There are few more aggressive bad-movie proponents than former video store clerk Quentin Tarantino, who turned his love of blaxploitation, kung fu and all things drive-in into a career creating similar films for a new generation. Grindhouse, made with partner in crime Robert Rodriguez, is a conjoined double feature of B-movie fare Tarantino directed Death Proof, Rodriguez directed Planet Terror complete with scratchy prints, fake trailers and snack advertisements designed to simulate the drive-in movie experience. In a glossy book promoting the film, Tarantino compares the grindhouse experience with the raw power of punk rock.
These films existed outside the mainstream of Hollywood. You almost can t believe some of the sexuality and gore and brutality in them, Tarantino says in an interview in the book. And like a culturally transmitted disease, Tarantino finds their sensibility contagious.
I ve spoken a bit to Quentin about it, said B-movie mogul Lloyd Kaufman, founder of Troma Pictures, home to cult classics like The Toxic Avenger and Class of Nuke `Em High. And he admires the spirit of individuality in (such) films. (And he admires) that these people, for better or worse, put their heart in a film, and that there is an energy there that stands the test of time.
Kaufman, who co-founded Troma in 1972, is an auteur of what some might call bad movies. In Europe, (Troma films) are called trash. But it doesn t mean the same thing.
The first time they said that I got (angry). And they said, `No, no, no. It s a genre.
It s a mentality. It s not like garbage, Kaufman said. In this country, there are a lot of people who enjoy Troma movies because they re so bad, they re good.
But that s because they don t get them. All they see is the sex and violence. But, what the hell, that s OK, too.
Just as a bad movie is in the eye of the beholder, so are the reasons that we love them. One reason is that there s something in the movie that resonates for the individual, said Steve Swasey, director of corporate communications for Netflix. Which means that there are no bad movies just guilty pleasures.
Taste is subjective. One person s trash is another person s funny bone tickled, heartstring plucked or gray matter stimulated. The thin line between love and hate straddles another possibility that, like an ugly pet, an irksome child or a rocky marriage, a bad movie can be loved despite its flaws or even because of them.
To paraphrase the early- 60s pop hit Leader of the Pack : It s bad, but it s not evil. Bad movies we love could almost be a genre. If it were a grocery item, it would be cheese.
The premise is absurd, the dialogue is flat, and the acting defies description. And our relationship with it transcends logic. It is like an inside joke or a secret handshake recognized by a society of fellow travelers.
We know something that you don t know, because we love something that you don t (although our obsession probably says more about us than it does about the film). It s easy to enjoy a good movie, said Al Walker, editor of the bad-movie Web site Agony Booth (www.agonybooth.
com), named after a particularly bad Star Trek episode. But finding the unintentional humor in a bad movie feels differently than laughing at something that s supposed to be funny. That most movies are merely mediocre rather than horrible, Walker said, is because you don t have the situation today where one guy can run off with the studio s money and make the insane film he wants to make.
Since most films are made by committee, he said, it s kind of hard to make something that s laugh-out-loud bad. But rest assured, they will keep trying. And as long as they do, we ll keep loving them.
What is it? Star-studded, waterlogged disaster film Who loves it? Seniors, sailors, scuba-divers You might also like: The Day After Tomorrow, Bloody Mama What is it?
Musical about transvestite mad scientist who corrupts young couple Who loves it? Kimberly-Clark, John Waters, Marilyn Manson You might also like: The Sound of Music, Hedwig and the Angry Inch What is it? Scrappy stripper climbs to top of Vegas heap Who loves it?
Teenage boys, their fathers, Pac-Man Jones You might also like: Fellini Satyricon, Shortbus What is it? Surreal love story with fortune-cookie moral philosophy Why it s bad: If love is a drug, then this is your brain on drugs Who loves it? Director Darren Aronofsky and his true love (and star), Rachel Weisz You might also like: Altered States, Primer, Barbarella What is it?
TV space crew protects a planet from hostile aliens. Yes, again. Why it s bad: Forced camaraderie, corny villain, TV-caliber production values Who loves it?
The kid at the video store who rented it to you You might also like: Spaceballs," Earth Girls Are Easy What is it? Mutant humans want to bomb ape civilization back to Stone Age Who loves it? Organ grinders, Kim Jong-il You might also like: Every Which Way But Loose, Bedtime for Bonzo What is it?
Parallel tales of star-crossed lovers Who loves it? Teenage girls and their grandmothers You might also like: Old Yeller, Wild At Heart What is it? Apes control the planet and humans are their slaves.
Oops, wrong movie. Based on the sci-fi novel by Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard.
Who loves it? Tom Cruise, Kirstie Alley You might also like: Waterworld," The Man Who Fell to Earth What is it? A barbarian who worships a floating stone head corrupts a civilized society Who loves it?
Your husband s old college roommate. Oh, who am I kidding: your husband. You might also like: Soylent Green, Sleeper What is it?
Punch-drunk boxer saves Reagan-era America Who loves it? The Fighting Irish, Dwayne The Rock Johnson, Stone Phillips You might also like: Boxing Helena, Seabiscuit (Sources: Internet Movie Database ( www.imdb.
com), Videohound s Cult Flicks Trash Pics by Jim Olenski and Carol A.
News RSS