Confessions of a Pop Culture Heretic
Sometimes the audience for a movie exists from its earliest days. Other times a movie will see its audience grow over the years, earning the moniker ‘cult favourite’. Some movies are elevated to the heights of classical status — they become the proverbial sacred cows of popular culture. Their position is not contested. It’s expected of us to know and love them just like everyone else. We get the references, know the famous lines and share a mutual love for those movies that are universally praised.
That’s not to say there are people who are unafraid to rock the boat.
The quality of a movie is always subjective. It’s safe to assume that no movie has a 100% approval rating with audiences and critics. Some will get closer than others, but there will always be people whose opinions do not match with the majority view. It’s not always an attempt to be disruptive and contrarian for the sake of it — people simply have different tastes.
I remember seeing a film critic on TV who genuinely believed that Flash Gordon was a better movie than Star Wars. He had his reasons, but for someone like me, who is a massive Star Wars fan, I disagree with him. I’ve seen Flash Gordon several times and I think it’s a lot of fun (Queen’s soundtrack for the movie is fantastic), but I cannot for the life of me understand how this critic views Star Wars as the lesser of the two. That being said, I don’t need to understand his view. If his affection towards Flash Gordon is true who am I to challenge him?
Actually, I can empathize with him. I have a host of movies that I love more so than the established classics. That’s not to say that the classics are unworthy of their position, but their pop cultural lessers have more of a place in my heart that I can’t deny. Though I will defend and attempt to justify my opposing views.
I Like Bill & Ted Better than Back to the Future
Let me be clear, Michael J. Fox is perfect as Marty McFly, Christopher Lloyd is hilarious as Doc Brown, and the time-traveling DeLorean is an iconic vehicle in the pantheon of popular science fiction. Back to the Future is a great movie filled with humour, quotable dialogue and thrilling set pieces.
But I like Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure more.
The movie isn’t disliked or unpopular, but Bill & Ted is revered less than Back to the Future and I don’t know why. Alex Winter and Keanu Reeves are a blast as the air-headed best friends who need future intervention to help them pass high school history. Help from future comes in the form of Rufus, played by the acerbic comedian George Carlin, who provides them a phone booth that can navigate the circuits of time.
The comedy comes in the clash of old versus new, genius versus idiocy. The movie has such an upbeat feeling throughout because of Bill and Ted’s enthusiasm, naivety and positivity which never fails to make me smile. They need each other, and it transpires the future of humanity rests on their friendship and assured musical greatness. (“They do get better.”)
Fans of Back to the Future can cite a hundred reasons why the movie is so good, and I can do the same with Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure. They have Huey Lewis and the News, I have Extreme and Beethoven. Bill & Ted has Al Leong as Genghis Khan and Jane Weidlin of the Go-Go’s as Joan of Arc. Billy the Kid and Socrates become best buds who test out their romantic charms in the San Dimas mall before Sigmund Freud derails them. Napoleon revels in the 20th century delights of bowling alleys and water slides. Abraham Lincoln says “party on, dude!”
I still call people dude. “Be excellent to each other” is a mantra more people could benefit from practicing. I’ve actually learned things about history watching Bill & Ted.
I Like The ‘Burbs Better than Gremlins
Looking at the careers of many directors there will be high and low points. Some films are cherished while others are largely forgotten, and filmmakers won’t know which until their hard work is finally released to critics and audiences. How many of us remember Steven Spielberg’s Always? Is there anyone who views Ridley Scott’s G.I. Jane the same way they do Black Hawk Down?
Joe Dante has had his fair share of critical and financial success since the 70s. His movies are wistful, exciting and madcap. Strange characters and bizarre happenings are thrown into our mundane reality and flip the world upside down.
Gremlins has the comedy, the scares and the heart. We know the rules for keeping a mogwai. We love when the gremlins sing along to Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. We remember that weird scene when Phoebe Cates’ character recounts how her father tragically died when she was a kid.
The ‘Burbs was released several years after Gremlins but didn’t have the same success. The movie is overlooked by many people, which I think is a shame because, thanks in large part to Tom Hanks’ comedic talents, its story of bored and paranoid neighbours is a joy to watch.
Suspecting their neighbours, the Klopeks, are Satanists three grown men who live in the cul-de-sac get caught up in a boyish quest to expose them. Their juvenile methods and dangerous ineptitude leads to repeat failure and embarrassment until Ray, played by Tom Hanks, snaps to the Klopeks’ defense. He comes to the realization that their obsession is the result of their routine and humdrum lives spent in American suburbia — they’re desperate to be heroes and to do something more important than tend their gardens or laze about all day. As Ray says, referring to himself and his neighbours, “we’re the lunatics.”
But then it turns out the Klopeks really are murderers.
The acting in The ‘Burbs toes the line between quirky and serious, making the proceedings all the more hilarious. Bruce Dern is great as the military-obsessed Rumsfield. Corey Feldman as Ricky, who watches their exploits for entertainment purposes, is also a lot of fun. Since this is a Joe Dante movie Dick Miller makes an appearance, too, alongside Robert Picardo.
I Like Ice Age Better than Monsters Inc.
Pixar was the top name in computer animated filmmaking. Only in the last several years have companies like Disney Animation and Illumination Entertainment begun to match their output and quality.
In early 2002 Pixar released an animated film where creatures journey to return a human child home. A few months later, Blue Sky Studios released an animated film where creatures journey to return a human child home. The first was Monsters Inc., the other was Ice Age.
Monsters Inc. has a lot going in its favour. The premise is original and the world building is top rate. John Goodman and Billy Crystal convey great chemistry as monstrous friends Mike and Sully. That being said I still have a greater emotional connection watching Ice Age.
For a children’s animated movie it isn’t afraid to tackle difficult subject matter. The disparate outsiders who band together to return the baby to his tribe have suffered tragedy (Manfred the mammoth) and abandonment (Sid the sloth). They each grow and change for the better, including the treacherous sabre-tooth tiger, Diego, who ultimately risks his life to protect his new herd. The cave painting sequence where Manfred relives the loss of his family is particularly moving and daring — I doubt even today Disney would attempt writing something so grim.
But it’s not all doom and gloom. There are plenty of capers and funny exchanges as the herd treks across the frozen landscape, and the sabre-toothed squirrel, Scrat, is a rich source of physical slapstick throughout.
While I can give the first Ice Age film plenty of praise I can’t say the same of the four sequels, which lost emotional depth with each following installment.
How much of our taste in movies, TV, music and books is influenced by others? If someone recommends us a film do we pay attention or simply ignore them? Do we ride on the wave of a film’s popularity because of other people’s worship and adoration?
To some people seeing their pop cultural darlings as being anything less than perfect is intolerable — no one can talk trash about Star Wars or Harry Potter or Batman. It’s okay to belong to a fandom and geek out (I know I do), but it’s ridiculous to expect everyone to love your slice of pop culture with equal zeal. If you’re a big fan of Back to the Future you shouldn’t see my view as an affront, nor should you tell me I’m wrong for liking Bill & Ted more.
You may not agree with me about Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure, The ‘Burbs or Ice Age, and that’s fine. You won’t be swayed and neither will I. In truth I’m not a pop culture heretic, I’m just someone with a different perspective. There is no empirical or objectively correct side — pay no attention to anyone who says otherwise.
Coming soon: No More New York
