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Have you ever been to a movie you found so gauche and tasteless that when other audience members laughed all you could think was, "Aha! So that's the target audience! Memo to self: never date those guys"?

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pixiedust 8 July 23
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5

I had a friend who insisted that we go to see "Stepbrothers" (Will Ferrel movie) in 2008 after work....
I made it about 30 minutes into the movie and left. I could feel my IQ melting away the more it went on....

I wondered about that movie. Glad I skipped it.

3

I would so much rather see a comedy than two hours or so of being flailed by unrelenting sadness like "Manchester by the Sea" or "The Boy in the Striped Pajamas" or "The Road."

Over 35 years and I still can't get what Sophie's Choice was out of my head.

"You must cut down the mightiest tree in the forest with a herring!"

That's much more fun.

I don't care much for tear jerkers myself. I only saw a few moments of Sophie's Choice (on TV as I was getting ready for work) and I'm still haunted.

@pixiedust I would put the "Choice" scene, in question, as one of the most disturbing I have ever watched. Many of the scenes from the original mini-series "Roots" also.
That was so much more wrenching because they used well-beloved TV fathers from popular series to portray the most vicious and vile characters.

3

Talladega Nights. I wanted to like it, but...YUCK

I hear you on that one

3

There is a reason I have an ex from several years ago that I would never consider taking back. She lost so much respect when she tried to get me to watch Ace Ventura. I made it 10 minutes in and told her She was free to watch the rest while I went for a walk.

Even my young daughter skipped that one.

3

I walked out of "Apocalypse Now". I absolutely HATED "Titanic", and "There's Something About Mary". Most comedies are exceedingly stupid to me.
I'm a pretty fair judge of trailers. I can usually tell whether I want to see a movie based on the trailer, or genre.
Just because something is "popular", or "critically acclaimed", doesn't mean I'll have any interest. Actually, it's usually an indicator that I won't.

@PalacinkyPDX For me, it's tied with Titanic and The English Patient.
They ALL sucked as far as I'm concerned.

Come on... stupid is funny. Smart comedies are not that smart or that funny... I saw Apocalypse Now on LSD. I walk out after the movie not wanting to see another war movie... Well I came back to see it again sober up. I read the book it was based on... and later saw another movie more closely based on the book. I didn't watched another war movie, until Platoon. I really liked "Something about Mary". Straight up romance like Titanic I don't do and I am a romantic so... been there done that and I can see the screw ups and fucked ups of romance movies. I don't trust my judgement of trailers because sometimes is what is not in the trailer what would attract me. I watched the whole Reign series in Netflix. All 3 or 4 seasons. To me there was one scene that made it worthwhile... when the French King by accident pushes out the window the sister of the Holland ambassador while making love, the face he put once he realized what happened and the only one that could save him was his wife the Queen he just condemned her to be beheaded the next day . I am a one scene kind of guy. Something about Mary... the zipper and penis accident... we boys know that feeling. The scene where he gets arrested in the I-95 rest area.... Ithe cum-jell... all those guys in love with the same woman and cockblocking each other left and right, I been to college, we did it all the time, also in high school... etc, etc. etc. Movies are labours of love... sometimes Suck big time and you don't know how in the hell they could pitch that movie. Other times movies are just a paycheck to someone. But I am like you... if everybody likes it... I am not going to. Been the stubborn little bastard since early youth. Declining to watch cartoons by school age, as adult never interested in erotic movies because it is porn for children like I always say. Feed up with starwars yet every time somebody do Dracula... got to see it.

@GipsyOfNewSpain Your opinions, to which you are entitled.

@KKGator Sure... there are many comedies and comedians I don't enjoy at all. Sometimes I have to bypass the actor and enjoy the act. Sometimes I can't. I am one of those who think that movies not liked by some like "when harry met sally", "sleepless in seattle" and "something about mary" is because so many people liked them that somebody has to dislike them but as my favorite folk songwriter said... "Eat grass... millions of cows can't be wrong". Just an opinion. But... give example of movies you did really liked?

Sometimes I go to a movie that's been panned because I saw the trailer and know I will enjoy it. I do hate when the trailer contains the only good bits in the movie.

@pixiedust Yeah sometimes I don't see those movies because you saw all you needed to see in the movie and you are like ?????? W.T.F. trailer was the movie! I do tend to dislike violence and speed chases. So destruction of property with bombs and explosives going off.... Currently watching a Netflix series... "godless"... not because of the title but is a western with a very modern day take... you know... solo vigilantes and lesbians... faithless, lawless psychopath wanna be preacher with his 30 apostles... non horse riding indian... glasses wearing going blind marshall... greedy mine congregate, a bunch of different stories intersecting to a modern day like smorgasm as never seen in the west... and not a single non english speaking cowboy across 3 territories not yet part of the union... Ain't that some shit? Is the West, I am in episode 3 or 4? ...and haven't seen a Mexicano yet? What kind of west is that?

@PalacinkyPDX Not counting Forrest Gump?

@KKGator the hair gel thing.

Goofy is great sometimes.

I don't like cruel comedy.

That one where the guy fell for the fat girl because he thought she was a size 4 was pretty damn cruel.

@BufftonBeotch Didn't like "Shallow Hal", either. Thought the "hair gel" gag was pathetic, gross, and unfunny. Thought the getting his penis stuck in his zipper was even worse. Like I said, I hated that movie.
I don't like Ben Stiller, in general. I really don't like his movies. I liked his parents better. They were an excellent comedy team.

@GipsyOfNewSpain I've seen ads for Godless. It looked like an entertaining series, but I don't Netflix, so I appreciate your synopsis.

@GipsyOfNewSpain, @KKGator Who were Ben Stiller's parents?

@KKGator Not a fan of Ben Stiller but all boys at some point get their wee-wee caught up in the zipper and trust me... that is a pain as you can't imagine... it is not giving birth... but is zipper caught your penis in its jaws pain! We Men can Relate to That!!!

@pixiedust Anne Meara (deceased) and Jerry Stiller.
They performed as Stiller and Meara.
She was a tall Irish redhead, and he's a short jewish guy.
They were hilarious. I used to watch them on Ed Sullivan,
when I was a kid in the 60s.

@KKGator, @pixiedust I can of see what's gonna happen at the end... they just introduce and develop characters with flashbacks... there is a town full of women were the 83 men of the town died in a mine accident. So all that is left is children, 5 old men, 1 young man left an idiot after the accident and 1 deputy that is beaten at the draw by the sister of the marshall that hired him... the marshall going blind but faking that can see. It is a modern take on the old west... the young prostitute that saved 20000 dollars shacking up with the sister of the marshall.... not your gene autry and roy rogers west for sure.

3

No, but if someone already judged me wholly and doesn't want to date me because I laughed at a fictional event in a movie I'm guessing it wasn't going to work out anyhow.

Probably not and they're likely thinking "Memo to self: never date that humourless stick-in-the-mud".

2

And my niece and I laughed hysterically at Amityville Horror.

We were about 15 or so.

We were very nearly kicked out. Even though most other people were catching the humor and laughing with us...we were loudest.

Someone was a Cinema Cindy.

I guess we ruined the terror for Cndy. lol

Hilarious! Some horror flicks deserve to be laughed at

Hilarious! Some horror flicks deserve to be laughed at

2

Hey I'm still working on the fact that you used "gauche" in a sentence. ?

It seemed apt ...

2

The Descent is supposed to be a horror/thriller, but I found it only to be funny. Everything about that movie was a joke.

Marz Level 7 July 23, 2018

Never saw it, but some horror/thriller movies are so over the top, they're almost laughable.

2

I wouldn't date those guys anyway, but I've only walked out of movies a couple of times. Usually, I can tell from the previews that I don't want to see it.

JimG Level 8 July 23, 2018

It doesn't happen often, but sometimes I find myself where I'd rather not be.

@pixiedust I understand. Once I went to a movie that a friend of mine talked me into seeing. He said we shouldn't leave because that'd be a waste of money. I told him the money's already gone; staying would just be a waste of time.

2

Hollywood has created..(Note I use the word create), a lot of movie gems..when I say Hollywood I mean any movies from the U.S.

But apart from the odd exceptions, these days they seem to be churning out many more movies than ever..with scant care for quality..IMO

It all seems formulaic and pedestrian...fast paced poorly written..movies with explosions, shootouts, and endless car chases...and those are just the romantic comedies...

There does seem to be more focus on special effects than on narrative.

@pixiedust exactly..the art of story telling is being traded for teenage bums on seats...bottom line stuff...??

@pixiedust @Hitchens I love movies! All kinds from action to classics. But I know when I go to an action movie that is all I expect, same with some comedies, no intelligence just stupid entertainment. Not to say there aren't some I won't go to see, afterall previews at least give you a good idea of what you're in for. I have been disappointed but never to the extent of leaving the theater. So expectations are key, IMO.

@BeeHappy
Hi Bee, I agree it's about expectation..it for this reason that I only watch a movie in a movie theatre when I am absolutely sure I will like it..if it's just meh..as in fair to mediocre I just won't bother.. Yes I look at trailers..but I put much more stock in broadsheet reviews..or IMBD/Rotten Tomatoes.

@BeeHappy

Question: Is it a sign of aging that I find it difficult to find a movie I would like to see in movie theatres these days...
It seems to me that almost every movie back in the day was worth going to see in the cinema.
Not anymore..

Same with the radio in my car..I can turn it on when I start driving..can't find any good tunes..get to my destination..and I'm still flicking the dial. I'm not kidding..Im only 46!

@Hitchens Ok, so I am a little more discerning in movies and I also do the same with the car radio. So with a 20+ year gap in our ages, either I'm very young in attitude OR you're very old in attitude. LOL?

@BeeHappy

I would never consider you old!..maybe I was one of those people who were born old if ye know what I mean..Idk ..I need to think young again! I like old movies..older great music..and since I was 21 found myself attracted to older women..maybe I just have a mature brain..although with my sense of humour I'm not sure if mature is the right word..maybe vintage! ???

@Hitchens Thank you! I've always been young at heart and probably immature too. You're not old! But sounds like you might have an old soul. In either case we are who we are and I'd say we are both pretty cool individuals. ?

@BeeHappy

Damn right we are!! I wouldn't be surprised if were the two coolest cats on this beloved cyber village!!
? BeeHappy ? Hitchens..??

2

Something About Mary (and just about anything with Ben Stiller - or for that matter Adam Sandler but I digress). Honestly - the target demographic of movies like that seems to be 18-24 year old males who still live with their moms. I was with a group of people so could not gracefully walk out. Today's me would have.

I didn't start walking out until I reached 50. Being polite often traps us in less than stellar situations, doesn't it?

@pixiedust Yes it does. My filters continue to fall as I get older and wiser!

2

Yes, unfortunately, and not just at theaters. Such stupid films and TV shows, what is the lowest common denominator is the target.

Sometimes it certainly seems so though I have to admit to being rather fond of SpongeBob SquarePants. Maybe we seek escape in entertainment that encourages us to vegetate and turn off our thoughts?

1

Oh yes, I got dragged to go see Snatched by my mom for mothers day. It was one of the worst movies I've ever seen in my life and I walked out of the theater and waited on her for the last 20 minutes of the film. Everyone else was laughing hysterically while I just sat there in horror.

I don't know that movie. Did you get to eat popcorn while you waited? I'd have taken the popcorn with me when I walked out.

@pixiedust Nope, no popcorn sadly. I'll never get those 2 hours back of my life. It has Goldie Hawn and Amy Schumer in it. I like Goldie Hawn (at least her older stuff like Overboard) so I was hoping that it would be a decent movie regardless of Amy Schumer being in it (I'm really just not a fan of her style of comedy) but I was very sadly wrong. I knew it was going to be horrible when only 15 minutes into the movie, Amy's character rips the book that Goldie's character is reading reading out of her hands and rips out the last 10 pages so that she'll pay more attention to her. I was so offended that I yelled out "you fucking bitch" in the middle of the theater while everyone else was laughing. I should have left then but I was trying to stay for my mom but it finally got to be too much and I had to get out of there.

@wick3dwond3rland Wish I'd been there to hear you yell that!

1

A friend insisted we go see 'Bad Grandpa'. Astoundingly dreadful, more so because everyone else was laughing hysterically.

I was mildly curious, but the trailer didn't engage my interest. Glad I skipped it.

That's the guy dressed like the old man?

@BufftonBeotch yeah, Johnny Knoxville. Definitely not my type of humor.

1

Years back when an ex and I ran our own business, not so successful (see the word ex) I would be the one meeting clients and collecting money, and other multi tasking.

Sometimes in distant cities.

One thing I would do when there was idle time was to go to a movie theater i the afternoon and just see the next thing playing.

I saw Diary of a Mad Black Woman and Amelie this way.

Neither of those movies were in my realm of awareness.

They both became favorites.

A wise use of your limited free time.

@pixiedust And "The Secret Life of Bees" That one ripped my heart straight out through my ribs.

@BufftonBeotch I read the book and it was heartrending.

@BufftonBeotch
The title has my curiosity peaked.

@pixiedust "Their Eyes Were Watching God"

Oh man Oh, Tea Cake. Oh Janie. Hardest book I've ever strangled my way tears through.

Perhaps the most brutal scenes in American fiction.

I LOVE Amelie, fantastic movie

It's even better put to music. My love is a master of putting together music to set to a movie and watching it like that.It's incredible

1

It's all subjective.

It sure is and I'm sure there are people who deplore my taste in movies.

@pixiedust Lol there are plenty of movies I can't stand. Most of them are low quality in general. I found this out in the digital age when I got NetFlix for the first time. I was like a kid in a candy store and then became jaded real quick. I was like this looks good, that looks good, and then most of them are disappointments. Now I very carefully review trailers, pictures, descriptions, actors, and ratings before I give a movie a try. Too much wasted time to only shut a movie off 20-60 minutes in.

1

I noticed this when I was dragged to Sex and the City. The first Avengers movie had this, but I still enjoyed it.

dokala Level 7 July 23, 2018

Sometimes, the movie is OK overall with just a few moments of inner cringe. I never saw Sex and the City or The Avengers, although I might watch the latter one day.

@JustKip Yep, there was a movie

1

Went to a movie I never would have seen "30 Days of Night" horrible scary vampire movie with a guy I only dated once-9 years ago.

We saw that one! We figured the target audience was people from a warmer clime. The cold dark is just normal for us. The rest of the movie was scary, though, and we were very jumpy walking home at midnight in the cold, silent, dark.

1

You have a movie example? I'm curious now

Sirena Level 7 July 23, 2018

I hesitate to say the one I was thinking of when I wrote this post because it's a popular movie with some very interesting aspects. Plus, I've met one of the actors and I really liked him (he's deceased now).

There have been others, mostly indie films such as "Juice Pigs". Just not my kind of humour.

1

I don't do polls, but I am going to comment about the last movie I saw before leaving DC/Maryland... "Sorry to bother you". All I can say is hollywood and me are in different planets. I tried to lower my intellect, minimal in the first place, I tried to expand it. I tried to see it as a white, a black, a hispanic, even as a nephew of jockeys, I even drank the kool-aid in case they added something, I tried to see it as telemarketer, as a father, a veteran, as an american, as a non american... my date tried to defend the movie. Maybe I should be grateful I left the area. Having seen "Rhynoceros" in the 1970's should had helped me understand but not even previous precedence of a better kind helped me with this half baked bad idea of a movie, despite all the good movie dates we had... this is the one I will remember.

This is a great story. Your point of view is always worth reading. I'm glad you chose to comment 🙂

The irony here is that I thought about you while I was constructing this post and debated whether or not to add a poll because I really wanted a comment from you. I went with the poll because I noticed that you sometimes respond even when you don't vote and I also wanted to attract people who would prefer to vote than to type a response.

@pixiedust I am mellowing out now that I am back in Vegas... I read great reviews for that movie and "Lady L" wanted to see it... they were talking about in an intellectual level how great of a black comedy it was. Movie may be black but it is not comedy... it may be a judgement of how greedy people are today and how far are they willing to go for money but if it is a "high" movie that sobered up people can't get it... well it is what it is. I saw in the same week the movie "Which way is up" by a very early Richard Pryor with a very similar theme and comparing them side by side... I am the one Sorry for being Bother. Maybe certain demographic with a very narrow scope will see it as a great movie. I was Con by reviews and a movie date!!!!

1

Yes, I've been to movies that are supposed to be comedies that I couldn't explain why other people found them funny, but people's sense of humor is diverse though. I guess the only way I'll judge anyone is if they laugh at inappropriate things like watching Schindler's List or something.

One of my (many) secret vices - I feel free to indulge in pre-judging people I will never meet.

I walked out of a "black humour" comedy once when I was appalled at the laughter about a troubled 4 year old attempting suicide. That audience terrified me.

@pixiedust that sounds horrible! I won't lie, I don't find Family Guy or south park funny. The characters are obnoxious. I like Seth macfarlane and the creators of South Park though, they've done some work I like.

@mek7730 I don't either although I occasionally see a Family Guy meme that's hysterical.

@pixiedust memes are different. They are the best thing to happen to humans since chocolate cake.

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