turbo mode.
For anyone born after 1988, this probably seems like a offer list at a massage parlor.
But as the former top dog in my goldeneye gaming circle, I know exactly what you meant.
We always played that the shortest guy got dibs on Oddjob. So I damn near always played as Oddjob.
I always just ran around in a crouch, so no matter who I was, I was the same height as Oddjob.
"Golden Eye" and mediocre on the same thread?!
Couples Retreat. Every time its on I have to watch it.
Dax Shepard is the luckiest man alive
It's widely rumored that she has more than a few screws loose. Bell, on the other hand... Just go and watch any of her old interviews with Craig Ferguson when he hosted the Late Late Show. Dax is a lucky man.
Cause an actor/actress wouldn't act in a certain way to portray a certain image on national TV?
I don't know anything about Jennifer Aniston's spouse, but Kristen Bell is a New York Yankee and Dax is playing for the Flying Squirrels.
The Leftovers Justin Theroux. Or Justin Trudeau? I can never remember
The Other Guys
Roadhouse
It was absolutely crushed in reviews, but I really enjoyed CBGBs. However, it never seems to appear on TV, so I am not sure how well it fits.
I would say my favorite mediocre movie is Midnight Run. DeNiro and Grodin and way too many f-bombs to count.
Fast and the Furious series. The movies themselves have been mediocre at best the whole time. And yet I can't not watch
The only one of those I can't seem to watch all the way through is Tokyo Drift. Seriously, Vin Diesel is probably one of the all time leaders in this category of mediocre movies.
Think Pitch Black (albeit this was great), Chronicles of Riddick, XXX. Vin Diesel just plays Vin Diesel in every movie he's in, and people seem to enjoy it.
best movie with Vin Diesel in it is Boiler Room, and it isn't close.
Zoolander also belongs on the list.
"Boiler Room is a better movie than Saving Private Ryan" -- french60wasp, 1/30/18
I fully support, with no /s, French on this one. Boiler Room is a sweet, sweet movie. SPR is bunk.
I think that accurately reflects my sentiment.
The wife and I always, without fail, end up watching Sister Act or Sister Act 2 if its on TV. It never gets old.
I.. I can't believe somebody said this. Sister Act 2 is tied for my favorite movie of all time along with Tombstone (yes I know that's a silly mix). I can quote/sing almost the entire movie and most of the first one.
Biodome is the most mediocre movie
EDIT: the nick frost/simon pegg movies are pretty mediocrebutmustwatchable... Hot Fuzz, Shaun of the Dead, etc
I'm a sucker for some Pauly Shore flicks, and Biodome is definitely tops.
Shaun of the Dead is amongst the best films ever made, but The rest of Pegg's run just didn't do much for me.
100% agree with this. Hot Fuzz is definitely one of my favorites.
I got to go with Encino Man. Classic Pauly Shore.
Son in Law goes on the list.
Down Periscope is a must watch.
Seems like an appropriate place to mention Encino Man...
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Down Periscope is great. If it is on, I am watching it.
"Tell me, which are you going to reach for more in the morning, the coffee or the lard?!" "Well if it is a really cold day..." as he is spraying the ladder with cooking spray. Classic
I'll go 80's mediocre but well loved...
Young Guns
Adventures in Babysitting - I had a serious Elizabeth Shue thing back in the day. I'm okay now.
3 o'clock High
Nice Girls Don't Explode - Excellent turn by Wallace Shawn
The Accidental Tourist
Better Off Dead... "I WANT MY TWO DOLLARS!!!"
Fletch - Definitely most quotable. To this day, my wife and I still put everything on the Underhills' tab.
Harry and the Hendersons
Princess Bride
That is an A+ movie and you know it sir.
Since we're talking '80's here, one of my favorites, and I'm not sure it can be called mediocre, is 'Night Shift'. Ron Howard directed, his second full length movie after 'Grand Theft Auto'. Michael Keaton exploded onto the movie scene here. His first big break. "Love Brokers!"
If we are talking Michael Keaton movies, Dream Team is way better!
check out Pacific Heights i.e. creepy Keaton
Gung Ho is also pretty mediocre-ly awesome.
And also, Johnny Dangerously. Another quotable mediocre classic.
You fargin stanky bastige! You ice hole!
Farging A.
You have to include The Goonies and Monstersquad in any discussion of 80's mediocrely AWESOME!
The Goonies, mediocre?
Dodgeball
Anchorman
Tremors (1, 2, & 3)
A Knight's Tale
Equilibrium
Upvote for Tremors!
Oh A Knight's Tale is a gem.
BeastMaster.
Iron Eagle.
Boom!
Iron Eagle- far superior to Top Gun in every way.
I don't know you, but I like you. Just had some some awesomely bad childhood flashbacks.
Anybody for Flight of the Intruder?
No, but you reminded me of another "Flight of the" movie....
Flight of the Navigator. I don't know when the last time I saw it is, but I'm not sure I've seen it available anywhere in quite a long time.
I have a digital copy of it on my hard drive. This was one of my favorite movies when I was really young. It is still watchable today, but only because of nostalgia. I do not think I would give it a thought if it was my first time watching it, now.
Orange County
I usually like Meryl Streep but she was really depressing in this.
uhm, I think we're talking about different movies. Although I'm now imagining a movie in which Meryl Streep uses this line
rpotts is thinking of that Osage County movie (or something or other)
Threat Level Midnight
Men at Work
Commando
License to Kill
Commando is so underrated. Its non-stop great one-liners and quotes.
Dammit!!! Beat me by 1 min...
But I like to think I put more thought into my answer...
Agreed, A+ for effort.
Movies I don't turn off if I stumble upon them (some of these are great movies, some embarrassing)
Road House, A Few Good Men, Saving Private Ryan, Forest Gump, Inglorious Bastards, Eyes Wide Shut, Cool Hand Luke, Love Actually, Scrooged, Groundhog Day, Ferris Bueller, Last of Mohicans, Braveheart, Silence of the Lambs....
My wife was in labor with our third and Silence of the Lambs was on the TV in the delivery room.
#wanderingeyes
When my wife was in labor with our daughter, Aaron Rogers was lighting us up in the San Francisco diamond walnut emerald bowl or whatever the hell the name of that bowl was. 50-49 loss IIRC.
cool hand luke is the greatest movie ever made.
unless you ask my wife, in which case it isn't.
Yes ....yes they are.
Cannot forget about such classics as:
Toy Soldiers
Quick Synopsis: A movie about Rudy fighting terrorists at a boarding school
Famous Quote: "Pots and pans? What's Pots and pans?"
Fun Fact: Filmed in VA
and
Road House
Quick Synopsis: Dirty Dancing guy is the baddest bouncer in the world on assignment at the worst bar.
Famous Quote: "Be Nice."
Fun Fact: I once went to a bar where guys were arm wrestling at the table and thought I was at Road house
two good choices.
A friend of mine was an extra in Toy Soldiers. Filmed at Miller School I believe.
also where Major Payne was filmed. Good old Batesville.
The train station scene was filmed within walking distance of my work.
This is no lie, on a business trip I once went into a Hooter's in Sioux Falls and the waitresses were having a wrist wrestling competition. This was pretty indicative of the, um, 'talent' employed at this particular location.
One memorable scene in Road House is where the bad guy is driving down the road, swerving back and forth between the lanes on a two lane road, just to prove what a jerk he is.
Elizabethtown
Some of these have been mentioned before.
Down Periscope
Backdraft
Ghostbusters
Tremors
Wild Wild West
Godzilla (Matthew Broderick/Jean Reno Version)
Mortal Kombat
Red dawn
Ghostbusters 2 and Ace Ventura 2
In my head sometimes these sequels are better than the originals. They aren't better, but sometimes the cheesieness of a movie will make it good. And one day I will have a life size Vigo Portrait in my house.
#FancyArtGoals
Only a Carpathian would come back to life and pick New York. Nice pick, Bonehead!
Big Trouble in Little China.
Mortal Kombat.
Street Fighter.
Big Trouble is one of my favorite movies. But can it really be considered a mediocre movie?
For me, there are 3 movies I can't pass over if I see them on Sling. Braveheart (a letigimately great movie, so not quite fitting for the discussion), A Knight's Tale, and Armageddon.
A Knight's Tale might not even quite fit, as it might actually be closer to terrible than mediocre, but despite the cringe-worthy anachronisms and terribly written love story with Jocelyn, the characters (except Adhemar, who we were supposed to hate and Jocelyn) were terrific. Heath Ledger and the dude who played Chaucer were so good in this one. And I don't know why, but "I will fong you... Your entrails will become your extrails...Pain, lots of pain" never gets old.
As an engineer and world-class nit-picker, I know I'm supposed to hate Armageddon. The science was sooooooo bad. But the cast and the dialogue were so good, I have to overlook the flaws. There are just too many quotable lines in that one to keep track.
How dare you sir?! this movie is intoxicating as I can never turn it off
Cheap tequila is also intoxicating, but it's not good either.
,
That, sir, is one of the heck of a come-back line.
That dude who played Chaucer is Paul Bettany, currently playing Vision in Avengers movies. (He was also the voice of Jarvis since Iron Man)
The banter between his character and Alan Tudyk's character made me love that movie.
"You can hit me all you want because you punch like a...what?"
Did you miss Age of Ultron because.... I mean... You know what, nevermind
Also the 90s Adam Sandler movies are great. Happy Gilmore, Billy Madison, Big Daddy, The Waterboy, The Wedding Singer...
Haha, loving this list. So many good bad movies! TKP rocks. Here are some additions:
Tuff Turf
Out of Bounds (Gary from Weird Science)
Ricochet (Denzel and John Lithgow)
The Warriors
One Crazy Summer
Encino Man
One Crazy Summer... Excellent choice.
Listing The Warriors as a mediocre movie makes me want to punch you right on the dick.
Premium Rush - JGL rides a bike. That's it. But damn if it's not entertaining
Rounders - Matt Damon plays cards
Goon (1 & 2) - Funny, surprisingly well acted, and some of the best and worst actual hockey I've seen in a movie. Plus cameos from NHLers
Maybe it's just because I'm a degenerate poker junkie, but thought Rounders was a damn good flick. But then again maybe I'm just a sucker for John Malkovich and Edward Norton. I seem to like just about anything those guys are in. Which reminds me, if it were ever actually on TV, Death to Smoochy would have to make my list here too.
It's certainly a good poker film but I just think it ran a bit predictably. Plus it always bothers me that poker movies end with huge hands (Royal flushes or straight flushes against full houses or quads). I know that's when pots are gonna get driven up but I'd love to see someone go out on a hand that just doesn't have a lot there and they win with say, three jacks.
I don't understand how people can even talk about mediocre movies and not talk about Cannonball Run II...
Good Place reference?
Lots of Patrick Swayze on this list
Demolition Man....just think that this is what our futures will look like in a short 14 years!!
And who doesn't love Taco Bell?
Demolition man is coming on at 8pm tonight on AMC for those who have never seen how amazing it is.
Some more classics-
Disorganized Crime. While it wasn't big box office or incredibly ornate, Ed O'Neil, Corbin Bernsen, and the dad from Boy Meets World deliver some of the best physical comedy you will ever see. It is a forgotten art form. O'Neil's physical comedy and expressions are like a modern day Charlie Chaplin.
Suicide Kings- Walken's best work
Just Cause- Connery and Fishburne and incredibly intense.
Major League II- Between Lou Brown "I LOVE THIS BRITISH SHIT" and maybe the greatest antagonist in movie history in Jack Parkman, this one is better than the original.
I had forgotten about Suicide Kings. Awesome flick. Although I think the ending jumped the shark a bit with the double-double-double cross. I think a lot of movies of the 90's went overboard on that theme, trying to copy off M Night Shamalan's success with twist endings.
Tough Guys with Burt Lancaster and Kirk Douglas
The Cowboy Way taught me how to do a body shot, and I still have a weird crush on Marg Helgenberger (hence Cowboy Way, My Fellow Americans on this list and opening credits for China Grove.)
The Burbs
Gleaming the Cube
Nothing But Trouble
I still don't understand how Nothing But Trouble ever got the greenlight. They must have carted cocaine into the pitch room by wheelbarrow in the late 80s.
I still love that dumbass movie.
Me too. The dinner table scene is forever etched into my brain.
Brodie Bruce is my favorite movie character of all time.
Breakfast, shmreakfast. Look at the score, for Christ's sake. It's only the second period and I'm up 12 to 2. Breakfasts come and go, Rene, but Hartford, the Whale, they only beat Vancouver once, maybe twice in a lifetime.
The Easter Bunny Court is down at the other end of the mall, it's been there since two days after Christmas.
That kid IS BACK ON THE ESCALATOR AGAIN!
Biggity bam, the stage is toast, and we go smoke a bowl.
I mean, look at you. You're the kind of guy who would beg for sex. And I should know, we can smell our own.
-Angels with Filthy Souls
-Angels with Even Filthier Souls
Come one man. Except for just a couple lines in both of those, they are totally forget able.
recently saw Table 19 on a plane. It had bad reviews, but Anna Kendrick was in it, and I had 5 hours to kill, so I thought why not ? Not great by any mean, but it had its funny moments.
Depends on how you look at them, as I think they are amazing films but its kind of a cult thing
but
Both Boondock Saints movies
I just wish they had made the sequel sooner so they could have easily made a third and a fourth
Boondocks Saints is an A+ movie. Now the sequel I'm not so sure.
back with some more
RoboCop
Escape from New York
Beerfest
Super Troopers
Joe Versus the Volcano
I wouldn't necessarily call any of these movies overly great, but they are all movies that you must watch and have somewhere in your rotation.
I totally agree with Super Troopers and Beerfest and allow me to add Club Dread in that collection of Broken Lizard movies. It's so bad, it's good in so many ways
Beerfest is a movie that if I am clicking through and its on, its like 'Welp, there goes that 2 hours"
I was talking with someone the other day and she loved Super Troopers and Beerfest but never even heard of Club Dread. I told her she had to watch it. Its the weakest of those 3 by far, but still pretty damn funny if you are down with Broken Lizards particular style of comedy.
Club Dread definitely isn't as well known as ST and Beerfest, which is a shame because I think it has so much stupidity all around to laugh at. Also, Brittany Daniel and Jordan Ladd were both well qualified in their respective roles.
On another note, Broken Lizard's movie after Beerfest, Slammin' Salmon I saw only once and wasn't impressed. I feel like I need to revisit it to ensure I'm not missing out on anything
Oh Man, Beerfest is one of my favorites. Quotable and just so damn funny
Kill the Irishman is on my list as well. I have never heard anyone talk about it and I love that movie.
UhF has to be on this list
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NO MORE PASSIVE RESISTANCE!
Mmmm, red snapper. Very tasty!
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Ok kids, let's go!
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"Where we sell spatulas, and that's all!"
Gremlins II (though it's obviously not aired much anymore)
Don't think I saw it above so I'm gonna throw in My Cousin Vinny
The thread is about mediocre movies. Movies with Oscar nominations in meaningful categories cannot count as mediocre.
Fair enough. The movie came out before my time so I didn't know about the critical acclaim. The only place I'd ever seen it was on cable watching with my dad.
Has anyone mentioned Maximum Overdrive yet? In my opinion it may be Emilio Estevez's finest work.
Lucky Number Slevin came to mind for me for some reason.
Other top choices: tin cup, lost boys, grandma's boy, rundown, secondhand lions, face off.
Yessssss!!! Grandma's Boy kills me.
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JP quotes used almost weekly by me. "How did he see me", "Sit on my faaaaace", "You would too if you had robot ears", "I'm thinking about getting metal legs. It's a risky operation but it will be worth it".
Wow it's getting hard to come up anything new in here.
-Cool Runnings, on Netflix so a must watch before the Olympics kick off!!
-My Blue Heaven
-The Money Pit
-Ok so I love 80s Tom Hanks:
Joe versus the Volcano
Volunteers
Dragnet
The Man with one red shoe
Cool runnings is my all time favorite feel good movie
How on earth did I forget this one!
Rush Hour is great but I'm a sucker for anything with Jackie Chan.
Starship Troopers
The Way of the Gun. Mediocre heist movie script salvaged by an all star cast (Benecio del Toro, Ryan Phillipe, James Can, Juliette Lewis) and slick directing.
True Romance. Tarantino lite, before Hollywood had the balls to give him free reign. Would've been better if Christian Slater would have died at the end as it was originally written.
Four Rooms. Tim Roth plays a bellhop at a once glamorous hotel that's showing its age. The plot takes Roth's character to four different rooms throughout the course if one night, with each room directed by a different director. (Quintin Tarantino, Robert Rodriguez, Allison Anders, Alexandre Rockwell)
The Station Agent. Peter Dinklage plays a reclusive railroad enthusiast who inherits an old abandoned train station when his only friend dies. Very low budget, very slow pacing, excellent acting, but it tries just a little too hard.
In the Mouth of Madness. James Carpenter's most underrated film, and the closest thing we will ever get to an H.P. Lovecraft film adaptation. Campy as hell in places, but some of the visuals are horrifying in a way today's gross out torture porn will never equal.
Better Off Dead. John Cusack. Koreans talking like Howard Cosel. Attempted suicide as a running gag. A climactic ski pole sword fight. The 80s were fucking weird, man.
But was better off dead better than One Crazy Summer with Cusack.
While on his movies.
Grosse Point Blank
While we are on Cusack movies. Here's one of my favorites....
I was just thinking of this, but couldn't remember the name of it.
Jack Black is an ass but he makes the movie fun, IMO.
The scene when Ian (Tim Robbins) walks into the record store and Cusack runs through all the different scenarios in his head is awesome. The last one where they jump him gets me every time. The little skinny shy dude grabbing the window AC unit to smash him with is hilarious.
Does Grosse Point Blank really qualify as mediocre, though? I thought that was a great flick.
I did a bad job of titling. I think "poor performance in theaters/critically lampooned/straight to video" may have been a better parsing title. But, fuck it.
these are great movies. Nothing mediocre to see here
Joe Dirt.
Willow.
Robin Hood Prince of Thieves.
It took to comment 172 to mention Top Gun. Shame on all of you.
The most overrated movie of all time not titled Home Alone or ET.
Goose, do you have any thoughts?
Goose was better as the president of Lambda Lambda Lambda
Others:
Evil Dead: Peak 80s horror movie. So bad it's fantastic.
Friday the 13th Part 3D: The most hilariously bad movie in the franchise, but also my favorite. 1982 "3D" technology failed hard.
Dazed and Confused: Extremely quotable, and started the careers of Matthew McCoughnahey and Richard Linklater.
Evil Dead was critically acclaimed. Have to agree on the other two though.
Army of Darkness
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There is nothing mediocre about Army of Darkness!
Evil Dead 2 is far superior to Army of Darkness
I accept that.
In college I introduced the entire Evil Dead series to a group of my girlfriends, friends. They were blown by their awesomeness.
Girlfriends
Okay, okay
He said "girlfriends, friends."
I'm not tryinna be a dick here, but "girlfriend's friends" would be far more likely. Alternatively, "girlfriends' friends" would also be
accephilarious.Pedantry is awesome.
FTFY:
good mediocre movies for me are ones that I won't click past if on TV. Just to name a few:
Rad
Airborne
21 Jump Street
The Mummy (original)
Krull
Stone Cold
The Game
Con Air
The Rock
Grandma's House
50 First Dates
Butterfly Effect
Hot Chick
Deuce Bigalow
Constatine
Devil's Advocate
Bill & Ted's
Into the Blue
Road Trip
Cliffhanger
Behind Enemy Lines
Enemy of the State
Your Highness
Daylight
Highlander
First Knight
Blade
Underworld
Run Fatboy Run
jeepers creepers
In like Flint
Speed
Swordfish
Masters of the Universe
Masters of the Universe. I still say the academy snubbed Dolph Lundgren.
I love the movie, but as someone who grew up watching the cartoon, they seriously fucked it up.
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Rad was awesome.
this
For those of you unfamiliar with the movie Stone Cold, this is the description on IMBD:
"An unorthodox policeman (Brian Bosworth) joins and then destroys a crazed biker's (Lance Henriksen) gang for the FBI."
It is exactly as awesome as that sounds.
My Aunt was an extra in Stone Cold
When do you find time to go outside? Or eat? Or sleep?
Television was my babysitter, and is now my CPO (Chief Procrastination Officer) after TKP of course.
The best B Movie ever! Spaced Invaders. Countless one liners and absolutely dumb humor.
The Rock
Broken Arrow
McHales Navy
I will almost always watch The Fifth Element, if it is on. I don't know if it meets the requirements or not.
The Fifth Element is a damn good movie, and not just because of Mila Jovovich's dental floss outfit in the beginning. There are very few movies that have nailed the balance of dystopian, absurd, and completely believable futures as that movie.
The Day After Tomorrow
Point Break
Twister
Dante's Peak
Deep Blue Sea
Drumline
Chasing Mavericks
The Replacements
Predator 2
Piranha
The Perfect Storm
Varsity Blues
Cliffhanger
Vertical Limit
Most anything with Seagal or Van Damme
Cliffhanger and Vertical Limit are both worthy.
If you can't get the couch potato to the mountain...
Escape from New York and Escape from LA need to be mentioned
ooo I got one. The newest Power Rangers. One day it will be on network TV and I will not turn it off.
How did I forget "Meet Wally Sparks"
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Back to School hasn't made the list either...
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Love that one.
While we are on Mr. Dangerfield, Ladybugs
Back to School doesn't belong on a "mediocre" list.
It's right up there with Caddyshack as one of Rodney Dangerfield's best movies. Excellent line.
Revenge of the Nerds
I went back and watched that recently, and hoooooooooly shit is that one movie that hasn't aged well.
This sums it up pretty well hahha
No kidding. It's one of those cult classic type movies but boy it would not blow over well if it came out today, especially in the current political climate. As a teenager I remember watching the scene referenced at 14 seconds in the above video and thinking "it kind of seems unbelievable that she reacted so positively to that".
All the Leprechaun movies
Watching the first one is acceptable because young Jennifer Aniston is in it.
And Karyn Parsons!
I forgot With Honors on my first list. Cliched script about a bunch of jaded/naive college kids and a magical wise bum, written by a screenwriter who might well have never sat in on a real lecture, given the painful dialogue in every classroom scene. Yet Joe Pesci fucking owned that performance.
And how could I forget this gem?
Back to the Future trilogy
Men in Black 1 or 3. MIB2 was bad
Jurassic Parks
Star wars episodes 4,5,6,7. Not mediocre but if they are on, I am watching them.
Dumb and Dumber
The Great Outdoors
Gentlemen, I submit for your consideration:
Start Trek V
Anyone ever heard of Rustler's Rhapsody (1985) with Tom Berenger? My little brother and I loved that movie as kids. Old West comedy starring Berenger, Sela Ward, Marilu Henner, G.W. Bailey and Andy Griffith. Awesome flick.
Another western I will always watch no matter when its on is Lonesome Dove.
Guys guys...
Heavy Weights is fantastic. Up vote.
I have never seen Little Giants.
You would love "IceBox."
Wait wait wait...our resident film expert has never seen Little Giants?
What world am I living in?
You have homework to do, French. And I want a complete film review of The Annexation of Puerto Rico.
Sorry. I just saw Dune for the first time this weekend. That was f'n weird.
What could you possibly find weird about Dune?
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Neither one of these are mediocre. They are both excellent movies.
Out Cold is another borderline straight to VHS type movie that is spectacular...
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No regrets, that's my motto. That and everybody Wang Chung tonight.
Classic flick. All time favorite.
OG "The Hitcher". C. Thomas Howell, Jennifer Jason Leigh, and Rutger Hauer. I've never passed this movie by if it's on. I had a pretty serious thing with Jennifer Jason Leigh in the 80's as well. We both landed on our feet, and are ok now.
Sniper starring Tom Berenger and Billy Zane is another one I have watched many times.
excellent just watched it again recently.
Two that qualify the non-financial success and mediocre must watches yet are never on TV
Strange Brew with Rick Moranis and Dave Thomas
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Battle Beyond the Stars, which you can now watch on Youtube
and of course
FDR: AMERICAN BAD ASS
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Strange Brew might be my favorite movie ever. They tried so hard to make a terrible movie that they accidentally made a fantastic one. And there's no "might be" about it. Hosehead is the greatest cinematic canine ever.
Battle beyond the stars. Seven Samurai in Space!!! That was a great flick.
BLACK DYNAMITE
UNDERCOVER BROTHER
Leg for Undercover Brother
Seconded. Damn duck shoes.
I'm adding Popstar and Walk Hard to this list.
Big Trouble in Little China. Love ole Jack Burton!
I was late to the party but yet I can still contribute:
Bloodsport
Kickboxer
Lionheart
Double Impact
Universal Soldier
Hard Target
Timecop
Street Fighter
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Yes to all these options!
JCVD dancing is high comedy.
Conan had him recreate that dance again on his show. Even as a young kid watching Kickboxer I was like 'WTF is he doing"
2nd Round:
Pump Up the Volume
Power of One
Ghost and the Darkness
Weekend at Bernie's
Troy
Reindeer Games
Face Off
Bad Boys
Zombieland
I'm Gonna Get You Sucka
Mrs. Doubtfire
Don't Tell Mom the babysitters Dead
My Cousin Vinny
Finding Forrester
Beetlejuice
Gremlins
Little Miss Sunshine
Easy A
Labrynith
The Wizard
Gentleman Broncos
PeeWee's Big Adventure
The Boy Who Could Fly
Twister
Kingpin
Smokey and the Bandit
Dutch
Bubble Boy
Saint
Desperado
From Dusk till Dawn
After Sunset
The Hitman's Bodyguard
Here Come's The Boom
Red Belt
Best of the Best
Cable Guy
Last Boyscout
Hudson hawk
Great Outdoors
The Toy
The Jerk
Dirty Rotten Scoundrels
Delirious
City Slickers
Roxanne
The Golden Child
Goon
Rundown
Evolution
Girl Next Door
Speed Racer
Go!
Hidalgo
Searching for Bobby Fischer
War Games
hmm... this could go on a long time...
Great pull on Kingpin. I had completely forgotten about that. A hilarious, terrible movie.
I don't know who was funnier. The nasty landlady or Bill Murry?
Yes to Hudson Hawk. Gloriously ridiculous!
The Jerk is a good choice.
Booty Call
I always ending up watching 50 first dates when its on.
Any Jay and Silent Bob film. I grew up in the area where it was filmed, and have met both characters in person many times.
TIL we are from the same area. makes sense given our shared NYG fandom that surfaced in one of the Tremaine threads
I grew up in Sea Bright and then moved to Rumson (Yeah I know, I'm blue collar though!).
My cousins half brother is Little Jay in the beginning of Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back
Nice! you're definitely more coastal than I am. Old Bridge here.
I used to go to the Birch Hill all the time. That place had the best bands, such a shame they tore it down and put in town homes. SMDH.
I'm a lil bit behind you on the times there, as the owner sold it my freshman year of high school. I remember there being a big to-do over a drowning that happened on the property, and a bunch of local residents annoyed about the sex-and-drugs-and-rock'n'roll scene that it cultivated. Although the owner only ever claimed to be in the rock'n'roll business, there were a lot of the other two happening there too and I think he was under investigation for some of that at one point.
EDIT: that said, he cashed out big time and whatever developer put that 55+ community there did too... homes going in the 350s
I can't believe we've gotten this far on this thread without seeing Old School. That movie was so awful and so hilarious.
You're my boy, Blue!
That's because Old School is an excellent movie!
(Insert Frank the tank gif)
Howard the Duck
Short Circuit 1 & 2
Howard the Duck!!! I was all about that movie when I was a kid.
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Short Circuit is up there as well. Who doesn't love Johnny 5?
Flashdance
Fame
All That Jazz (actually an excellent movie)
Short Circuit
Airborne
10 things i hate about you
Ski School
Hahahah this movie isnt even mediocre. Its just bad. But I will watch it.
It's just bad enough to make you want to watch it...
Dennis Hopper, one of the only actors crazy enough to play King Bowser in Super Mario Bros with Bob Hoskins and John Leguizamo.
I am more than a little disappointed nobody has said EuroTrip, yet
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So don't tell Scotty!
Sergeant Bilko One of my favorite movies and Steve Martin is great in it. I still use a quote from that movie "I hurt from the hair down"
National Lampoon's Vegas Vacation is always a treat.
HOT ROD.
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"In the Army Now" is on right now. I had to turn it on.
Thinking back on it, Pauly Shore had some great ones
my favorite, BioDome.
Encino Man was another classic.
To be clear, I do not consider this movie mediocre, in the least. But others may:
I don't know what movie this is but for some reason it reminded me of Robin Hood: Men in Tights
Wet Hot American Summer.
Christopher Meloni's best role.
Yep, but he just had a new show, I think it was on SyFy, called Happy, I just watched the season finale last night, great show, and his role as Nick Sax might rival the role of Gene as his best. I can't even begin to describe the show
I'll have to check that out.
Speaking of that movie, I have been trying to find a cardboard standup of the Sheriff of Rottingham for years to give my brother as a joke.
just custom build your own
https://www.cardboardcutoutstandees.com/
http://www.partystandups.com/
https://buildahead.com/product/custom-life-size-standup/
Reading this makes me feel like I wasted my life. At least a hundred movies on here I have never seen once, not to mention rewatched every time it is on, and I cannot think of anything I accomplished with all the time I saved. There are few up here I liked for agreeing with, though I would not describe any aa mediocre, I cannot not watch when scrolling the guide. Shaun of the Dead, Highlander, The 5th Element, Star Troopers, any of the Underworld movies, the Lestat vampire movies.
The one thing that gets me that I don't really see here is whatever is on the El Ray channel at midnight. Flying two finger guillotine of death stuff.
Another one...
Not Another Teen Movie
I'd say its on the bad side of mediocre, but I can't not watch it whenever I see it on somewhere
That is wack.
Do it for Marty's torso!
Seriously though, still one of my favorite Chris Evans roles. He killed it in that movie.
No, I'm talkin' about a real shitbomb!
Killer Clowns from Outer Space!
My brothers friend is a real movie buff. He knows just about every movie off the top of his head. So when I was younger (pre IMDb days). I told him about KCFOS and he didn't believe me that the movie existed.
Somehow he confirmed it existed and his mind literally exploded that this was an actual film that got produced.
How in the world has nobody said Leonard Part 6 yet?
"Bill Cosby in"
That probably answers your question.
Also, this gif is rather unsettling knowing what we now know:
I'll add a few that I didn't see named.
Extract
Margin call
Legion
Wanderlust
Hall pass
There's Something About Mary
American Pie 1,2, and reunion.
Matrix Reloaded and Revolutions
Van Wilder. I was shocked it hadn't been mentioned but I always watched this movie even if it is painful watching Tara Reid try to act (her delivery of the "don't take life seriously" line is epically bad).
The Weather Man. I haven't seen this in years and never saw it on TV but there are a few scenes I still remember vividly in the way only Nic Cage can deliver. It never seemed to get any recognition so I figured I'd throw it out there.
I would discuss The Rock, Beerfest, and White Men Can't Jump but they were covered already.
Sophia Bush in Van Wilder > Tara Reid in anything.
The Dream Team
Very Typical 80's film, but I love everything about it. I'm not sure how it did at the time of release, but I have never met anyone outside of my immediate family who knows anything about it.
I love that movie.
Mentioned it earlier in the thread under Michael Keaton movies. This movie was terrific.
Any of the Karade Kid Movies. I mean who doesn't like Mr. Miagi
I completely forgot Crocodile Dundee 2.
That's from the original Crocodile Dundee. Get it together, man.
I know I know. It's just what I think of when it comes to Crockodile Dundee. That's the first thing that comes to mind.
What did you think of the Superbowl ad for a pretend Crocodile Dundee sequel that turned out to be an Australia tourism ad?
Played on the "that's not a knife" joke, had a cameo appearance from Paul Hogan, and starred Danny McBride (Kenny Powers) and Chris Hemsworth.
Sneakers - Redford, Phoenix, Poitier, Kingsley, Aykroyd, Strathairn, tobolosky
That movie isn't mediocre! That movie is awesome!
Pootie Tang
Leg just for the title.
Music-themed(-ish):
- Rock Star
- The Sitter (for the soundtrack)
- Pitch Perfect (and I'll leave my man-card here)
Pompeii. The best performance is delivered by Vesuvius. Everybody dies.
Any volcano movie, actually. Dantes Peak, Volcano.
A little late, but a couple more to add that I will watch if I see them when running through the TV guide.
Most of my go to mediocre movies have been mentioned above, but I did not see these two.
The Song Remains the Same. Lameish.
It's inconceivable if the The Princess Bride hasn't been listed, yet even more inconceivable if it has. Am I using that word the way I'm supposed to use that word. Either way have fun storming the castle.
It's inconceivable that you think this is a mediocre movie
Robin Hood Men In Tights. I'm not sure if this is mediocre, it's funny as all get out
Kinda mad I forgot to mention This is Spinal Tap.
I'm kinda mad you did, since it's a great film.