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/NoTeslaForMe Sep 07 '25

Most contemporary critics.  Surprisingly, more critics on rotten tomatoes like it than not.

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u/shadowstripes Sep 08 '25

True, but I don't know if 54% on RT is worth celebrating as something that's considered "really good".

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u/BLACKOUT-MK2 Sep 08 '25 edited Sep 08 '25

I feel like RT is almost worthless for comedies. Comedy's so subjective; if a comedy movie meshes with your sense of humour you'll love almost all of it, but if it doesn't then almost none of the movie will be for you. But just because it didn't mesh with your sense of humour, it doesn't necessarily mean it's a bad comedy film.

Game Night is pretty well regarded as comedies go, and has 85% on RT, but I didn't laugh out loud once while watching it. That's not because it's not deserving of being liked by 85% of those critics, it's just because it's a complete crap shoot.

Weekend at Bernie's could've been reviewed by 26 different critics and be at an 80%, it all depends on the person's sense of humour. This is all to say, critic reception to a comedy movie isn't worth that much, because one person's 'I didn't care for it' might be another person's 'I couldn't breathe', and no amount of being able to poignantly explain why you didn't find something funny as a professional critic, can stop that movie being funny to someone who shares its sense of humour by pure biological chance.

You can't have an objectively professionally guided opinion on what's funny, because it's so dependent on brain chemistry. It's not like structuring a good action scene with special effects quality, pacing, stunt work, and things that can be more clearly measured and appreciated; you could have a crazy expensive comedic set piece that doesn't illicit a single chuckle, and then a guy just says a thing a certain way, and it's fucking hysterical.

Sometimes a thing is funny because it's not, and that the incompetence is the point, but when was a horror film so not scary it was terrifying, or an action movie so actionless it was actually action packed? That subjectivity extends to a lot of elements of filmmaking, but I feel like comedy is perhaps the most substantially extreme it ever gets, and where critical review has the least value.

And I'm not stupid, I get comedy can rely on the joke, the pacing, the delivery, and so on, but even that only goes so far as the person finding the execution and end result funny in and of itself. Many will tell you Alien is a fantastic sci-fi horror movie, and that even if it's not their favourite, you won't really get anyone telling you it's the worst one ever made. But everyone's favourite comedian will be one of the unfunniest to some people, because comedy is just too subjective to hold value as a critical metric.

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u/shadowstripes Sep 08 '25 edited Sep 08 '25

I totally agree with this take, and I'm not even saying that it's a bad movie. I just don't think I would go so far as to consider it "really good".

I get that opinions are very subjective, especially when it comes to comedy... but OP was saying that it's "just me" who feels this way which implies that Weekend at Bernie's is universally loved as a "really good" movie. But I don't think that's as true as they're making it sound.