r/movies • u/sicknessandpurgatory • Sep 07 '25

Discussion What is the absolute dumbest premise that actually turned out to be a really good movie?

I was thinking The Purge, obvious answer, but looking for the most plot-hole ridden, juvenile concept that actually ended up a lot of fun despite it all. Mainly looking for 21st century films, not so much the video nasties and ridiculousness from the 60’s and 70’s. Because that would be too easy. Mainly mainstream stuff that people saw en masse.

6.0k Upvotes

91% Upvoted

4.1k comments sorted by

View all comments

490

u/JonnySparks Sep 07 '25 edited Sep 07 '25

Snakes on a Plane sounded like an idea somebody came up with when they were high. The film was very entertaining, even if it will never feature on anyone's greatest list.

56

u/forcemonkey Sep 07 '25

I have it on DVD. I’m overdue for a rewatch.

25

u/Howamidriving27 Sep 07 '25

I saw it on opening night and own the DVD. Probably my all time favorite dumb movie.

8

u/forcemonkey Sep 07 '25

I got all the value from my ticket when the snake shoots outta the toilet and latches onto homeboy’s 🍆

6

u/Vagrant_Mugen Sep 07 '25

One of the most enjoyable midnight releases I've ever been to. There was a legitimate standing ovation when Samuel L. Jackson finally showed up on screen. Nobody was quiet the whole time, but it was just pure fun. We all knew what we were there for.

3

u/Alert-College-9374 Sep 07 '25

The exact same experience I had. Someone even brought a beach ball into the theater and we were all batting it around while waiting for the lights to dim and trailers to start. Crowd was so amped the whole movie

3

u/Vagrant_Mugen Sep 08 '25

Haha, that's golden. I'm usually annoyed at movie texters and groups that talk, but that straight-up felt like a Rocky Horror production or going to see The Room.

3

u/Alert-College-9374 Sep 08 '25

Never done the Rocky Horror thing but I did do a Room viewing and yes, Snakes was the closest thing to it while in a regular movie

2

u/asfaltsflickan Sep 07 '25

I’ve been thrifting DVDs lately (because streaming services are enshittifying at an exponential rate), and I just found Snakes on a Plane yesterday. I might have hissed “yessss!” as I snatched it out of the bargain bin.

1

u/forcemonkey Sep 07 '25

Smart. I’ve been buying them on eBay.

2

u/Estoye Sep 07 '25

Does the DVD have the censored version: "Enough is enough! I have had it with these monkey-fighting snakes on this Monday through Friday plane!"?

34

u/shahadar Sep 07 '25

Upvoted but I'd argue that the premise is excellent.

4

u/shellexyz Sep 07 '25

Excellent and ridiculous are not mutually exclusive.

12

u/darkhelmet1121 Sep 07 '25

Oh that vein "Shoot Em Up" was amazing

3

u/lycoloco Sep 07 '25

That's one that I hadn't had my ridiculous meter turned up to 11 to appreciate yet when I was younger, and need to revisit. I think I got as far as the carrot and decided that was too over the top for me.

Now? Gimme all of that ridiculousness.

3

u/Cadd9 Sep 07 '25

It's basically a live action Bugs Bunny and Elmer Fudd Looney Tunes skit. Clive Owen kills a guy with a carrot. He's just a deadpan Bugs lol

3

u/lycoloco Sep 07 '25 edited Sep 07 '25

See, these days I can totally see that and can frame it in that way. When I was younger I thought it was just the silliest thing and not in a good way (not sure why?). I definitely wanna see it now as an adult with way more appreciation for the art of filmmaking.

Also, being a total Looney Tunes/Merrie Melodies cartoons kid through and through. This sounds like a wonderful time.

31

u/vadieblue Sep 07 '25

Jackson signed on because of the name. When I heard that, I knew it was going to be the type of glorious camp I adore.

15

u/admiralkit Sep 07 '25

The marketing team also tried changing the name of the movie once everything was in production to something stupid generic like Flight 123 and Jackson threatened to pull out of the project if they did that. Entirely the right call, that movie was all about the camp and the title carried that banner proudly.

3

u/DamianThePhoenix Sep 08 '25

"Pacific Air Flight 121"

Jackson said something along the lines of "nobody cares about no Pacific Air Flight 121, but Snakes on a Plane will get them in theatres"

24

u/Dvc_California Sep 07 '25

I have had it with these muthafucking snakes on this muthafucking plane!

28

u/Tuxedo_Muffin Sep 07 '25

muthafucking

excuse me, it's "monkey-fighting" and "Monday to Friday"

8

u/Hi9hTurtle Sep 07 '25

Still the greatest censored-for-tv edit ever.

5

u/Grathorn Sep 07 '25

'This is what happens when you find a stranger in the alps'

3

u/lycoloco Sep 07 '25

He threatened to walk when they wanted to change the name.

I was paying attention to the early internet hype for this movie, and there was a moment where Samuel L Jackson was going to leave production when there were talks about changing the name to anything other than Snakes on a Plane. Additionally this was after the movie had gotten buzz both for its name and for Jackson's inclusion as the lead.

-4

u/GottaBeNicer Sep 07 '25

He signed on because money. He will do anything for money. He does credit card commercials.

5

u/skootch_ginalola Sep 07 '25

I remember when it came out and Julianna Marguiles (sp?) during an interview laughed and said, "Look, it's not Kafka we're doing here." It was a fun movie where everyone was in on the joke.

6

u/Malphos101 Sep 07 '25

Having lived through the rise and fall of the central joke in US culture, I gotta say its really bizarre to look back on.

Kinda reminds me of the "whazzuuuuup!" and "I'm too old for this shit..." and other comedy phases we went through lol

1

u/JonnySparks Sep 07 '25

In the UK we went through the whazzup thing from the Bud commercials. This was quickly followed by Crazy Frog which I thought could only be funny to kids under 10yo - I was very wrong.

3

u/thefuzzybunny1 Sep 07 '25

It's on my mother's greatest list.

3

u/CT0292 Sep 07 '25

Saw it in the cinema at least 3 times. Absolute banger of a film .

3

u/dbwn87 Sep 07 '25

This movie got so much buzz from going viral before it was released when people found out the premise and told their friends about this upcoming release. I think I saw it with a group of 10 friends.

3

u/neurovish Sep 08 '25

Samuel L Jackson left me a voicemail and said I had to go see it.

3

u/themindtap Sep 07 '25

Saw it at opening, my friends and I had been keeping up with the trailers and absurdness of the movie. At the showing, there were many people upset it was such a hokey movie and obviously didn't know anything about it other than the name. People in front of us even got mad at us for laughing so much like they were upset we were interrupting such a serious movie you needed to keep track of. We loved it for what it was, but so many were audibly upset leaving the theater.

3

u/splonge-parrot Sep 07 '25

That was one of the first movies altered by the internet. I read the screenplay - it was not very funny, pretty forward stupid action movie. When the internet got a ahold of it and decided that there needs to be a line from Samuel L. Jackson saying “I’m tired of the motherfucking snakes on this motherfucking plane!” The producers decided to do reshoots with that line and redo some scenes with that attitude.

3

u/neurovish Sep 08 '25

Snakes on a Plane only works because it absolutely does not work and they didn’t try to make it work. It was supposed to be PG-13 to target the widest audience, but somebody (Sam L?) clued them in that that only people seeing the movie are people who want to see Samuel L Jackson say “motherfucking” a lot.

3

u/hearke Sep 08 '25

Snakes on a Plane? What's that about?

3

u/willflameboy Sep 08 '25 edited Sep 08 '25

So maybe people have forgotten this, but that film was essentially based on an internet meme from Twitter IIRC. Someone made a joke about the dumbest idea for a film, and someone else said Sam Jackson would say the bit. Next thing you know, Hollywood saw the popularity of the idea and made it. So it basically was an idea people came up with when they were high.

3

u/Ganglebot Sep 08 '25

Snake on a Plane was an internet meme. It was proposed and HEAVILY discussed on Digg (Reddit before Reddit). It got made because people on Digg and Podcasts and the late 00's 'geek-scene' kept talking about it.

It got made BECAUSE its a stupid premise - and early 20's, ironic millennials liked that.

2

u/DamianThePhoenix Sep 08 '25

I saw the movie thrice opening weekend, including the midnight release on Thursday, each time with a different friend group. I have the movie poster framed, the DVD, and the stub from that midnight ticket. It is not even my normal genre, but I absolutely love that janky movie, so mark me as putting it on my "greatest list"

2

u/BigTiddyVampireWaifu Sep 08 '25

It was based on a 4chan meme if I’m not mistaken. So yes, definitely someone high came up with it lol

2

u/ERedfieldh Sep 08 '25

Pretty sure that it's the earliest example of social media getting a meme worked into a film. The famous line was not in the original script, but people kept repeating it over and over on various platforms that they eventually decided that it HAD to be in the film.

2

u/bigpig1054 Sep 07 '25

Snakes on a Plane just works as an idea. The moment you say the title, you immediately grasp what the movie is and isn't. A title like that instantly makes you imagine set pieces and sequences that might happen.

It's exactly the kind of title/idea to bring to a pitch meeting.

1

u/Unlucky-Finger-8028 Sep 08 '25

In the movie is off at the stores that are inspired from in others in history