What 'superficial' movies actually have some substance?
Have you ever seen a movie which could easily be considered ‘superficial’ in some way—either in terms of material (comfort-zone plot, banality) or cinematography (amateurish, badly made)—which you feel actually deserves more consideration for what it’s presenting?
One example of this may not have actually been seen by many people because it’s a French film, called Molière. I’m not sure of the general public views on this movie, but I’ve largely heard it compared with Shakespeare in Love. It’s a comedy, and fictional. However, I find that it presents some really good questions concerning human relationships—and an exploration of the historical double-standard*—that makes it a worthwhile exploration of certain aspects of society.
Or maybe I’m just nuts! Have you seen any films which couch a deeper discussion within a less-respectable form?
* let’s not get into the issues of whether or not the double-standard still exists, please!
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Pink Floyd The Wall
Sure to some people it’s like a bad acid trip and they have no idea what’s going on, but to me, it’s like The Catcher in the Rye. Well a bit
Leonard part 6
Especially this scene
@rebbel I heard Rob Zombie is making a remake. OOH THE AGONY
I agree with Clueless!!!!
The end of Back to the Future is pretty superficial. He gets back to 1985 and his life is better because his house is nicer, his parents have more money, and he has a new truck. Plus it absolutely has some substance.
@wildpotato Agreed. Staying in the vein of Adam Sandler movies, I’d also give Big Daddy a thumbs up. As far as action movies, Aeon Flux. And then there’s Cellular. Not sure if that counts, but yeah, it’s pretty much one of those movies that’s awesome for no reason. And Harold and Kumar Go To White Castle.
I fully expected Super Troopers to be stupid, and it was, but it was a different kind of stupid that I liked. Meow.
The Ringer with Johnny Knoxville. Not what I expected at all. I was pleasantly surprised by this movie.
I actually love the movie, Mean Girls.
Borat
Harold and Kumar Go To White Castle
Gremlins and Gremlins 2 both have some worthwhile social commentary about over-reliance on technology.
Orange County (love that movie and it still makes me laugh!)
and dare i say it….. legally blonde…cuz she starts out as the ‘big dog’, then steps out of her comfort zone and is the underdog…
maaaaybe house bunny, but that is a maybe… i’m not going to push that one
Idiocracy is a good one. I agree about Clueless.
I thought A History of Violence was pretty mundane until my brother explained it to me as an allegory for America’s foreign policy. In that light, the movie seemed pretty damn good to me.
i thought the first 5 minutes of idiocracy were good… and it was all down hill from there…
@drdoombot @alive I think Idiocracy would have been better with another writer aside from Mike Judge. As good as he can be (Office Space was awesome), I think that the concept was over his head. Not to say that Judege doesn’t have the talent… I just think that Idiocracy could have been better with another writer.
ie, with a better writer, it could have been one of the greatest comedies of all time
@Bluefreedom, @hookecho Wait a sec, what’s the substance in The Goonies? Maybe it’s cause I only just saw it recently and not when I was 10 like everyone else, but it was just a group of little boys who didn’t stop yelling for an hour and a half. Maybe you mean the little debate about whether to go on underground or not?: “It’s our time down here! Down here it’s our time!” That’s not substance, that’s bad writing.
I forgot the ATHF movie
I don’t really like the show, but damn, that movie was hilarious
Especially the intro
The new Disney movie UP had a great message too.
I’m an incredibly harsh movie critic and generally don’t even consider movies that seem superficial, but a few friends convinced me to see The Ugly Truth (mostly because watching chick-flicks with gay boys is rarely a bad plan) and I was pleasantly surprised. I think it really has more substance than anyone might expect.
Teen Wolf
@wildpotato. Let me guess, more bad writing and no substance? Whatever.
@wildpotato
I would consider it to have some substance due to the non-conformist message of the film. Also, unlike 99% of kids movies, the kids actually talk like real kids – cursing, ect.
Totally agree with Clueless and also Harold & Kumar. I’d like to add Fido.
Oh! Also, Mr Bean’s Holiday.
@MacBean Just finished Fido. Thanks, great zombie flick!
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