Top 13 Guilty Pleasure Films

D Dot Cinema

The following is a list of painfully bad films that I should be embarrassed, or quite possibly ashamed, to admit that I love. But no matter how many times I watch any one of these substandard films, I end up loving them more. They all have put their own little spell on me.

Listed in no intentional order...

13.  Twins (1988)
Director: Ivan Reitman
Faces: Arnold Schwarzenegger, Danny DeVito, David Caruso

12.  Never Been Kissed (1999)
Director: Raja Gosnell
Faces: Drew Barrymore, Michael Vartan, Molly Shannon, John C. Reilly, Jessican Alba

11.  Exit Wounds (2001)
Director: Andrzej Bartkowiak
Faces: Steven Seagal, DMX, Anthony Anderson, Tom Arnold

10.  The Brothers Solomon (2007)
Director: Bob Odenkirk
Faces: Will Arnett, Will Forte, Kristen Wiig, Lee Majors

9.  The Legend of Billie Jean (1985)
Director: Matthew Robbins
Faces: Helen Slater, Christian Slater, Dean Stockwell, Yeardley Smith

8.  Scream (1996)
Director: Wes Craven
Faces: Neve Campbell,Matthew Lillard, Jaime Kennedy

7.  Romy and Michele’s High School Reunion (1997)
Director: David Mirkin
Faces: Mira Sorvino, Lisa Kudrow, Jeneane Garofalo, Alan Cumming, Justin Theroux

6.  The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift (2006)
Director: Justin Lin
Faces: Lucas Black, Sonny Chiba

5.  The Cutting Edge (1992)
Director: Paul Michael Glaser
Faces: D.B. Sweeney, Moira Kelly, Michael Hogan, Terry O’Quinn

4.  Red Sonja (1985)
Director: Richard Fleischer
Faces: Brigette Neilsen, Ernie Reyes, Jr., Arnold Schwarzenegger

3.  Night at the Roxbury (1998)
Director: John Fortenberry
Faces: Will Ferrell, Chris Kattan, Molly Shannon, Jennifer Coolidge, Loni Anderson, Richard Grieco

2.  Wild Wild West (1999)
Director: Barry Sonnenfeld
Faces: Will Smith, Kenneth Branagh, Kevin Kline, Salma Hayek

1.  Beverly Hills Ninja (1997)
Director: Dennis Dugan
Faces: Chris Farley, Robin Shou, Chris Rock, Billy Connolly




There you have it...my top 13 guilty pleasure films. What are yours?

SILVER LININGS PLAYBOOK

Silver Linings Playbook isn't all that special. It is a typical romantic dramedy with some atypical and interesting cinematography. And it is set in a world were people don't seem to understand that sidewalks are for pedestrians and streets are for cars.

The plot of Silver Linings Playbook is corny and extremely formulaic. It falls into the polished turd category of film making. The two main characters are crazy before they fall for each other, then they are crazy for each other. Bradley Cooper plays Pat, a man who moves back in with his parents after an 8 month stint in a mental institution. Jennifer Lawrence plays Tiffany, a woman who has "poor social skills," and a dead husband. Pat is bi-polar and hyper-focused on getting back with his cheating wife who has a restraining order against him. Despite the fact he's obsessed with his wife, there is some sort of master plan to get him together with the lovely and kooky Tiffany. Cooper seemed to be playing a slightly more mentally unbalanced person than he did when he played the fictionalized Anthony Bourdain in the short-lived television series Kitchen Confidential. (If you are a fan of either Buffy and/or Freaks and Geeks, Kitchen Confidential gives you a little slice of Nicholas Brendan, aka Xander, and John Francis Daley, aka Sam Weir, that you can't get anywhere else.) Cooper's role wasn't much to write home about. It didn't blow me away. Lawrence, on the other hand, I gotta say, whether or not Lawrence thinks acting is stupid doesn't change the fact that she's damn good at it. I can't imagine anyone else playing her role. I didn't try that hard to imagine it, but still. She's good. I could go complete cheese-ball here and call her the silver lining of the film, but that would inaccurate.

Of course, I still have cheese-ball tendencies and the film does have a silver lining, two in fact: Chris Tucker and Robert De Niro. Chris Tucker was one of the main reasons the movie kept my interest. His character, Danny, was the perfect complement to Pat. He showed up at the exact times that he was needed. Whenever Pat was hesitant and being a whiny baby about doing anything, Danny would pop up to take Pat's place and/or show him what's what. At first, I was disappointed that Tucker didn't get more screen time, but looking back I think it was just right. The balance his character provided to the film was necessary. Too much of him would have taken away from that.And Robert De Niro, he was impressive. He plays Pat's OCD father so well that I can almost forgive him for Analyze This and Analyze That, Meet the Parents and Meet the Fockers, and, of course, Showtime! This film reminded me why I like Robert De Niro.

(The Weinstein Company)