Mmmm Guilty Pleasures

There are those movies that you can’t not watch when they come on the tube. We all have them whether we admit it or not. Even if we come across the movie and it's halfway over, we still have to watch the rest. What's great about these movies is when you find someone who likes them as much as you. It's like a Cubs fan meeting another Cub fan. You don't even know that person and there is already a common bond. So, here are a few of mine.

The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension: This was one those family movies. I don't mean for "the family." It was a movie that my family enjoyed. There was a time when us kids would sit and watch this every day during the summer. You know you have movie gold when the main character is a rock star, scientist, adventurer who along with his band The Hong Kong Cavaliers fight to stop aliens from destroying Earth. The fact that you have characters named, New Jersey, Perfect Tommy, and Rawhide only sweetens the deal. Extra bonus is Jeff Goldblum’s outfit: bright red cowboy getup. Don’t even get me started on the theme music. Side note: A couple years ago, my family was playing charades. I got as far as Buckaroo and my step sister got the whole title including the "Across the 8th Dimension" part. I love my family.

Flash Gordon:
Yes I’m talking about the 1980 camp version and not the serial. It’s another sci-fi classic of my youth. Honestly the best thing about this movie is the soundtrack by Queen. You know you have the Flash theme stuck in your head right now. FLASH! AAAAAAAAAAH! SAVIOR OF THE UNIVERSE! Good stuff. Bad acting, hot 80’s girls, Mac von Sydow as Ming the Merciless, Pre-Bond Timothy Dalton, and HAWKMEN! Imagine my thrill when I heard “Vultan’s Theme” on the Atari 2600 video game Vanguard. Geek boy heaven. “Second Wave Dive!”










Road House:
Patrick Swayze is probably the king of guilty pleasure movies. Not only does he hit the male demographic (Next of Kin, Point Break, and Road House) but he gets the ladies as well (Ghost, Dirty Dancing). Road House is the heartwarming tale of a Cooler brought in to clean up the worst bar in the world. His efforts to clean things up put him in opposition with the richest and baddest man in town. Did I forget to mention that the Cooler has degree from NYU in philosophy? Genius! The greatness of Road House lies not only in Mr. Swayze, but in Mr. Sam Elliot who plays Swayze’s mentor. With such lines as “That gal's got entirely too many brains to have an ass like that,” you can see why. For those who have heard the rumblings of a Road House 2, I would just like warn you that Swayze has declined a return to the “Double Deuce.” Why make the movie if you can’t get Swayze?

Big Trouble in Little China:“Everybody relax, I'm here.” Kurt Russell absolutely dominates in this movie, playing the moronic braggart anti-hero, who talks too much, and is really just there for the ride. Russell’s character Jack Burton became a huge source for lines I’d quote growing up. This movie has a semi, 2,000 year old Chinese Sorcerer, The Lords of Death, weird monsters, and a guy named Egg. How can go wrong with that? It should also be noted that the director of Buckaroo Banzai also wrote Big Trouble. This would have put him into my Top Ten list except that I found out he wrote “Stealth.”

Other Jack Burton Quotes:

“Like I told my last wife, I said, "Honey, I never drive faster than I can see, and besides... it's all in the reflexes."

“Would you just stop rubbing your body up against mine, because I can't concentrate when you do that?”

Gracie: I'd go with you but...
Jack Burton: I know, there's a problem with your face.

“When some wild-eyed, eight-foot-tall maniac grabs your neck, taps the back of your favorite head up against the barroom wall, looks you crooked in the eye and asks you if ya paid your dues, you just stare that big sucker right back in the eye, and you remember what ol' Jack Burton always says at a time like that: "Have ya paid your dues, Jack?" "Yessir, the check is in the mail."

Better Off Dead:Let the John Cusack man crush commence. I could go on, but you all know how great this movie is.

“This is pure snow! Do you have any idea what the street value of this mountain is?”

“I want my two dollars!”

“I have great fear of tools. I once made a birdhouse in woodshop and the fair housing committee condemned it. I can't.”

“She only speaks French, Roy. She doesn't speak imbecile.”

And the greatest quote:

“Now that's a real shame when folks be throwin' away a perfectly good white boy like that."

Other GP's of note:

They Live- "I'm here to kick ass and chew bubblegum, and I'm all out of bubblegum."
Evil Dead 2
Army of Darkness
Point Break
Tango & Cash
The last 30 minutes of The Dukes of Hazzard Movie.