Posted on 09/13/2005 11:31:27 AM PDT by Houmatt
Just for fun, what is the WORST film you have EVER seen? And why?
I know a lot of you will be inclined to insert a Michael Moore film, but I am talking about films that are supposed to be fiction.
To begin, here is my personal pick: Ron Howard's The Grinch.
Surely we all remember the classic story from Dr. Seuss. Very simple, all about the spirit of Christmas.
Now, we get to the film. To begin with, the Whos are portrayed as the exact dead opposite of what they are in the story: They are quite materialistic.
Then, there seems to be something happening concurrent to the X-mas celebration. Just what the hell is the "Whobilation?" The audience is never told.
And there's the Grinch. The story says nobody knows why he hates Christmas. So, naturally, he is given a back story that rather implies he should be hating the Whos, or at least certain Whos, but certainly not Christmas. AND he is given a love interest (played by Christine Baranski).
Considering the target audience of the book (and therefore the film), there is some humor and a particular dress worn by the aforementioned Baranski early on (accented by a camera angle) that is just not suitable for that audience. So why have it? Heaven only knows.
Finally, when we get to the stealing part of the story, we see the Grinch predicting some very upset Whos. Now we all know what happens in the original story. But guess what? In this version of the story, the Grinch is proven right. In fact, it takes one of the Whos to talk the others into believing Christmas is more than just toys and trees.
I was shocked when I saw this film upon its release in theaters. Was it true Theodor Geisel's widow actually approved of this? How could she, when it absolutely violated everything her late husband was trying to impart with his beloved masterpiece in children's storytelling?
Whatever the truth was, one thing was certain: This film was an abomination. It was not merely bad; it was offensive. And I have never been so angered by a film like that to this day.
It is worth mentioning, as an aside, the film went on to make $250 million dollars domestic box office, making it perhaps the most profitable Ron Howard directed film to date. However, about three years later, when they decided to repeat or at least further the insult with another Seuss classic, Cat in the Hat, people saw right through it and gave it the b*tch slap it deserved.
Worst movie ever.
Maybe you didn't get it.
I felt the same way about "The Shawshank Redemption" and "Forrest Gump."
Isn't there a porn version with the same title - the 'l'?
Well, you already know I'll disagree on LoTR.
re: Gummo
That's one of those movies I kinda like in a so bad it's good sorts way, very weird. Not sure I'd watch it again but......
Then that just makes it more reprehensible.
"any other movie that has men flouncing around in dresses."
You include "Mrs. Doubtfire" in that? How about "Some Like It Hot"?
Why they invaded isn't the point. The point was that it restored the man's faith.
War of the Worlds, better yet subtitled, "How Much Sh*t Can Happen to One Guy in One Day"?
Actually, that was the most interesting part of the movie.
So there's that.
tell me you've never seen "Happiness".
I read in a John Wayne biography that "The Conqueror" was shot in what amounted to a radioactive dustbowl near where the government tested atomic bombs. 91 of the 200 cast and crew that were at that location came down with some form of cancer by 1980.
Did anyone ever see a movie called Damnation Alley, starring George Peppard? Pitiful.
The Mad Magazine spoof of "A Clockwork Orange" was better than the movie....
Parents saw "Happiness" and I decided to spend my $10 elsewhere, like a revival of "Plan Nine from Outer Space" or "Manos: Hands of Fate."
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