Guilty Pleasures

Following on from my previous post about the Spirit, I thought I’d talk a little bit about those guilty pleasure films that you love, even though the film geek inside you says you probably shouldn’t.

For example, one of my favourite movies of all time is Varsity Blues. That’s right, the one with James Van Der Beek as the high school quarterback. And no, it’s not just because of the whipped-cream bikini, although that definitely helps.

My best friend and I must have watched it together at least 20 times. It’s likely that I’ve watched it more than any other film, with the exception of the original Star Wars trilogy. That doesn’t mean I like it more than the Godfather, it just means that it has incredible re-watch value.

I know this takes me slightly away from my original point, but there are some movies that you can just watch over an over again. The kind of film you’ll put on when you have no idea what you want to watch, especially if you’ve got a rotten hang-over and have an exhausting day of laying on the sofa planned.

Anyway, I digress, back to my guilty pleasure… I know that Varsity Blues isn’t the best written film ever made. It doesn’t have the greatest performances (although John Voight is pretty darn good) or the best direction, but it is an incredibly funny, well put together, piece of popcorn fodder.

I’m sure there will be film fans out there gasping in shock and horror at my admission that I love American teen comedies like this. Well, I guess there’s nothing I can do about that. I love good teen comedies and I love good American Football movies. This is the best of both worlds.

In fact, I’m now almost annoyed that I’ve felt the need to excuse my behaviour by pointing out that I know the film is not as worthy as other great pieces of cinema. It feels a bit like I’ve fallen into the Academy Awards trap – let’s find five worthy dramas that were released in November or December and nominate them in every category. We’ll give Heath Ledger a nod for Dark Knight because he died recently, but god forbid we recognise a comic-book movie as one of the best films of the year.

Hmmm… I seem to have gone slightly off topic again so I can have a rant at the Academy, sorry about that. So, if you’re still reading, what’s your guilty pleasure*?

*(films only please, no filth)

The Spirit

I have that feeling about The Spirit – you know the one where you really love a film that maybe you shouldn’t. I’m not talking about the movies that everyone knows are rubbish but love anyway because they are reminded of their childhood or for some other kitsch reason. I’m talking about the ones that you pretend fall into that first category, but that you actually really like.

OK, maybe that isn’t completely clear, so I’ll give you an example of each…

Goonies is a film that I watched when I was young. It was about kids going on an adventure, finding treasure and beating the bad guys. When it’s shown on TV these days I’ll watch it and laugh because I remember laughing when I was 6. However, deep down, I don’t really love watching the film any more.

By way of contrast I present the Karate Kid - a film that I will watch today and enjoy as much, if not more than when I was still in single digits. I still get emotional at the right moments and honestly believe that it’s an excellent film. There are those that would point out that it’s predictable and little more than 80’s cheese, but I still like it.

Got it now? Am I making sense? Good…

With that in mind I found The Spirit to be incredibly entertaining, very funny and just downright sexy! Was it anywhere near as cool as Sin City? Nope. Will any critics put it in the same league as The Dark Knight? I seriously doubt it. But none of that matters.

I’d never even heard of The Spirit before I saw the trailers a few months ago. Perhaps that is why I didn’t have any expectations and was able to watch the movie for what it was – a comic. It’s a ridiculous movie but the cast, particularly Samuel L Jackson as the spectacularly unhinged Octopus, keep you entertained throughout.

Well, they kept me entertained. During the screening that I saw I think a total of 15 people left the cinema (three groups as a opposed to one by one) complaining loudly about how stupid it was. However, to put that into context, I was sitting in a cinema at 11pm on a Saturday night in East London. It is more than likely that the people who left had come to see the latest Fast and Furious film but had gone in the wrong door!

So, to bring this rambling review to a close, if you like Frank Miller, enjoyed Sin City, but are like me and have a stupid sense of humour, then go see The Spirit. If not, then don’t waste your time or money. That is unless you’re a big fan of these ladies…

Lesbian Vampire Killers

Not only is this possibly the greatest film title that has ever existed, but it stars Matthew Horne and James Cordon who I recently discovered after watching the first two series of Gavin and Stacey on DVD.

Unfortunately it wasn't written by Cordon who co-created Gavin and Stacey, but I'll probably still give it a watch...