You ever see a preview for a movie and think “ugh, that looks awful.” Then you read a review and a critic tears it apart. You basically write that movie off and never plan to see it. But then something happens, you catch it on TV or you are stuck on a plane watching it, and guess what? You like it! Here are my top five movies like that, but first some honorable mentions.
The Fifth Element
I know that all of us love the movie now, but when I first saw the preview I thought it looked stupid. Bruce Willis as a sci-fi star? I could not see it.
Meet Joe Black
Seriously, a movie about Death pretending to be human and falling in love with a girl. And yet, Brad Pitt pulls it off and the movie ends up being great. It also does not hurt that it has one of the funniest scenes ever in a serious movie.
Idle Hands
A possessed hand movie looked so idiotic. But it was a hilarious movie. Seth Green and Elden Henson are probably the funniest parts of the movie. There are also so many stupid little jokes that cracked me up back when it came out. Also, Jessica Alba almost naked probably helped me enjoy this movie a bit more as a teenager.
Trolls
A movie with the stupid trolls that were popular years ago. Also, there is this weird part of me that tries to hate Justin Timberlake. I think it is that 90s rock & metal fan in me that would make fun of NSYNC. At this point, I think JT is funny in everything I see him and I actually enjoy his music, so why do I still fight it? Anyways, I watched Trolls with Payton and I loved it. I thought it was awesome that they used Timberlake as a troll who hates to sing and does not actually do it until the end of the movie.
5. Failure to Launch
A stupid premise for a movie, but some fantastic actors really make it work. Matthew McConaughey is great in just about everything, but it was his friends that really helped this movie: Justin Bartha and Bradley Cooper. Sarah Jessica Parker was meh, but Zooey Deschanel does her cute thing. The real heroes of the movie though are Kathy Bates and Terry Bradshaw.
4. Underworld
Imagine Romeo & Juliet, but with vampires and werewolves! I feel like that would be something a Hollywood producer would say while snorting a line. I remember going to the theater with almost zero expectations (and basically going just to see Kate Beckinsale in tight leather) and walking out excited about how deep the vampire-lycan mythology seemed to go and how much thought was put into it.
3. This Means War
I saw this preview and thought “nope, not wasting time on that one.” I ended up watching it while we were on a bus from Vegas to LA (I think). I thought it was pretty dumb, but at least had some entertaining parts. Since then I have watched it a few more times and honestly, it is not good, but it is so damn fun. It is so over-the-top at times that it should be the sequel to True Lies. It does not hurt that Tom Hardy and Chris Pine are good actors and seemed to be having fun with their roles. My favorite part is probably when they rescue Reese Witherspoon from a car and one of them (I think Hardy) shoots the tire of Chelsea Handler’s car, which then veers off the road and skips across a lake where she is able to safely get out. So ridiculous, but fun.
2. Saving Silverman
Sometimes you watch a movie with certain people and it just cracks you up. I feel like if I watched this on my own, I would have been unimpressed, but instead I watched it with my brother and his friends. We laughed hysterically at this stupid comedy. I think the lug nut line is probably when we lost it and from that point we were all-in with this movie.
This movie has it all…Jack Black and Steve Zahn being goofy idiots (the walkie-talkies, “you pinch loaves on the lawn? I play croquet out there!”), R. Lee Ermey as the coach (“you ate her? that’s smart, perfect crime”), and Neil Diamond!
1. A Knight’s Tale
This is the movie that inspired the list. I remember when this came out and seeing the preview which if I remember correctly was set to Queen’s “We Will Rock You” and they showed the scene where the crowd does the chant. And yet the movie is sooooo good. Heath Ledger, who at the time I was like most people and convinced he was just some pretty boy actor, ends up being great as the poor kid who lies his way into becoming a knight. The rest of the cast works so well together. Paul Bettany as Chaucer and all of the little references. And you know what? The jousting scenes are good! It is an exciting movie.
What are some movies you thought would be stupid, but ended up surprising you?
