Pleasant Surprises: Movies That Exceeded (Low) Expectations

[Yogisbooboo64]

Finally got to see Fast Times at Ridgemont High.  Never wanted to see it and only watched due to my remote resting halfway across the room and being too lazy to get it.

Pleasantly surprised, although Sean Penn's Jeff Spicoli was annoying af!  Obsessed with Oingo Boingo's Goodbye, Goodbye song, haven't been able to go a day without listening to it.

[Annber03]

51 minutes ago, Yogisbooboo64 said:

Obsessed with Oingo Boingo's Goodbye, Goodbye song, haven't been able to go a day without listening to it.

I love that song :D. So much fun.

[Shannon L.]

9 hours ago, Yogisbooboo64 said:

Finally got to see Fast Times at Ridgemont High.  Never wanted to see it and only watched due to my remote resting halfway across the room and being too lazy to get it.

Pleasantly surprised, although Sean Penn's Jeff Spicoli was annoying af!  Obsessed with Oingo Boingo's Goodbye, Goodbye song, haven't been able to go a day without listening to it.

It didn't occur to me when I first watched it as a teenager, but watching as an adult, I'm really impressed that Cameron Crowe didn't run with Brad getting so angry at whoever got Stacy pregnant that he was determined to find out who it was and beat the shit out of him.  He asked Stacy, she declined to answer and he let it go.  He was there for her and didn't make it awkward. 

[Bastet]

3 hours ago, Shannon L. said:

It didn't occur to me when I first watched it as a teenager, but watching as an adult, I'm really impressed that Cameron Crowe didn't run with Brad getting so angry at whoever got Stacy pregnant that he was determined to find out who it was and beat the shit out of him.  He asked Stacy, she declined to answer and he let it go.  He was there for her and didn't make it awkward. 

That scene between them outside the clinic is my favorite of the film.  I love that, once he realizes where she's really going, he just waits for her outside.  Assures her of course he's not going to tell their parents, readily accepts she doesn't want to disclose who knocked her up, asks her if she's okay, and takes her to get some food - that's it.  It's a lovely moment between the siblings, because it shows the care and connection without veering astray into a closeness or sentimentality they don't actually have.

[Yogisbooboo64]

I know some folks roll their eyes at anything Tyler Perry, but....

I really liked Alex Cross and it sucks that it wasn't considered a box office hit.

Edited January 25, 2021 by Yogisbooboo64

[Spartan Girl]

I watched Happy Death Day 2U and it was just as much as a pleasant surprise as the first one. I had been expecting it to be not as good as the original, but even though it was more of a sci-fi comedy than a horror comedy (like the first one was) it was still pretty good. I laughed my ass off when Tree jumped out of the plane just so that she’s go splat in front of Carter and Danielle.

[Spartan Girl]

Watched Freaky on an HBO free weekend and like with the Happy Death Day movies, I was surprised by how fun it was. Forgot that Vince Vaughn used to be typecast as creepers before crossing over to comedy, and he hit the balance between both genres quite well in this.

[Spartan Girl]

Marry Me was much better than the trailers. Despite the ridiculous plot, it was cute and charming. Jennifer Lopez and Owen Wilson were surprisingly good together. And in retrospect, when you have reality shows like 90 Day Fiancé or Married to a Stranger, the plot doesn’t seem that out of left field. Not that I watch them.

[SallyAlbright]

10 hours ago, Spartan Girl said:

Marry Me was much better than the trailers. Despite the ridiculous plot, it was cute and charming. Jennifer Lopez and Owen Wilson were surprisingly good together. And in retrospect, when you have reality shows like 90 Day Fiancé or Married to a Stranger, the plot doesn’t seem that out of left field. Not that I watch them.

Yep, I actually really enjoyed this one and thought Lopez & Wilson had surprisingly sweet chemistry. The premise was ridiculous but the characters thought so too which made it fun. Much, much more enjoyable film than the trailers suggested. 

[Blergh]

Even though it wound up being somewhat of a box office bomb for Dwayne Johnson, I actually was pleasantly surprised with his rendition of Hercules (2014) - mainly because it demonstrated how heroics could have easily become legends and myths. Moreover,   it was touching to see him regain his purpose in life when it seemed he was about to lose his. Maybe I read more into this but it seemed that Mr. Johnson put more of his own heart and soul into this- beyond the minimum required to star in a splashy sword-and-sandal spectacle!  

[Ms Blue Jay]

On 1/25/2021 at 5:29 PM, Yogisbooboo64 said:

I know some folks roll their eyes at anything Tyler Perry, but....

I really liked Alex Cross and it sucks that it wasn't considered a box office hit.

I haven't seen that but my favourite movie directed by Tyler Perry is "The Single Mom's Club".  It's exactly what it sounds like and it isn't bad at all.

(I see now that TP just stars in Alex Cross and doesn't direct it.)

Edited February 19, 2022 by Ms Blue Jay

[Simon Boccanegra]

Alfred Hitchcock's last, Family Plot, about a phony psychic and her taxi driver boyfriend getting involved with a jewel thief and his partner/moll. This doesn't have a reputation as a disaster or anything, but it gets lightly passed over as a frivolous, unworthy coda for someone who was so foundational. I finally saw it recently and thought it was likable, cleverly plotted, and amusing. The quartet of Barbara Harris, Karen Black, Bruce Dern, and William Devane is one of the best casts Hitchcock had in his '60s/'70s period -- all four are both good actors and well cast for what they're doing. (That's the kicker. So often he had good actors but they were all wrong for a part. When I read a synopsis that begins "Paul Newman plays a brilliant physicist who..." I'm already laughing, and I'm not supposed to be.) 

It's no career-capping masterpiece, but I had a much better time watching it than I did with some other Hitchcocks that are held in higher regard (Marnie, Spellbound, Suspicion). 

[Ms Blue Jay]

Thanks.  I'll add that to the watchlist.  (I actually like all those Hitchcock movies you mentioned, LOL.)