“Drama is life with the dull bits cut out.”
-Alfred Hitchcock
Carly is hosting the week’s Weekend Assignment, and with the Academy Awards on tap for next weekend, she asks a movie-related question:
Extra Credit: Write a one paragraph review of the WORST movie you ever saw. 🙂
I’m going to skip the extra credit this week. I really try to avoid lousy movies, or at least block them from my memory. Most of the truly bad movies I’ve seen were on Mystery Science Theater 3000, and I couldn’t possibly do them justice here – and I still haven’t seen the (unofficial) Worst Movie of All Time, Plan 9 From Outer Space, although it is one of my life’s ambitions to do so.
It’s interesting; my reading interests tend to women-centric, but when it comes to movies, I’m really not all that much for the Chick Flick. Let’s consider a few of my all-time favorites:
- Casablanca: My favorite Hollywood classic features the doomed romance of Rick and Ilsa, but I wouldn’t dare call any movie starring Humphrey Bogart a Chick Flick.
- Some Like it Hot: Considering the amount of time that Tony Curtis and Jack Lemmon spend dressed as women, I’m really not sure either gender is the target audience…so I’d have to say it’s both, as long as you like the funny.
- The Princess Bride: This movie has it all – Fencing! Fighting! Revenge! True love! Miracles! – but let’s be honest; its appeal really isn’t rooted in its title character. The romance between Buttercup and Westley may propel the story, but at the same time, it’s the weakest part of it, and not the reason I’ve watched this film dozens of time. As has my son, and my husband…PB is an “everyone” movie.
- The Lord of the Rings trilogy: I know quite a few women who love these movies (some, like me, prefer them to the books *ducking*) – and I swear that it’s not solely because of Viggo Mortensen. For some of the younger ones, it’s probably Orlando Bloom. (Kidding!) But battle scenes notwithstanding, I wouldn’t consider it a Guy Movie, either – it’s an adventure with Big Themes. And little hairy-footed hobbits.
- Almost Famous: This one might skew more toward women than men, but if it does, it’s most likely because it has a lot of good dialogue and very few explosions. (Pardon my stereotyping, but in some ways, the distinction between Chick Flicks and Guy Movies asks for it.) To love this movie, it just helps to be a music lover, regardless of gender.
- Best in Show: It’s a dog movie – but for people, male or female.
Basically, I prefer movies that aren’t strongly marketed to one gender or the other, and my husband feels the same way. Most of the time, we agree on the movies we want to see, and that does make things a lot easier.
So, which side of the divide are you on – or do you try to stay in the middle, like me? I’d like to know, but you’re welcome to expand on your answer in a Weekend Assignment post of your own! If you are new, here are the guidelines for participation:
1. Please post your entry no later than next Wednesday evening at 9:00 PM ET. Carly will be closing the assignment at that time, and no additional links will be accepted after that time. Also, please leave your full link in the comment thread on the lead Weekend Assignment post. NO HYPERLINKS PLEASE!
2. Please provide a link back to the assignment. Feel free to display the logo above, along with the link, so other folks can find the assignment and participate along with us.
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4. If you can, please be sure to visit your fellow participants. Let’s encourage each other!
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