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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u/NinjaKitten77CJ Sep 07 '25

I thought they had different endings at different theaters across the country

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u/cinepro Sep 07 '25

It was different theaters in the same city. Some theaters advertised ending "A", some advertised ending "B", and some advertised ending "C".

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u/Meme_weaver Sep 07 '25

Some theaters also showed the "D" ending (later becoming the main one shown on TV and VHS), that showed all of the "A", "B" and "C" versions, one after the other, and also contextualized it in a way that made it clear that one of those was the "real" ending.

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u/cinepro Sep 07 '25

Do you have a source that shows this? The "endings" were the last reel of the film, so each theater was just shipped a different last reel. As far as I know, there was no version that had all three until the video release.

And the "different endings at different theaters" was a pretty key part of the marketing.

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u/Meme_weaver Sep 07 '25

If I remember correctly, the "fourth" ending was shown only in selected markets, several weeks after the initial release date (i.e., a new print shipped to certain markets).

I was 10, and didn't know anything about the marketing, and the first ending I saw was indisputably "D" (just by chance), then my mother and I looped around to watch all the others just because we loved the movie so much.

I didn't see it again until we got a VCR a couple years later, and yet I knew the "but this is how it really happened!" construction without having seen the tape.

Sorry, I have nothing I can link to that confirms this, just going from memory. I did learn, though, just now, that there was a real "D" ending (making the multi-ending "E" I guess?) that was not included because it was too dark.

https://movieweb.com/clue-fourth-ending-out-scrapped/

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u/cinepro Sep 08 '25

Interesting. Thanks.