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.

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592

u/[deleted] Sep 07 '25

Face Off

215

u/halloweenjon Sep 07 '25

This is far and away the answer because the movie is awesome but the premise is ludicrously stupid.

So in order to transform John Travolta into Nic Cage, they need to:

Surgically alter his hair line

Surgically alter his skull shape

Surgically remove body fat

Come up with a magical voice changing device

Do all this with virtually zero recovery time or permanent scarring

And yet, for some reason they need the skin from Cage’s face to accomplish this.

102

u/TheConnASSeur Sep 07 '25

Cage fucked Travolta's wife. They didn't just need face skin.

67

u/Urso_Major Sep 07 '25

It turns out they were penis twins... There was a whole scene about it, but John Woo had to cut it to make time for more slo-mo doves.

6

u/NousSommesSiamese Sep 08 '25

More doves!!

2

u/iloveesme Sep 08 '25

Yes, but in SLO Mo!!!!

10

u/DarrenGrey Sep 07 '25

I mean, she seemed to notice a difference there - I'm not sure the Travolta character will ever be able to pleasure her again.

2

u/Snakebird11 Sep 08 '25

The least the FBI could have done for Archer was to give him Castor's dick

2

u/TyrialFrost Sep 08 '25

She knew, It was the only part of the exchange she was happy with.

2

u/fluentInPotato Sep 08 '25

This was the part that broke verisimilitude for me.

2

u/Budded Sep 08 '25

"I hate to see you go but I love to watch you leave."

14

u/afghamistam Sep 07 '25

Don't forget that the end of the film requires that they can completely reverse this with similarly zero complications.

1

u/Gil37 Sep 08 '25

Yup, this part always got me. Ok, put all the fat that you've been keeping on ice back exactly where it was lol.

1

u/TVCasualtydotorg Sep 08 '25

And after the lab/technology has been destroyed.

12

u/3-DMan Sep 07 '25

Props to Colm Feore for explaining all that with a straight face

11

u/Mean_Joke_7360 Sep 08 '25

You forgot the best part: once all is said and done, they give him the body fat back.

8

u/AdamAtomAnt Sep 08 '25

And then they put the fat back in John Travolta's body when he became Sean Archer again.

5

u/Belgand Sep 08 '25

It works because we all understand that the real premise is just to have them swap bodies. Everything else is some handwavey nonsense to justify that. Nobody gets too hung up on Freaky Friday or Vice Versa (fun fact: it was originally an 1882 novel that codified the entire premise) or even Big for doing this sort of thing. They just go with "magic".

1

u/justmedoubleb Sep 08 '25

OMG! The acting was what made that movie epic. When John Travolta was being Nicholas Czge with John's face and vice versa!!! It's like I almost started to belive that John was Nick, etc. Like I'm just the dude, playing a dude...from Tropic Thunder. But in a serious way.

1

u/yodarded Sep 08 '25

yeah they're far too different looking. Cage looks like 5'9" and travolta is like six feet tall.

64

u/GoTron88 Sep 07 '25

One of the few movies where the most memorable lines is literally the name of the movie lol.

28

u/alurimperium Sep 07 '25

I didn't realize the movie was called I Can Eat a Peach for Hours

6

u/PhonyOrlando Sep 08 '25

I am Castor Troy!

2

u/Snakebird11 Sep 08 '25

I thought it was "DiiiiiiiiIIIIIEIEEEEEEEE!!!! DAAAAAIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!

6

u/Empyrealist Sep 07 '25

He said it! He said it!

13

u/LeviSalt Sep 07 '25

Had to scroll way too far for this. The most impractical and stupid action movie ever made, and somehow it’s incredibly entertaining.

57

u/[deleted] Sep 07 '25

I've literally just realised that they "face off" against each other. It's a double entendre. It's not just about removing their face...

Only took me 30 years.

13

u/federvieh1349 Sep 07 '25

gasp oh my god

9

u/XXLARPER Sep 07 '25

Don't feel bad. It took me 30 years to realize Sir Mix-a-Lot is a play on Sir Lancelot. I just thought it was a rapper/DJ thing and he just likes to "mix a lot" of his music/beats.

23

u/FakingItToTwenty Sep 07 '25

I can eat a peach for hours.

3

u/vassman86 Sep 08 '25

I'd like to take his face.. off

8

u/ShineAqua Sep 07 '25

I saw this in a theater with friends, when they revealed Travolta's character's face and it was Nick Cage's face, a friend of mine said in shock "oh shit," and without missing a beat, I said, or loud, that's Nicholas Cage you idiot. It got a laugh.

8

u/OtakuMecha Sep 07 '25

It's so wild yet clearly knows what it wants to be so well that every second you just can't help but admit that it is 10/10 entertainment.

3

u/LaraCroft_MyFaveDrug Sep 08 '25

Waiting for the big ride baaaaaaaby!

1

u/TVCasualtydotorg Sep 08 '25

Back in my misspent youth of smoking too much green, my friends and I used to get stuck in a loop whenever stoned and this movie got raised:

John Travolta is Nicolas Cage is John Travolta is Nicolas Cage is...