I've been asked if perhaps I'm missing out on a lot of pop culture references in everyday life by not having seen movies that produce such quintessential quotes as "I am serious. And don't call me Shirley." I don't think my offenses are egregious, considering I do keep up with most of the references. It's just that I'm more likely to spend three minutes to Google a quote or a video clip from a movie than I am to sit down and watch the entire multi-hour affair.
I think part of the problem lies in taking the time to watch movies that are so pervasive in pop culture, and being wildly disappointed. "Scarface"? Not a fan. "Deliverance"? One of the worst movies I've ever seen. EVER. My worry is that some of the following movies would equally disappoint and I would regret wasting my time when I already know the relevant points or quotes.
Without further ado, here is my list of the top movies I regularly get chastised for never having seen, in no particular order. I'm sure there will be more added once people see this and start questioning me about the glaring omissions in my movie catalog. (Note: If there are multiple installments of a movie, such as The "Naked Gun" series, please assume I have seen none of them.)
-Top Gun--I'm not the biggest Tom Cruise fan. I have no desire to waste my time watching him play volleyball for 10 minutes. Plus, I'm already incredibly familiar with the Berlin song "Take My Breath Away" and many of the adventures of Goose and Maverick. I think I'm good.
-The Naked Gun--I used to actively dislike Leslie Nielsen when I was younger, but I appreciate the type of humor in this movie genre far more now. I may need to at least watch the first one.
-The Exorcist--This falls in the category of "horror movies," all of which I have to avoid. Not because they scare me silly when I'm watching them, but because I sleepwalk and these movies come back to haunt me at night. (Don't worry, I'll probably do a post on sleep walking at some point.) It will save time on this list to simply assume I haven't seen any significant horror movies, including Psycho and all the Nightmare on Elm Street and Halloween flicks. At the very least, I haven't seen them all the way through.
-Die Hard-John McClane is revered by American men everywhere, and these movies sound like the type of action flicks I would enjoy. There's no excuse for my negligence.
-Dirty Harry--I am feeling lucky, punk. I'll see this at some point.
-Rambo--I'm not a Sylvester Stallone fan at all.
-Rocky--See above, plus I'm not a fan of watching boxing.
-Caddyshack--I quote this all the time. I'm crazy for not having seen it because it looks really appealing.
-Unforgiven--Chris just recently got me to revisit westerns, which I traditionally dislike and fall asleep during. I actually liked "Tombstone," so I think it's time to check out this one.
-Brokeback Mountain--Again with the westerns. I know this was considered groundbreaking when it came out, but I was late to the train in watching it. At this point, I think I understand the concept enough to skip it.
-Total Recall--I may need to see this just because all of the talk about the woman with three breasts.
-The Fifth Element--I'm far more interested in science fiction now than I used to be (barring the Star Wars movies, which I always thought were awesome), so I may actually have to check it out.
-Strange Brew--My buddy Abraham, whom I met when we both lived in Madison, WI, likes to call me a hoser. He says it's a reference to this movie. I need to see it for that, and to watch the adventures of someone getting locked in a beer vat.
-Saving Private Ryan--I'm sure this would be great, but it takes a lot to get me in the mood to watch war movies.
-Dirty Dancing--I know this is on most girls' list of movies to see, but I'm not too girly so I don't know that I'd like it. Plus, I know the most memorable quote well enough to switch it and make it relevant to me personally: "Nobody puts Katie in a corner."
-The Sound of Music--I'm sure this is a really lovely film. However, I'm not that into showtunes, and I can't bring myself to knowingly sit down for a 3+ hour epic film.
-Robocop--OK, I know just about everybody saw this, but I can't imagine it's great enough that I need to visit it at this point in time.
-Gone With the Wind--Meh.
-Alien--I really dislike the thought of aliens. Refer to the aforementioned horror film phenomenon under "The Exorcist."
-Jaws--I like scuba diving so I see no reason to try to scare myself out of that.
-Splash--Hmmm. I got nothin' here.
-Spaceballs--I've seen so many individual clips of this movie, but never have I sat down and watched it all in sequence.
-Blazing Saddles--See "Caddyshack."
-Blues Brothers--I've seen parts of this one and haven't been too impressed. I probably should watch it at some point though, considering some of it was shot in my beloved Milwaukee.
-Major League--This should also be on the must watch list having been shot in Milwaukee when I lived there. Plus, I always love me a little Bob Uecker.
-This is Spinal Tap--I slept through 80% of this.
-The Goonies--I have seen many, many clips and enjoy them, but never watched the entire thing.
OK, so I think you get the gist. At least I know many of the references from these movies and typically don't give a blank stare when someone talks about John McClane or says, "May the schwartz be with you." I understand people's chagrin at my not having seen these flicks, because it pains me that many millenials haven't seen a lot of the movies I deem classics. My soul hurts when people do odd face contortions trying to figure out what I mean when referring to a flux capacitor or Slimer. I'll do my part with trying to hack down this list of unseen movies if you do your part and make sure the all the millenials you know start hacking down their lists.
In the comments section, feel free to add any other movies you get chastised for not having seen.
You are so right about "Deliverance". Nothing was on tv one night and I told MIke I had heard it was a good movie. We didn't make it 1/2 way through the movie and I wanted to throw up!! I have seen most of the movies you mentioned b/c my parents have all of them. I can tell you that the Dirty Harry, Total Recall, Fith Element, Rambo & Rocky movies - don't waste your time. Naked Gun I could care less about. I have to say that Mel Brooks movies are awesome. You didn't have "Young Frankenstein" on the list.
ReplyDeleteOMG, you have to see spaceballs. Doesn't the name alone make you want to see it?? :)
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