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Oh, just thought of another one that's a favorite among people of my generation: Say Anything...
I like John Cusack, but hated this movie's message.
John Cusack is a graduating high school senior, with no goals in life, and he's pining after the girl who is the super-brilliant valedictorian, played by Ione Skye. She's so smart, she's been taking college classes and doing internships, so was not around the school a lot during senior year. So she has no friends. She just got awarded a fellowship to attend college in London.
Cusack asks her to a party, and then follows her around like a pitiful puppy. She at first tries to avoid getting into a relationship, because she has lots of plans for life, and doesn't want to be diverted. And he's well, a loser. When he meets her father, and the father asks what he plans to do with his life, he says something like "just love your daughter, sir." Aww, can you slap him now?
But in typical movie-fashion, John "wears her down" into loving him (in real life it would be stalking or harassment). When she tells him goodbye, because she's going to England, she gives him a pen as a special symbolic gift, so he can write to her. His big line is "I gave her my heart, and she gave me a pen."
If I could have met the character, I would say, "you're lucky this girl ever went out with you in the first place! How dare you try to get in her way of pursuing her dreams with this pretigious fellowship in England? And the pen wasn't just a stupid pen, you dolt. This is a girl who has been socially isolated all her life and she chose (for reasons that are beyond me) to "let you in." That pen was the symbol of that. That was huge step for her. Now move on with life and find some direction, and don't mess up her life."
But what happens? He decides to tag along with her to England. So he can live with her, sponge off her, maybe get a job, maybe not. And that's the end of the movie. If there were a sequel, it would be two weeks later, she's trying to study, and he's whining about not getting enough attention from her, and finally he's driven her crazy and she's kicking him out, and he's killing himself.
Then the movie also had this weird side-story about the girl's dad commiting some type of white-collar crime and going to prison. It made no sense, and the only purpose it served the main story, I guess, is that with her Dad going to prison, her whole life came crashing down, so she clung to loser-boy for security.
The messages from this movie (which I completely disagree with) are:
If you like somebody, and she's not interested, keep pestering her until she gives in. Girls like stalking, really. In fact, stand outside her house in the middle of the night playing her songs on your boom-box, and she's sure to fall for you.
Super intelligent girls will of course fall in love with scruffy lovable dumb guys who are total slackers with no ambition.
Having a boyfriend is more important than your family, and if any family tragedy might happen, it'll be fine as long as you have a boyfriend.
The feelings experienced by 18 year olds are much more important than pursuing any practical goals in life.
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See, I find films that don't try to preach, or have an ending where the bad guy wins, or at least where the outcome is inconclusive, often more interesting and thought provoking. But I definitely have seen films which rubbed me the wrong way with their portrayals. I would say a lot if horror films fit the mould. The villains are often acted out of some kind of pain or psychosis, and just as you feel sympathy for them, and hope they might do an about turn, they are always brutally killed off like some 50s B movie. Carrie or even Fatal Attraction are two examples for me.
Pretty Woman pissed me off. Sitting in the theater thinking OMG yet another movie/book whatever telling women that yes - it doesn't matter what you are or who you are as long as you are pretty you are worth something (vs the other way around).
I realize that they tried to half heartedly to depict the main character as somehow...actually a nice person underneath being a prostitute..although expecting the audience to derive that from liking cartoons, having a big laugh and crying during her first customer - attributes hardly unique, was sort of an insult. I assume lots of people down on their luck being prostitutes or other unsavory 'jobs' aren't bad people or at least also like cartoons, laugh and cried during their first prostitute gig.
So the bottom line remained...as the title advertises.....if you are PRETTY someone will RESCUE you, because IF you are PRETTY, you DESERVE to be RESCUED unlike all the UGLY people who are just sh*t out of luck.
What damaging tripe!
There are plenty of films that tick me off, for various reasons.
We just watched "Anonymous", billed as a story based on the real author of William Shakespeare. To flesh out the story line it had Elizabeth (the famous virgin queen) have a love child with the author, while reprising the sets from "Shakespeare in Love." Why not just slap the audience in the head with a herring after they pay their money and be done with it?
The animated penguin nonsense makes me ill in the way it is used to promote various PC agendas under the guise of lighthearted frivolity.
"Slumdog Millionaire" themes and motivations are positively vile all the way around. If you have to ask how, I feel sorry for you.
The portrayals of hillbillies in "Deliverance" were more stereotypical than the "n" word.
Overall, there are a number of major failings of movies in the U.S. Perhaps the worst is the unwritten extension of the Hayes Code dictates that the "good" will always win in the end. If there was a film made now on the assassination of Lincoln, he would somehow survive... perhaps as a good vampire? Some plots, like the original B&W "Invasion of the Body Snatchers" have a downer ending. In that film, you can see where the "good" ending was tacked on, it is so obvious. Once you start examining plots, many films are like this.
Johnny Knoxville, About him masquerading as a mentally challenged man. Very exploitative of people with disabilities I thought. Not funny at all. Jackass was fine as it was just grown men acting like idiots, but the ladder was in very poor taste. I don't even know what message they were trying to convey.
The Doors-Portrayed Jim Morrison while downplaying his talent and focusing on his substance abuse, Same with Hated about GG Allin. Sure they led destructive lives but what about their lives beyond that? I wanted to know about the person behind them. Not condoning poor behavior though.
The Native American Indians, along with hippie white American teenagers, are all just nice peaceful types who need to be protected against evil white men, particularly Christian and conservative ones.
Every christian was evil while the other side were pure and saintly lol.
And any other film that distorts history so that its PC or has an agenda.
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The Ringer.
