Top Three "Bad Movie" Choices

Challenged to claim my top 3 choices for my favorite ‘bad’ movies (http://jmc-omniverse.blogspot.com/) turned my thoughts to those that I call comfort films, the ones that I watch when life seems to be heading in a direction I don’t want to go. They are smaltzy, romantic, funny, and turn out happily ever after, which is what I want in a movie: if it takes too much time, effort, and energy to engage in the story and plod through until the end, it doesn’t provide me with the comfort I am seeking.

Thus, the list.

First is Bounce, with Ben Afflect and Gwyneth Paltrow, a movie that answers the question, “What good could possibly come from an airline crash?” Ben Afflect portrays the stereotypical me-centered veneer people I despise: he gives up his seat to a fellow traveler so he can spend the night screwing a totally hot chick, but the guy who takes his ticket is then killed when the plane crashes. When push comes to shove, Ben blows off his role in the death. Of course, Ben redeems himself when he looks up the widow (Paltrow), who has 2 adorable little bratty boys and a rough time getting past the tragic death of her husband. She explains the title of the movie, Bounce, which has to do with knowing the role fate plays in life, sort of "that's the way the ball bounces." For what it’s worth, Afflect’s performance is mediocre and Paltrow’s barely a notch above average, but as a comfort film, it works for me.

Next, David Duchovny and Minnie Driver face their destiny in Return to Me, the story of a loving couple shattered by tragedy that provides a third party with a much-needed heart transplant. After a chance encounter at the zoo, enter David Duchovny into Minnie's life, the widower whose wife’s transplanted heart makes the point that when one life is gone, another begins. You see the ending coming long before the end of the film, which employs several side stories to add interest to what is pretty much a no-duh chick flick.

The third and final choice (in my top 3) is Purple Hearts, an old (1989) Viet Nam era war movie starring Cheryl Ladd and Ken Wahl. He’s a brash military doctor fighting in a war he doesn't support and in which he may, perhaps, die, but before he goes, he seriously needs to get laid. He picks Ladd, who’s a military nurse, not a whore, and turns down his gallant offer. However, he can’t forget her, nor can she forget him, even when a surprise artillery attack brings down the nurse’s barracks—and her body is identified as a casualty. His life becomes a ticking time bomb as the war swirls around him, but he makes it out and moves on with his life, accepting a job at a stateside hospital the nurse once told him would be her career choice if she survived the war. Bet you can't guess the ending!

None of these films would be on anyone's Top Ten list, but I hated Crash and Sideways, both of which were nominated for Academy Awards. What one likes in a film, another may not, and vice versa--which explains why reading a critic's review of a film should never determine whether one sees it or skips it!